American PGA Tour golfer Jordan Spieth said that sports betting needs to be reeled in due to its impact on the outcome of tournaments.
“Betting in golf is something that's going to have to be tackled here soon,” Spieth said while alluding to fellow competitor Wyndham Clark’s experience with rowdy fans during the U.S. Open.
Key Takeaways
- Spieth questioned if there was another sport that could be affected by heckling gamblers as much as golf.
- Clark recently dealt with harassment that affected his performance at the U.S. Open.
- The PGA Tour recently issued guidelines to help players report sports betting abuse.
During a time in which gaming regulators and officials are desperate to preserve the integrity of sports, Spieth’s comments illustrated the potential dangers of putting sports betting in the hands of event-going fans.
“In golf, it’s tricky because you could actually impact the outcome if you wanted to,” Spieth said. “It may not last very long, but you could impact a shot if you wanted to."
“I don’t know of another sport that you could impact as a fan like you can golf. So I don’t know how much that’s having to do with it, if it’s different than it used to be.”
"Betting in golf is something that's going to have to be tackled here soon."
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) June 30, 2026
Jordan Spieth says sports betting has caused fan behavior at PGA Tour events to change. pic.twitter.com/MrBmmq51Lr
The “Wyndham scenario” was a callback to the U.S. Open in Southampton, New York, last month. Clark, the World No. 9, was in the running to win the tournament, alongside the more popular Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns.
Clark faced strong jeers from the crowd whenever he missed putts or his shot didn’t go where he intended. Several fans were even kicked out for taking their behavior too far.
Clark ended up winning the tournament with a final score of -4, although he shot +3 in the fourth round. That was tied for the worst score of any individual who finished in the top 22 of the final standings.
“I’ve also played rounds with guys who were not treated well 10, 15 years ago,” Spieth said. “I don’t think it’s a crazy new thing… I will say that from what I’ve seen, a lot of times it has to do with betting, and that is in the last five years.”
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account
Sports betting projections needed in golf?
Spieth is the newest in a growing line of professional athletes who have sounded off on the negative impacts of legal sports betting. However, he himself has ties to the gambling industry.
The 32-year-old has been a FanDuel ambassador since 2021 and was the PGA Tour’s first player to partner with a sportsbook. The last three posts on his X account were also FanDuel promotions, during which he discussed a Thanksgiving NFL matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs, a $200,000 “Spring Swing Bonus,” and three of his favorite futures bets in the NBA, NHL, and NFL.
A little @dallascowboys defense and a homer for the @DallasStars … am I asking too much? 🙏 @calebdowns @FDSportsbook #FDpartner pic.twitter.com/I4JoLo4yyL
— Jordan Spieth (@JordanSpieth) April 23, 2026
Affiliations aside, Spieth acknowledged that fans who get up close and personal with golfers during competition could be risking anywhere from “$100 to $10,000, depending on who it is.”
The PGA Tour, which has betting deals with DraftKings and FanDuel, also has protections in place. In March, GOLF.com’s Sean Zak reported that players were given new instructions on how to report gambling-related harassment and that the Tour was training volunteers to stand in the middle of crowds to identify and prevent potential issues.
“You have to understand that we’re not immune to it,” Andy Levinson, SVP of Tournament Administration at the Tour, told GOLF.com.
“We’re not immune to the potential for corruption, we’re not immune to bad actors, all that. That exists and that threat is always gonna be there. So the first and foremost thing is, everything we do in this space is integrity first.”
Are changes coming?
Sports betting was legalized in America after a 2018 federal court decision overturned a longstanding ban and allowed states to decide on the fate of sports betting. Thirty-nine states and Washington D.C. took the opportunity to legalize.
Prediction markets have also emerged as a viable way for fans to win money by testing the accuracy of their predictions. The PGA Tour has not signed any prediction partners, and these platforms maintain they are distinctly different from sports betting.
Either way, Spieth isn’t holding his breath.
“We’ll see what happens with that,” he said about the future of sports betting in golf.
