Rory’s Last Shot: 2013 Open Championship McIlroy’s Last Chance to Cash Father’s Wager

Rory’s Last Shot: 2013 Open Championship McIlroy’s Last Chance to Cash Father’s Wager
Gerry McIlroy Placed a Bet 10 Years Ago that His Son Would Win an Open. Muirfield is His Last Chance

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Chris Chaney July 16, 2013 8:55 PM

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The big bet on Rory expires this year at the Open Championship




COMMENTARY | Rory McIlroy has been billed as a golfing prodigy since he was in diapers.

Not unlike his childhood hero, McIlroy peddled his wares at a young age in front of a national television audience, hitting golf balls into a washing machine on "Kelly," a talk and variety show broadcast in his native Northern Ireland.

Just five years later, an astute gambler placed a bet after playing a round of golf against the young McIlroy, getting 500-1 odds on a £50 bet that McIlroy would win a major championship before the age of 25.

In 2011, that £50 turned into £25,000 as McIlroy waxed the field at Congressional Country Club, winning the US Open by eight shots. Odds against McIlroy winning another major following his US Open triumph have rarely soared to double-digits-to-one and with good reason. McIlroy is only one of two players in the last five years to win multiple major championships.

Gerry McIlroy and three other friends, keen on Rory's talents from an early age, also levied a wager on the then-15-year-old's behalf before his star shone too brightly. Already gaining status as one of Europe's finest junior players, a bookie was still willing to take 500-1 odds at £100 a piece that McIlroy wouldn't win an Open Championship before his 25th birthday.

"That was all the bookies would let us put on, £100 apiece," Gerry said following his son's breakthrough at Congressional. "But that bet is looking better and better."

Now, at the age of 24 and ranked by Forbes as the 21st highest-paid athlete, reportedly bringing in just shy of $30 million a year in on-course earnings and endorsements, the £50,000 Gerry McIlroy stands to win is not quite the chunk of change it once was when he and his wife were working multiple jobs to support their burgeoning son's ambition.

However, the show-of-good-faith bet made by Gerry and his three friends would be a welcomed payout perhaps in terms of Rory's confidence more so than the fattening of the quartet's wallets.

A disappointing 2013 season to this point by his astronomical standards, McIlroy has yet to raise a trophy on either side of the pond and has been dogged by armchair psychiatrists as to possible reasons for his less-than stellar performance.


The most common prognostication is the equipment switch McIlroy made to start the season, trading in his Titleist sticks for the newest Nike had to offer.

According to many, including three-time Champion Golfer of the Year and two-time Muirfield victor Nick Faldo, the switch was a "dangerous" move.

McIlroy has downplayed any equipment shortcomings that may have affected his sluggish start and feels coming into the Open this week that he has gotten all the pieces figured out.

Most notably, McIlroy said he has sorted out his driver problems following a missed cut at the Irish Open. "I went over to London after the Irish Open, tried a few drivers with different settings and as soon I hit it I said, 'This is the one.' It feels great," McIlroy told the Irish Golf Desk.

The next question that arises will be if he even needs to use his new "it" club this week at firm and fast Muirfield. Described by most accounts as a 7,192-yard layout that rarely, if ever requires the big stick, McIlroy, a longer hitter already, will be forced to dial back his power off the tee in order to position himself more favorably coming into the greens.

At 20-1 odds to win this week at most books, McIlroy will have to put together his best week of 2013 to cash his father's 500-1, 10-year-old bet.

And while the £50,000 pay day would be icing on the cake for Gerry McIlroy should his boy be holding the Claret Jug come Sunday night, an even safer bet would be that most of the rumblings about a poor equipment decision would be quelled.

Chris Chaney is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based sportswriter. He has written for multiple outlets including WrongFairway.com, Hoopville.com, The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer and The Clermont (OH) Sun.

Follow him on Twitter @Wrong_Fairway.

Phil Mickelson brings secret putting tips to British

Phil Mickelson brings secret putting tips to British


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PGA.COM July 16, 2013 11:58 PM

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"I am really optimistic about this week and going forward because I'm starting to putt as well as I …


By Tim Dahlberg, Associated Press

GULLANE, Scotland -- The pain of yet another excruciating loss at the U.S. Open has faded, replaced now by the euphoria of his first win in Europe in 20 years. Phil Mickelson's summer has been a lot like his career, and the roller coaster shows no signs of slowing down.

He's here with what he believes may be his best chance to win an Open Championship, though that's nothing new. Mickelson always believes, even when the drives are going sideways and the 3-footers are lipping out.

But he won the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open on Sunday and that was a big boost for a player who hasn't had much success on this side of the pond. And he did it in typical Mickelson fashion, winning in a playoff after blowing his first chance to win with a cringe-inducing three-putt on the final hole of regulation.

He's not terribly worried about his game at the Muirfield links. Not with a new putting technique he prefers to keep secret -- this is Phil Mickelson, of course -- and a 3-wood he can control better than any driver.

What does worry him is his luck, important in any golf tournament but especially critical in links golf.

"It's part of the tournament here," Mickelson said. "You need an element of luck, but you also need to play some great golf. These last few months I've played well enough to get in contention and play well, but I do need some luck."

On a course playing fast and hard, Mickelson put a little more money in his wallet Tuesday, pairing with Ricky Fowler to win a practice round match against Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka. The stakes were said to be substantial, and Mickelson ended the match by hitting a hybrid to the par-5 17th hole for a two-putt birdie that he and Fowler studied as hard as they might on Sunday in the Open.

If that was a good sign for Mickelson he wasn't saying. But he clearly feels at the top of his game, and seems to have gotten over his disappointment of finishing second for the sixth time last month at the U.S. Open.

"I am really optimistic about this week and going forward because I'm starting to putt as well as I ever have," Mickelson said. "I putted great last week, and more than that, I've been putting well now for months."


The reason, Mickelson said, is something he figured out after several years of trying, among other things, a belly putter and some unusual grips with the flat stick. Though famous for tinkering with everything with his golf game, Mickelson prefers to keep his latest revelation to himself.

"I feel that I've kind of keyed in on something, and I don't really want to share," he said.

Mickelson's lack of success in the British parallels his troubles at the U.S. Open except that he has rarely been in contention here. He finished tied for second two years ago after making a final round charge but for the most part he has struggled on the kind of courses that reward shots played closer to the ground and play much differently than the courses Mickelson normally plays on the PGA Tour.

Wind, hard ground, and deep bunkers are the trademarks of a links style course. And links courses like Royal Muirfield have given Mickelson fits over the years.

"It's a hate/love," Mickelson said when asked to describe his thoughts about links golf. "I used to hate it and now I love it."

Just how he'll feel about it on Sunday depends on whether he can find a way to not only win his first British Open but do it the week after he won another tournament. Mickelson accomplished the double before, winning the Bell South and then the Masters in 2006.

"It's difficult to win the week before a major and then follow it up winning a major," Mickelson said. "But, then again, the last person to do it, you're looking at him."

Uh, not exactly. Tiger Woods won the week before he won the PGA Championship in 2007, making him the last person to pull it off.

Forgive Mickelson if he's a bit off on his golf history. Some of it -- at least the part about his play in 19 previous British Open -- might be easier to forget. So might all his runner-up finishes in the other Open he hasn't been able to win.

No, his summers haven't all been good. Nothing that won't change, though, if he's the one holding the winner's claret jug this time around.

©2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press.

Koepka"s master plan takes path around globe

Koepka"s master plan takes path around globe

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PGA.COM July 17, 2013 12:22 AM

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Ex-Florida State star Brooks Koepka envisions himself playing regularly on both major tours.(Getty …


By Jim Litke, Associated Press

GULLANE, Scotland -- There's a reason Brooks Koepka is the best young American golfer you've never heard of.

It has less to do with his game than his passport. TheFlorida native has collected four wins, but also 48 pages of government stamps and almost as many adventures in the last 10 months while playing in 11 different countries. His 2013 season-opening itinerary included India, South Africa and Kenya.

And don't even ask about the horsemeat dinner in Kazakhstan. Or cobbling together connecting flights between Tenerife and Prague.

"The road's not for everyone," Koepka said with a laugh. "You have to get used to being away, and being alone. It can be tough. Pretty much all you have is golf.

"But getting to see the world at 23," he added, "that's pretty cool."

The extended road trip became part of a master plan Koepka hatched after missing the cut at last year's U.S. Open, then turning pro and failing to get through qualifying school for the PGA Tour. Like his friend and sometimes roommate Peter Uihlein, he pounced on the opportunity for four guaranteed starts on the European Challenge Tour, the European Tour's minor-league circuit. So much so that he and Uihlein have a running bet -- whoever wins a tournament has to buy a jet ski for the house they share in Florida.

Koepka won for the first time last September in Spain, and instead of being flustered by language and culture, he decided to sample them and started ordering off the menu. He earned his European Tour card after winning three Challenge Tour events already this year, and the mad dash that was necessary for Koepka to make it into this Open Championship pretty much encapsulates his brief pro career.

After capturing the Scottish Hydro Challenge near Inverness in late June, Koepka decided to try Open qualifying in London. The original plan was to drive all the way, but the car blew a tire late at night near Edinburgh. Koepka caught a few hours sleep in a hotel, then a 6:30 a.m. flight to Heathrow Airport, arriving atSunningdale Golf Club with just enough time to stretch. Even so, he shot 69-65 to take medalist's honors and book his place in the field here.

"The kid is impressive in lots of ways," said teaching pro Butch Harmon, whose son, Claude, works with Koepka when he's back home in Florida. "He's consistent. He's a fast learner, but he's smart enough not to try to do things on the golf course that he doesn't know how to do. Claude's been raving about his ball-striking for months.

"More impressive is the route he's taking. Lots of guys come out of college and if they don't get through Q-School, they take the most familiar path -- the mini-tours back home. Over here," Harmon continued, "nearly every tournament is in a different country, with a different language. Just lining up visas can be a challenge. It shows a lot of maturity in a very short time."


You could say the same about the group Koepka joined for his practice round Tuesday. He and Dustin Johnson played Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler in what's generally acknowledged as the tour's most competitive -- and expensive -- pre-tournament round.

"That's another thing about him," said Harmon, who counts Johnson among his clients, has worked with Mickelson and tagged along with the group. "When they told Brooks the number (the ante for the match), he didn't flinch."

Whatever the number, it's in Mickelson's pocket now. The left-hander, who won last week at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, made a birdie putt at No. 14 to pull his side with one in the match-play game, then ham-and-egged his way in with Fowler to close the match out at the 17th.

"The chance to pick these guys' brains on how to get around courses like this -- where to leave it, different ways to play the wind -- is going to make me a better player down the road.

"So it was worth it," Koepka said. "Almost."

Either way, he made sure to get his money's worth. Koepka played his college golf at Florida State, but unlike Mickelson, he didn't set the golf world on fire as an amateur. On a family trip to the Masters some 15 years ago, the then-8-year-old chased Mickelson out to the parking lot hoping to get an autograph.

"He was in a hurry to get to his car," Koepka recalled. "He said, `Catch me tomorrow.' I never got the autograph. Reminded him about that a couple of times since."

"We laughed about that today," Mickelson said sheepishly, then ticked off a handful of Koepka's shots from the round that stood out.

"His ball-striking is extremely solid," Mickelson summed up. "He's a wonderful putter. I can see why he earned his right to get on the European Tour so quickly."

Yet Koepka's ambitions hardly end there. He envisions himself playing regularly on both major tours, eventually earning the luxury of picking his spots the way Mickelson, Tiger Woods and a handful of golf's other big stars do.

"That's a long way off," Koepka said, "but it's been an interesting ride so far. I've seen more crazy weather in a few months than I'd seen before in my entire life. Some of the adventures have been good, some not so good. I miss my family and friends sometimes, and once or twice, I've been sick of playing golf.

"But if you're looking for a little bit of flavor to go with your game," he said, motioning over his shoulder at the scudding gray clouds rolling across Muirfield, "this is awfully tough to beat."