Tour News
McIlroy’s Dad Wins $171,000 Bet on Son
Rory McIlroy is winning big these days, and not just for himself.
The Northern Irishman opened the final round of the 2014 Open Championship with a six-shot lead, and while his margin was shaved to two on multiple occasions, he breezed home to a two-stroke victory and his third major championship.
He has now won the U.S. Open, PGA Championship and Open Championship, all by the age of 25. And apparently not a moment sooner.
As the golfing media has notified the public all weekend, McIlroy’s father, Gerry, and three of his friends bet on Rory winning the Open Championship.
But it wasn’t at the 14/1 odds bookies marked McIlroy at in the beginning of the week. They didn’t even wager on this particular Open Championship.
Instead, Gerry and the gang placed a bet on Rory back in 2004, when the 15-year-old Holywood lad was beginning to rip it up on the amateur scene. A father believed in his son’s talent and, as originally reported, he and his friends placed a 400-pound wager at 500/1 odds that Rory would win the Open Championship by the age of 25.
Well, McIlroy turned 25 this year in May and there has been some confusion as to whether that still makes him eligible, but it was later confirmed that the bet was still solid until he turned 26. That meant the 2014 Open was Rory’s last chance to do good for his father and friends, and he absolutely delivered.
Rory raised the Claret Jug Sunday and, at the reported conditions, his dad and friends raked in 200,000 pounds (roughly $340,000) from their decade-old gamble. And in case any of you are looking to poke holes in a feel good story, Rory admitted to knowing about the wager and clarified that his father had not once brought it up to him in the 10 years since the gamble was posted.
But there is one caveat: The reported figures involved were not entirely correct.
In the aftermath of McIlroy’s win, ESPN’s Darren Rovell sought to confirm the details of this wager and offered us his findings.
The gist of what he discovered—via a spokesperson for Ladbrokes, the British betting firm that McIlroy’s father and his friends made wagers with—involved minor discrepancies from previous information.
Earlier reports stated that in 2004 each of the four parties bet 100 pounds at 500/1. But the real breakdown proved to be slightly different. There was actually a singular 200-pound bet—believed to be laid down by papa McIlroy—made in 2004 at 500/1 odds that Rory would win an Open by age 26. With the 25-year-old winning this week, the bet will pay out $171,000.
The sizable wager was the only one that depended on Rory capturing golf’s oldest tournament by this year. There were two other bets put down in 2005, allegedly placed by the father’s friends. One was 200-pounds at 250/1 odds that McIlroy would win an Open Championship by 2015, with the other being a 200-pound bet at 150/1 odds that the then-teenager would prove victorious in the Open before age 50. Combined, these two will pay out $136,700. Add that to the $171,000, and the total from the three bets is $307,700, more than $30,000 less than originally reported.
Of course this is all semantics, as the figures remain massive and the whole charade displays an outstanding foresight into a child’s talents. McIlroy certainly was no shlub at the time of the wagers, and his father even noticed that the bookies were starting to catch onto the young lad’s skill.
But this was all before McIlroy ever attained No. 1 status in the world amateur rankings, which he did in 2007, or really introduced himself on the international stage with a strong first round and silver medal showing at that year’s Open Championship.
Whatever the case, our memories are failing us a little here, as we are somewhat rehashing old news. Information on this bet wasn’t widely disseminated before, yet it came up during the 2011 U.S. Open, when McIlroy captured his first major and suddenly looked highly capable of earning father and friends the big bucks.
If we are going on pure money term these are the most impressive bets ever made on McIlroy. They aren’t the only notable ones though.
When McIlroy was simply an unknown lad at Holywood golf club in the early 2000s, he played with a man who quickly became so enamored with young Rory’s talent, that he immediately went to bet on the teenager’s golfing future.
The wager? That McIlroy, at 500-1 odds, would win a major by the age of 25. He received his payout a decade later following the 2011 U.S. Open, a 25,000-pound ($36,000) killing for a 50-pound ($72) investment. The man remained anonymous following his successful and unbelievably prescient gamble.
All in all, it’s a pretty grand old story, even if the details were a bit confused. Such gambling may be obvious in hindsight. But according to the Ladsbroke representative from Rovell’s story, of the approximate 600 wagers made on offspring winning, known as “special odds requests,” every two years, only one comes through in the end.
With that, it’s probably not wise for these men to push their luck. A 2015 Masters wager appears enticing, with the Career Grand Slam opportunity, McIlroy’s obvious fit with the course and his record there minus the blowup rounds.
One fortunate pull might be enough though. A major championship win, a millionaire pay day and an extra $300,000 on the side: A day at the office that nobody may ever beat.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tony
Jul 28, 2014 at 6:05 pm
Well done Mr. McIlroy!
Pingback: McIlroy’s Dad Wins $171,000 Bet on Son | Spacetimeandi.com
paul
Jul 20, 2014 at 9:15 pm
Maybe I should bet on my kid winning a major in the next 25 years… He is 2 years old and pretty good with a wedge.
MHendon
Jul 20, 2014 at 8:46 pm
Well good for his dad but my guess is he didn’t need it. I’m sure Rory’s already been taking care of dear ol’ dad.