Tiger Woods - top scorer?
|
A Tyneside punter with William Hill has staked the world's biggest ever golf bet. He has placed £347,000 on the USA to win back the Ryder Cup at the K Club this weekend.
The bet will return a cool £753,000 if it's successful, having been placed at Hills odds of 6/5. The tipsters have USA as the underdogs with Europe going into the three-day event as 5/6 favourites for the first time. Odds at 9-1 on a drawn match, in which Europe will retain the Ryder Cup.
'This is a remarkable bet, " says Hills Graham Sharpe. "It's the biggest we or anyone else has ever taken on a golf event, let alone the Ryder Cup."
The tournament in which Europe's 12 top players take on the might of the USA, which includes the world's No.1, No.2 and No.3 in Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk, is set for a record betting turnover of around £25million.
A Hills client based in Ireland has already staked £80,000 on the USA and another from Surrey has bet £41,000 on Europe.
Hills have also taken a bet of £13,000 from a customer in South Wirral at odds of 2/9 that there will be no hole in one during the event, and offers 3/1 that there will be.
Following recent storms, odds of 9/2 that bad weather will force the Ryder Cup into Monday or beyond are being offered and 16/1 that it will wipe out an entire day's play on any of the three scheduled days (Friday to Sunday).
Darren Clarke has been well backed to sink the winning putt of the Ryder Cup at odds of 20/1.
"There would not be a dry eye on the course.' said Sharpe.
Hills make Europe 10/11 favourites, with the Americans 11/10 and the tie 9/1. Woods is 66/1 to hole in one, with 3/1 that anyone will do it. Woods has also been backed at 5-2 to top score for the USA. Sergio Garcia (9/2) is rated the best Europe scorer.
Top European scorers: 5/1 Garcia; 6 Donald; 7 Montgomerie; Harrington; 15/2 Casey; 9 Howell (from 11) ; 10 Westwood (from 12);11 Clarke, 12 Stenson; 14 Olazabal; 18 Karlsson; 25 McGinley.
Top USA scorers: 2/1 Woods; 4/1 Furyk; 6/1 Mickelson; 13/2 DiMarco; 10 Toms;11 Cink; 20 Campbell; 25 Verplank; Johnson; 33 Henry; Taylor; 50 Wetterich.
Bad weather was expected to disrupt the opening ceremony but the skies cleared for it to go ahead on time, watched by giant crowds.
.gif)
