Rory McIlroy’s British Open Championship win on Sunday at Royal Liverpool Golf Club came with an added bonus for his father Gerry McIlroy, as he won a bet placed 10 years ago.
Ladbrokes Spokeswoman Rachel Bridge confirmed to ESPN that it had three bets on Rory McIlroy that it would pay out to the winners. One of the bets, a 200-pound wager ($341) was placed by Gerry back in 2004, had Rory winning the Open Championship by the age of 25 (before he turns 26, if there’s any confusion) at 500/1 odds. Whether it was a case of luck, foresight, or an incredible combination of both, McIlory’s father won his bet on the last possible Open for Rory, now 25, was eligible for that specific prop.
McIlroy’s victory sees him join Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win three majors by the age of 25.
In addition to Gerry, a couple of his friends also scored huge paydays from Ladbrokes after cashing in their own future bets on Rory. One of the bets was a 200-pound ($341) wager at 250/1 odds back in 2005 that Rory would win the Open Championship within ten years while another 200-pound ($341) wager at 150/1 odds had him winning the Open before age 50.
Altogether, Gerry McIlroy and his pals scooped up close to 200,000 pounds, or about $341,730, from all the bets they made when Rory McIlroy was a 15-year old prodigy.
While everyone in the McIlroy household is toasting and chugging Jägermeister to Rory’s first Open title, Ladbrokes found itself with a massive losses (believed to be around 2.5 million pounds, or about $4.27 million) it incurred after Rory’s Open victory.
“This is the most expensive Open result since Tiger’s 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,” Bridge said in a statement to Bloomberg.
