Golf
Black Desert Championship 2025 Preview: Odds, Tips, and Predictions
After a thrilling climax to the Chevron Championship, the first major of the LPGA Tour this term, attentions turn quickly to the Black Desert Championship which gets underway on May 1. Having hosted a PGA Tour event for the first time last year, the Tom Weiskopf-designed course will be a tester for this week’s field. Golf betting sportsbooks will be jumping on this tournament, and there will be a raft of operators offering pre-tournament betting odds which will also include specials for punters to feast on.
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After a thrilling climax to the Chevron Championship, the first major of the LPGA Tour this term, attentions turn quickly to the Black Desert Championship which gets underway on May 1.
Having hosted a PGA Tour event for the first time last year, the Tom Weiskopf-designed course will be a tester for this week’s field.
Golf betting sportsbooks will be jumping on this tournament, and there will be a raft of operators offering pre-tournament betting odds which will also include specials for punters to feast on.
The Black Desert Championship will be an inaugural event on the LPGA in 2025, so we haven’t got anything to go by in terms of past results or performances.
But then again, that makes things intrinsically more exciting. This week, the prize purse stands at $3 million, while there are 500 CME points up for grabs, making it a lucrative tournament.
While there are a few familiar faces skipping this event, including the current World No.1 Nelly Korda, this could still be a fiercely contested tournament. As per usual, we’ve provided a full golf tournament preview and shared odds from highly rated golf bookmakers.
Pre-Tournament Betting Odds and Win Probability
To build up anticipation for the Black Desert Championship, we have scurried over to a reputable online betting site to see what golf betting odds they have locked in. More specifically, we have established who is trading as the favourite.
- Haeran Ryu – 8/1 (9.00) – 11.1%
- Sarah Schmelzel – 9/1 (10.00) – 10%
- Odds courtesy of Stake, subject to change
Key Player Updates
To add some meaning to our golf tournament predictions, we’ve taken a quick look at the in-form players who could make an impression at the Black Desert Championship.
We’ve not just focused on past results. We’ve crunched the data and presented a range of stats, such as driving accuracy and putting to see where their games are sitting going into this event.
Taking these stats into consideration could help sharpen your golf betting strategies ahead of events.
Key Player Updates
| Attribute | Haeran Ryu | Sarah Schmelzel | Mao Saigo |
| Age | 24 | 30 | 23 |
| World Ranking | 12 | 65 | 37 |
| Recent Wins | FM Championship | N/A | Chevron Championship |
| Driving Accuracy | 75.79% | 73.81% | 68.83% |
| Greens in Regulation | 81.17% | 73.61% | 72.22% |
| Putts per GIR Average | 1.77 | 1.78 | 1.77 |
Contender News
While some of the best betting sites for golf will have a mini stats area, we’ve fleshed out some more details on how the main contenders are shaping up for the Black Desert Championship.
Haeran Ryu
Haeran Ryu may only be 23 years old and only formally joined the LPGA Tour a couple of years ago, but she has come of age.
Well, in her first year on the Tour, she was named Rookie of the Year, and she has made some big strides. Last year, she made 23 cuts from 26 appearances, and aside from her maiden victory at the FM Championship, she cemented 13 top-10 finishes.
This year, she has finished in the top 20 in five events, and she turned in a very promising display at the Chevron Championship finishing T6. The South Korean currently ranks third in GIR, and that could stand her in good stead this week at the Black Desert Championship.
Sarah Schmelzel
An experienced campaigner, Sarah Schmelzel’s hard work is starting to pay dividends. Despite being ranked 65th in the world, the American has made real headway over the past six weeks or so.
Her performance at the Blue Bay LPGA where she finished fifth, exhibited her class on the greens, notching up rounds of 68 and 69 over the weekend. She also came in T6 at the Chevron Championship, and was let down by a two-over-par score of 74 on Sunday.
She’s about average for driving accuracy, and there will be a premium placed on solid ball striking from the tee given the wide fairways at the Black Desert Championship. If she settles quickly this week, she could be a dark horse.
Mao Saigo
Although she’s only had one full season on the LPGA Tour, Mao Saigo has enjoyed a quick rise to prominence.
She’s clocked up some decent results this term, most notably a T9 at the T-Mobile Match Play where after a couple of mediocre rounds, she finished strongly with an overall score of -8. However, she had her biggest payday last weekend at the Chevron Championship, becoming a first-time Rolex Winner even though she had to come through in a play-off.
Saigo, who is set to soar up the rankings, is making all the right noises, and she could well be one to watch out for this week.
Suggested Bets
The golf betting sites we recommend will be plugging a variety of specials, and we have suggested a few lines that could be worth unlocking ahead of the opening round:
Haeran Ryu to win the Black Desert Championship: Haeran Ryu might not necessarily have finished in the manner she would have hoped for at the Chevron Championship with a 76, however, she has generally proved to be solid from tee to green, and she has been in and around the top 20 this season. With two career wins under her belt, she has the tools to enter the winner’s circle at the Black Desert Championship (10/1 with Sportsbet.io).
Sarah Schmelzel to lead after Round 1: There were plenty of positives for Sarah Schmelzel to take from the Chevron Championship, and after a while in the wilderness, she’s put herself in contention at the LPGA’s biggest events. She should have some momentum behind her, and we think she could top the leaderboard after the first round (15/1 with Betway).
Mao Saigo to enjoy a top-10 finish: Mao Saigo will be on cloud nine after an incredible week at the Chevron Championship, and what a way to truly announce yourself. Of course, after a big win, there can be a metaphorical hangover, but she will be of full belief, and we think a top-10 finish could be on the cards (6/1 with Betandyou).
Tournament Prediction
So far, the LPGA has seen a different winner crowned each week, and there have been a few surprises along the way. While Mao Saigo showed serious mental resilience to come through at the Chevron Championship, and claim her biggest win to date, going back-to-back on the LPGA is notoriously tough.
Sarah Schmelzel, meanwhile, has come a long way in the past six months or so, but even though she has another tournament on home soil to look forward to, she might come up short.
As mentioned, there isn’t much to go on with the Black Desert Championship as this is the inaugural edition, but if push comes to shove, we like the look of Haeran Ryu. She has been very consistent over the past few weeks, and in terms of golf betting tips, Ryu gets the nod from us.
Charles Perrin is a highly experienced sports betting content writer with over six years of working with some of the leading sportsbooks in the UK, including bet365 and William Hill.