Golf top 10 betting is a single bet, at one fixed price, that a golfer finishes inside the first 10 places of a tournament. Two or three players tied for 8th are all inside, but four tied for 8th, or three tied for 10th, run past 10th and are settled under a dead heat rule. Under the NSW rule book, three tied for 10th share the one place left, so $30 at an illustrative $3.60 on one of them returns $108 / 3 = $36, not $108.
Top 5 and top 20 markets work the same way with a different cut-off. NSW's schedule of approved bet types calls this place betting: picking a competitor to finish among a nominated number of placings, which in some sports runs past the usual first three. All prices below are illustrative, for a bet placed before the tournament starts.
Top 5, top 10 and top 20 markets compared
Take one golfer, Player A, with these illustrative prices:
| Market | Price | Implied chance (1 / price) | $30 returns if it wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Win | $21.00 | 4.8% | $630.00 |
| Top 5 | $5.50 | 18.2% | $165.00 |
| Top 10 | $3.60 | 27.8% | $108.00 |
| Top 20 | $2.05 | 48.8% | $61.50 |
The wider the cut-off, the more finishes win and the shorter the price. A top 10 finish at $3.60 needs a better than 27.8% chance to be worth the price, and a top 20 at $2.05 needs better than 48.8%. In that chance, count a tie at the cut-off place only for the share it is paid.
A top 10 market sells ten places across the whole field, so if you add up the implied chance of every player, a market with no margin comes to 1,000%. To find the margin, add the implied chances and divide by the number of places. An illustrative top 10 market adding up to 1,150% works out at 1,150% / 10 = 115%, a 15% overround, so on the proportional method $100 returns about 100 / 1.15 = $86.96 on average. A top 5 market divides by 5 and a top 20 market by 20.
How a tie at 10th is settled
Ties at the cut-off are common because golf is scored in whole strokes, so many players in a big field finish on the same total. To see how often, count the ties that span 10th or 20th on the final leaderboards of a few recent tournaments on the tour's own site.
Under the NSW Bookmaker Declared Betting Events Betting Rules, which bind NSW-authorised sports bookmakers, a bet for a place in golf is settled under the dead heat clause when players are tied after the scheduled holes (clause 5.2.3.3). Where no tie price was offered, clause 5.1.8 divides the bet's face value by the number of players tied and multiplies it by the places left for them:
return = stake x price / players tied x places left inside the top 10
The bet calculator runs the same split: pick a Place bet and a Dead heat result, enter the top 10 price as the place odds, then the players tied and the top 10 places they fill.
Here is $30 on Player A at $3.60, a face value of $108, across different ties:
| Where Player A finishes | Players tied | Top 10 places left for them | Return | Profit or loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tied for 10th with two others | 3 | 1 | $108 / 3 x 1 = $36.00 | +$6.00 |
| Tied for 10th with one other | 2 | 1 | $108 / 2 x 1 = $54.00 | +$24.00 |
| Tied for 10th with three others | 4 | 1 | $108 / 4 x 1 = $27.00 | -$3.00 |
| Tied for 10th with five others | 6 | 1 | $108 / 6 x 1 = $18.00 | -$12.00 |
| Tied for 9th with two others | 3 | 2 | $108 / 3 x 2 = $72.00 | +$42.00 |
| Tied for 8th with three others | 4 | 3 | $108 / 4 x 3 = $81.00 | +$51.00 |
| Tied for 7th with three others | 4 | 4 | $108 / 4 x 4 = $108.00 | +$78.00 |
Three players tied for 10th fill 10th, 11th and 12th, and only 10th is inside the top 10, so a bet on one of them counts a third of its stake. Four tied for 7th fill 7th to 10th exactly, so nobody is cut.
A tie for the last place returns at least the stake only when the price is at least the number tied divided by the places left. At $3.60 a three-way tie for 10th still makes a profit and a four-way tie does not. Top 20 prices are shorter, so ties bite harder: $30 at $2.05 returns $61.50, a two-way tie for 20th returns $30.75 and a three-way tie returns $20.50.
Online bookmakers licensed outside NSW write their own dead heat rules into their terms, so read yours. Dead heat rules sets the racing and sports rule books side by side.
Ties inside a multi
Clause 5.1.9 applies the same cut to a tied leg before a multi's legs are multiplied together. A $10 multi with Player A top 10 at $3.60 and Player B top 10 at $2.50 returns $90 if both finish inside. If Player B ties for 10th with two others, that leg counts as 2.50 / 3, about 0.83, so the multi pays 3.60 x 2.50 / 3 x $10 = $30.00. A leg cut below 1.00 shrinks the whole multi.
When a golfer misses the cut or withdraws
A top 10 bet needs a finishing place, so anything that takes the golfer out of the tournament ends it. Each of these is a rule type, and your bookmaker's terms say which one applies:
- Missed cut: the bet loses at halfway. Make the cut explains how the cut line is set.
- Withdrawal before teeing off: under an all-in rule, the NSW rule book's default (clause 5.1.1), the bet stands and loses; under a rule that refunds non-starters, the stake comes back.
- Withdrawal or disqualification during the tournament: the golfer has no finishing place, so under the NSW rule book the bet loses. Check how your bookmaker treats a withdrawal in round 1.
- Play called off for good before 36 holes of a 72-hole event: the NSW rule book voids bets on the outcome and refunds them (5.2.3.1).
- Play called off after 36 or more holes, with an official result declared: the NSW rule book lets bets stand, and top 10 places come from that result (5.2.3.1). An event scheduled for fewer than 72 holes that is abandoned settles on the official result declared (5.2.3.2).
A play-off for the title does not move anyone else's place. The NSW clause counts play-off holes only when deciding the winner, and players tied lower down are dead-heated on the scheduled holes.
Top 10 or each way on the same golfer
Each way splits the stake between a win and a place, while a top 10 bet puts it all on the finish. Take Player A at $21.00 to win, offered each way at a quarter of the odds for 6 places, a place price of (21 - 1) x 1/4 + 1 = $6.00. Spending the same $30 both ways:
| Where Player A finishes | $15 each way | $30 on top 10 at $3.60 |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | $15 x 21.00 + $15 x 6.00 = $405.00 | $108.00 |
| 2nd to 6th | $15 x 6.00 = $90.00 | $108.00 |
| 7th to 10th | $0.00 | $108.00 |
| 11th or worse, or misses the cut | $0.00 | $0.00 |
The top 10 bet returns more on every top 10 finish except a win, because the whole $30 is on the place. Each way returns $297 more if Player A wins, because half the stake is on the win at $21.00.
Which one suits depends on your own estimates, set against the prices, with a tie at the cut-off place counted only for the share it is paid:
- The top 10 bet needs a top 10 chance above 1 / 3.60 = 27.8%.
- Each way's place half needs a top 6 chance above 1 / 6.00 = 16.7%, and its win half a win chance above 1 / 21.00 = 4.8%.
Ties hit them at different places: each way's place half at 6th, the top 10 bet at 10th. Golf each way betting explains how each way terms are set, and sports betting explained covers the market types in other sports.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Your estimate of a golfer's chance can be wrong, a top 10 bet at $3.60 loses most of the time if the price is close to fair, and there is no guarantee of profit. Responsible gambling explains deposit limits and where to get help.
Mistakes with top finish bets
| Mistake | What it costs | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Treating a tie at 10th as a full win | A three-way tie returns $36, not $108, on $30 at $3.60 | Count the places left inside the top 10 |
| Taking a short top 20 price without allowing for ties | $30 at $2.05 in a three-way tie for 20th returns $20.50, a $9.50 loss | Work out the return on a two-way and a three-way tie before you bet |
| Stacking top 10 legs in a multi | One three-way tie at 10th cuts a $90 multi return to $30 | Price each leg's tie risk, or bet the legs as singles |
| Assuming a non-starter is refunded | Under an all-in rule the whole stake is lost | Read the withdrawal rule before you bet |
| Comparing prices without checking the margin | A 1,150% top 10 market returns about $86.96 per $100 on average | Add the implied chances and divide by 10 |
Checking a top 10 price before you bet
Run these four checks:
- Turn the price into an implied chance: 1 / price.
- Set it against your own estimate of the golfer's top 10 chance.
- Read the market's dead heat and withdrawal rules.
- Compare the price across bookmakers: a higher price for the same finish pays more every time it wins.
B337 does not take bets or set prices: across racing and sports, its Terminal puts prices from 40+ bookmakers side by side, with price history (flucs). On the sports side it carries head to head, line and total markets, plus player props where offered, for AFL, NRL, NBA, soccer, tennis and more whenever bookmakers have markets up. Not every bookmaker prices every game, and prices update on a repeating cycle, so confirm each one with the bookmaker. A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A higher price changes what a winning bet pays, not how often it wins, and a dead heat can turn a top 10 finish into a losing bet. Set a deposit limit with your bookmaker, and see responsible gambling for free support.