Golf is a great sport to play and one that has many keen golfers flocking to courses all over the world with the latest clubs, balls and golfing accessories. Of course, keen golfers also love to watch golf when they are not enjoying a round. Although it can be fun to focus on the biggest names in pro golf winning the top events, there is nothing like a good underdog story to enjoy.
Underdog victories popular across all sports
While seeing an underdog win is fabulous in golf, it is something fans of all sports enjoy. There is just something so cool about seeing someone unexpected come out on top, against all odds. If you like to bet on sports, underdog wins are also something you will love and constantly be on the lookout for.
The NFL is a great example of another sport that sees regular underdog wins, which bring results that sports bettors can find very exciting. Many people will also bundle multiple underdog bets into a parlay for even better potential returns on their initial outlay. For more information on how parlays in the NFL work, click here.
Golf is also a top sport to bet on and one in which the unfancied player winning can be a great thing. But which have been the best of this type of performance over the last 10 years?
Danny Willet winning the 2016 Masters
While you can get a real kick from finding the best golf bags to choose from, this underdog win in 2016 was also something to get excited about. His victory was, after all, the first by a European in 17 years at Augusta and made him only the second Englishman ever to take home the title! It is fair to say that he was a real outsider coming in to play and not someone many people would have picked beforehand to even challenge for the trophy.
Willet, though, played the best golf of his career to remain in contention heading into the final round. Defending champion Jordan Spieth was his main opponent but he posted a quadruple bogey at the par-3 12th hole. This put Willet into an unlikely lead and Spieth was unable to claw back the English player’s lead when he had finished his own round.
Jason Day at 2015 PGA Championship
In some ways, it is hard to say that Aussie golfer Jason Day was a true underdog coming into the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. He had been playing well, after all, and was in the mix for 2015’s US Open. The problem for him, though, was that he seemed to have an issue clinching tournament wins and this meant not many fancied him for a victory here.
This was even truer when you saw the field filled with people who did know how to win – such as Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose. Day, however, proved the doubters wrong and was exceptional in every round at this tournament. He became the first player ever to hit a 20 under par overall at a Major. Understandably ecstatic after clinching this win, he carried on his good form in the next few years but has been plagued by back pain recently.
Tiger Woods at 2019 Masters
If you thought that seeing Jason Day on this list was interesting, you might be even more surprised to see one of the icons of modern golf appear next! It is key, though, to remember just where Woods was in his career when going into the 2019 Masters – and the fact that not many people fancied him pre-tournament to win.
His last major win, for example, had come back in 2008 and he had spent the intervening years battling poor form – and a succession of debilitating injuries. The 2019 Masters field was also filled with top golfers such as Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka, who looked far better placed to triumph. Woods, though, lit up Augusta in 2019 and rolled back the years for a glorious victory. It still remains one of the most popular shock results in golfing history.
