In golf betting lines, A Dead Heat betting refers to a scenario where two or more participants tie for a position in a golf tournament or event. Of course, you cannot have a dead heat for the actual winner of a golf tournament, given that extra holes are usually played to decide the overall winner of any event. But in the event that we have a tie for other positions, dead heat rules are used, with the bookmakers often working out your profit by dividing the total stake by the number of participants in the dead heat, and then multiplying by the golf odds at which the bet was placed. It is the resulting amount from this calculation that is usually collected by the customer as the total return.
In Depth Analysis on What is Dead Heat in Golf Betting?
In the 2025 Masters Tournament, for example, the leader board was as follows:
| Position | Name | Score |
| 1 | Rory McIlroy | -11 |
| 2 | Justin Rose | -11 |
| 3 | Patrick Reed | -9 |
| 4 | Scottie Scheffler | -8 |
| Tied 5 | Sungjae Im | -7 |
| Tied 5 | Bryson DeChambeau | -7 |
| 7 | Ludvig Aberg | -6 |
| Tied 8 | Xander Schauffele | -5 |
| Tied 8 | Zach Johnson | -5 |
| Tied 8 | Jason Day | -5 |
| Tied 8 | Corey Conners | -5 |
| Tied 12 | Harris English | -4 |
| Tied 12 | Max Homa | -4 |
| Tied 14 | Bubba Watson | -3 |
| Tied 14 | Jon Rahm | -3 |
| Tied 14 | Jordan Spieth | -3 |
What is Dead Heat in Golf Betting?
With ties for the 5th, 8th, 12th and 14th positions, dead heat rules had to be applied such that the total stake was divided by the number of competitors involved in the ties and then settled at the normal odds.
If, for example, you had a $100 bet on 12/1 odds for Xander Schauffele to finish Top-10 in the Masters Tournament, the winnings would be calculated as follows for his “Tied 10” finish. As per the leader board, five players—Xander Schauffele, Zach Johnson, Jason Day, Corey Conners and Ludvig Aberg—all tied for the 10th position, meaning your $100 stake would be divided five times as per Dead Heat betting rules. This would reduce your stake to $20 on the12/1 golf odds, which would be calculated as follows:
- Formula–Total returns: Reduced Stake x Betting Odds + Your Reduced Stake
- Therefore, the Total Returns here would be: $20 x 12/1 + $20, which equals to $260
Conclusion
In case you are not sure about how the Dead Heat winnings are calculated in your preferred sportsbooks, ensure that you make adequate inquiries prior to placing your bets. Most sportsbooks actually have automated online betting calculators to easily assist with all the necessary math involved in dead heat betting, or any other form of betting for that matter.
About the Author
- D.S. Williamson
- Since 2008, D.S. Williamson has written about sports and sports handicapping. His philosophy is value-based, meaning stats and other handicapping factors are only worth something in comparison to wagering odds. He believes money management and making value-based wagers is the single more important factor that distinguishes successful sports bettors from non-successful sports bettors.
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