PGA Tour to Offer Betting at Tournaments Starting in 2020

Betting will soon be available at PGA Golf tournaments in 2020 as a way of improving fan engagement.

US PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan made the announcement ahead of Japan’s first PGA Tour event, the Zozo Championship.

"It's all about engagement," said Monahan of the plan to introduce gambling.

"When done right, it gives fans the opportunity to engage with your sport over a longer period of time and have more interest in what's happening across the entire player field.
"It's legalised in a lot of international markets and we've put the right systems in place, both in terms of an integrity programme and monitoring activity," explained Monahan, who has been in charge of the world's biggest golf tour since taking over from Tim Finchem in January 2017.

- 'We've done a ton of work' -

"As it is becoming legalised by state in the US, you can either participate or not, and we feel smarter to be participating... versus let others control it," he added.