Bettors cash in on Reed as sport shows depth of field

RORY Mcilroymadean earlychargeatpatrick Reed in the final round of the Masters on Sunday, and Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler applied pressure on the back nine at Augusta National Golf Club.

But Reed answered the call each time, calmly rolling in a 3-foot par putt on 18 to win his first major by one stroke while turning a pile of futures bets into trash at Las Vegas sports books.

$1,000 to win $40,000

Reed, aka “Captain America” for his Ryder Cup prowess, opened at 60-1 odds to win a green jacket and closed at 40-1. A Wynn Las Vegas sports book bettor and CG Technology sports book bettor each cashed a $1,000 wager on Reed to win $40,000. Those are pretty long odds for a superhero.

“That’s a nice payday, and Reed’s a talented golfer,” Westgate sports book manager Jeff Sherman said. “Golf is so deep right now. Even down the list, there are so many talented golfers and good value because the top is so solid.”

Before Reed slipped on his green jacket over his pink shirt — I prefer to believe a similar golf shirt I wear is fuscia — Sherman was already putting the finishing touches on odds to win the U.S. Open.

U.S. Open odds

Every golfer in the field was listed at double- or triple-digit odds to win the year’s second major June 1417 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in New York.

“So many of these guys can win,” Sherman said. “I start at 10-1 and ascend upward from there.”

Bettors will probably be better served to look beyond 10-1 co-favorites Spieth, Mcilroy and Dustin Johnson to longer shots like Marc Leishman (50-1), Tony Finau (80-1) and Cameron Smith (100-1), who all finished in the top 10 at the Masters.

“That’s the way guys are looking at betting golf now. They’re not betting the short-priced guys at 10-1 or 12-1,” Wynn Las Vegas sports book director Johnny Avello said. “They’re looking for guys in the 40-1 or 50-1 range, where Reed was.”

Tiger effect

William Hill sports book

director Nick Bogdanovich attributes the rise of a plethora of top-notch players on the PGA Tour to Tiger Woods.

Curtis Compton The Associated Press Patrick Reed celebrates after winning the Masters with a par putt on No. 18 on Sunday in Augusta, Ga. Reed was 40-1 to win before the tournament and is 30-1 to win the U.S. Open in early betting.