Even a seasoned gambler like John Daly couldn’t have predicted his own blow out at the Sanford International.
After his disastrous opening round of 88 at Minnehaha Country Club, including the record-breaking 19 on the 12th, Daly withdrew from the tournament to lick his wounds.
Daly is a renowned gambler, in 2022 he claimed his biggest gambling win was a huge $9.3million. But for a bit of balance he also lost $6.2million at the blackjack table.
By his own admission most of Daly’s gambling is done at the casino, but he has occasionally bets on himself to win golf tournaments, a practice that is generally not banned by professional golf. Betting on yourself to lose is where it gets a bit sticky.
In his prime, Daly would stick thousands of dollars on himself to win a tournament, usually at very chunky odds.
“I would go to Vegas and put $5,000 or $10,000 on myself to win, and I’d usually get 30-to-1 or 40-to-1. If I was going to play, I might as well back myself,” said Daly in his autobiography.
Sadly Daly’s golf winnings are not officially recorded by any bookmakers, otherwise he might top this list of the biggest winning golf bets.
Scottie Scheffler (2023 Players Championship) – $300,000 stake – $3.3m payout
Given his current form, Scottie Scheffler is currently one of the safer bets in the world of golf, and has helped land the punters plenty of loot.
But the biggest recorded one so far was a $300,000 bet placed on Scheffler to win the Players Championship in 2023, which he did comfortably by five shots.
One lucky FanDuel Sportsbook bettor walked off with a whopping $3.3m.
Jordan Spieth (2015 Masters) – $200,000 stake – $2.2m payout
Playing in his second Masters tournament in 2015, the 21-year-old Jordan Spieth caught the eye of a Texan businessman who reportedly placed a $200,000 wager at odds of 10/1.
Spieth not only won the tournament but also set a new record for the lowest 36 and 54-hole scores in Masters history, which helped the Texan take home a payout of $2.2million.
You wouldn’t bet on Spieth to catch a cold given his current form.
Tiger Woods (2019 Masters) – $85,000 stake – $1.19m payout
Widely considered as one of the greatest comebacks in golf history, Tiger Woods’ victory at the 2019 Masters was his first major win since 2008.
Woods claimed his 15th major championship and fifth green jacket after returning from multiple back and knee surgeries.
Given he’d dropped out of the top 1000, odds of 14/1 to win were a bit skinny, but it was enough for one lucky punter to go for broke.
James Adducci dropped a $85,000 bet on Woods and walked away with a cool $1.19m, which is widely considered as William Hill largest US golf payout on a single bet.
Rory McIlroy (2014 Open) – £200 stake – £100,000 payout
McIlroy’s father Gerry was so convinced that his 16-year-old son would win the Open within ten years, that he and a friend stumped up £200 for a bet reportedly priced at 500/1.
Fathers betting on sons is probably one of the bookies’ more stable markets, and they’ve probably scooped millions from misty-eyed half-cut dads chucking down all sorts of cash on huge long shots.
But this one wasn’t a longshot, Gerry knew his son was going to be one of the world’s greatest golfers and by the time he turned pro in 2007 and started to win tournaments those 500/1 odds were looking foolish.
Rory made his dad sweat though. He didn’t win the Open until 2014, just inside the ten year deadline of the bet.
“This is the most expensive Open result since Tiger Woods’ heyday in 2006, but although we’re facing heavy losses, we can’t help but admire the foresight of Rory’s dad and his pals a decade ago,” said a spokesman from Ladbrokes.
“It’s not the first time a famous parent has taken us to the cleaners. Lewis Hamilton’s family and friends cashed in from bets placed when the F1 star was just nine years old.”
“Nine out of 10 times, these bets come to nothing, but on this occasion the punters definitely knew more than we did.”
Gerry and his friend weren’t the only McIlroy ‘insiders’ that won big on the Open victory. Another punter also from Rory’s hometown Holywood, made £50,000 after a £200 bet at 250/1 that he’d win the Open by the age of 50.
Stenson & Baddeley (2016 Open and Barbasol Championship) – stake $50 – payout $86,000
A well-known Australian golf gambler landed more than $86,000 on a risky 1700/1 double – Henrik Stenson to win the Open and Aaron Baddeley to take the Barbasol Championship in 2016.
The ‘Iceman’ was a fairly solid bet given he finished in the top three at the PGA Championship in 2013 and 2014, and a tied 4th at the 2014 US Open.
But Baddeley and the random Barbasol Championship in Kentucky was a huge gamble. The Aussie hadn’t won on the PGA Tour since 2011, and he only won this tournament via a play-off against a young South Korean, which brings us nicely on to…
Kim Si-woo (2017 Players Championship) stake – €100 each-way payout – €60,200
An anonymous Irish punter scooped a little over 60,000 euros after a random bet on 500/1 Korean outsider Kim Si-woo to win The Players Championship at Sawgrass.
It was the 21-year-old’s second PGA Tour win, having claimed the Wyndham Championship a year earlier, so maybe his odds should have been a touch shorter.
In a cringeworthy press release, bookies BoyleSports said: “Hats off to the Dublin savvy punter who picked Kim Si-woo to win the Players Championship at the massive odds of 500/1.
“The lucky punter certainly knows their golf and no doubt they will be able to afford plenty of four balls at the K Club after netting a whopping €60,200 from their €200 bet. We can certainly say this time that they got a hole in one over us and a little birdie told us that they are already enjoying spending their winnings.”
Four tour winners accumulator – £5 each-way stake – £14,898 payout
The kind of bet all recreational gamblers dream of. A cheeky each-way acca on the outright markets of four separate golf tournaments, placed on a boring Sunday evening as you watch the final round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am at the start of the season.
It sits gathering dust in your online account for a few months and you totally forget about it. Then, what do you know, it comes in and your account has never looked healthier.
One lucky punter predicted that Bryson DeChambeau would win LIV Golf Korea, Scottie Scheffler the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, Stewart Cink the Insperity Invitational and Haeran Ryu the Black Desert Championship.
William Hill said: “Predicting one outright winner is tough enough, but calling four across different tours is something special, and our customer was well-rewarded.
“The bettor’s combined selections landed at well over 2,000/1, securing a life-changing payout from a modest £10.16 ($13.55) stake.”
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