It seems like a good way for sharp bookmakers to take advantage of the ultimate suckers: Parents who believe their child is the next great sports prodigy. And when I say “parents” what I really mean is “fathers” because men tend to be the ones with the vicarious sports dreams (and, perhaps, the gambling problem).
This kind of futures bet apparently is a thing in Britain, and Rory McIlroy's dad scored big when his son won the British Open on Sunday at Royal Liverpool. According to the betting firm Ladbrokes, McIlroy's father holds a winning ticket for $171,000 on a bet he made at 500-to-1 odds in 2004 for his son to win the Open within 10 years. Some pals of McIlroy's dad made similar wagers in 2005 that will pay out a combined $136,700, according to ESPN.com.
CONGRATULATIONS RORY: We're paying out 180k to Rory's Dad and pals. There'll be some party at the McIlroy's tonight! pic.twitter.com/wOG7vvIygd
McIlroy was about 15-years old when his dad placed the bet but obviously his son wasn't just some duffer. Young McIlroy was a budding prodigy who won the 2004 Junior Ryder Cup with the European team. The next year he became the youngest winner of two prestigious amateur tournaments in Ireland, which explains why the 500-to-1 bet his dad made was down to a 250-to-1 odds for his dad's friends the next year.
Still, it’s a long way from promising amateur golfer to major championship winner. McIlroy made the leap in rapid fashion: top 50 in the world by 2008, first pro tournament victory in 2009 and, after contending at the 2010 PGA Championship and 2011 Masters, winning the 2011 U.S. Open.
By then dad’s longshot bet was looking pretty good. When McIlroy won the 2012 PGA Championship by eight strokes, McIlroy was looking dang near chalk to win the British Open soon. He had a down year by his standards in 2013 but regained his form just in time to make dad’s bet a winner.
McIlroy, who won $1.66 million in prize money on Sunday, was asked about his fathers’ wager after the tournament. He said he knew about the bet but he didn’t seem to know just how much it would pay.
"Honestly, that 50 grand [pounds] that he's going to win is way -- I mean, the other three friends that he did that with, they're going to be very happy," McIlroy said. "He's never reminded me. I knew that he'd done it. I'm not sure if it will pay out. If it does, it's a nice little bonus."
Maybe McIlroy’s dad fudged the odds a bit to his son so he wouldn’t know exactly how much of a longshot he was to win the Open someday. There was probably no need because McIlroy, if he was an enterprising young lad, would have taken that action from dad.
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