Punter Wins $1.2 Million From Tiger Woods Masters Bet
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Tiger Woods won his first major in 11 years on Sunday, and he was a picture of joy as he punched the air and roared with delight. Indeed, golf fans across the globe celebrated similarly, as one of the game's all-time greats collected his fifth green jacket.
But one fan watching on no doubt celebrated a fair bit more jubilantly than the rest. That's because the 43-year-old's triumph at the Augusta National earned them a whopping $1.2 million (£916,000).
The mystery US punter placed an $85,000 (£64,900) bet on Woods winning the Masters with William Hill, two days before the tournament teed off, winning the life-changing sum from the 14/1 odds.
I say 'life-changing', but presumably the unknown gambler had a fair bit of cash in the first place to put $85,000 on the veteran golfer. Still though... $1.2 million.
The payout is actually the most Willy Hill has ever forked out on a golf bet and Nick Bogdanovich, William Hill US director of trading, said it represented a 'painful day' for the company.
In a statement, he said: "It's great to see Tiger back. It's a painful day for William Hill - our biggest golf loss ever - but a great day for golf."
The bookies took the loss with good grace though, celebrating Woods' victory on Twitter.
:sunrise: 10 years, 9 months and 29 days
:alarm_clock: 564 weeks
:calendar_spiral:️ 3,954 days
:hourglass_flowing_sand: 94,896 hours
:watch: 5,673,760 minutes
⏱️ 341,625,600 seconds
TIGER :clap: WOODS :clap: HAS :clap: WON :clap: A :clap: MAJOR :clap: AGAIN :clap:#Masters2019 pic.twitter.com/ATcuREp9HZ
- William Hill (@WilliamHill) April 14, 2019
It didn't always look like the bookmakers were going to have to make the hefty payout though.
When the back nine started the punter was probably sweating a little bit, with Woods two shots behind Francesco Molinari and the Italian not looking in any danger of slipping up.
Molinari was on course for his second major in a year but Amen Corner had other ideas and he double bogeyed the 12th after going into the water.
By the time the pair got to the 15th there was a five-way tie for the lead but Molinari again went into the water, picking up a double bogey and ending his chances.
Ultimately though, Tiger made his way to the front of the pack and managed to hold his nerve to secure a historic victory.
The question now is whether Woods can catch up with Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors... Might be worth a flutter.
