It was a pretty unbelievable Sunday of golf, as fans watched 50-year-old Phil Mickelson, in the words of CBS’s Jim Nantz, “defeat Father Time,” defying the odds and winning at Kiawah Island.
Speaking of those odds! Lefty was a longshot heading into Thursday, with some reports of odds as big as 300/1 and many at 250/1. I certainly wouldn’t have put money down on him even with those odds — he had missed a bunch of cuts and hadn’t finished inside the top 20 (in a PGA Tour event) in a loooong time.
So here’s a look at some bettors who cashed in big time after Mickelson’s win:
Just $80 turned into $24,000
I mean, WOW.
Congrats Phil Mickelson and everyone who bet on the long odds.
Biggest bet here @betonline_ag was $80 at 300-1 for a $24,000 profit. pic.twitter.com/wBXObpZmoU
— Dave Mason (@DaveMasonBOL) May 23, 2021
How about a $37,500 victory?
This was at 150/1 but that’s still amazing:
One bettor at @PointsBetUSA placed a $250 bet on Phil Mickelson (+15000 pre-tournament) to win the @PGAChampionship.
The bet would win $37,500. Lefty currently has a 4-shot lead. 👀 pic.twitter.com/XkLbSp2gNn
— NBC Sports EDGE Betting (@NBCSportsBet) May 22, 2021
$300 became $84,300
My. Goodness.
One customer placed a $300 pre-tournament bet on Phil Mickelson to win the #PGAChampionship
That bettor will be paid out $84,300 🤯 pic.twitter.com/FJWjUtpil9
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) May 23, 2021
Thanks, Phil, for the $300,000
BOOM.
Phil Mickelson (300-1) becomes the older major champion ever, winning the #PGAChampionship.
Biggest bet I heard: $1,000 at 300-1 odds on Mickelson to win at @DKSportsbook
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) May 23, 2021
Another big winner
I would not have the guts to bet this much on Lefty.
Major magic for this bettor 😮
Flipped $400 into $60.4K on Phil Mickelson. 💰
(IG: benzo1714 | @bet365) pic.twitter.com/HKwuKTBQYf
— GolfBet (@GolfBet) May 24, 2021
This parlay is WILD
Sooooo this happened…
A bettor won $61K by parlaying a Lebron Performance Double and Phil Mickelson together.
How on earth 🤯
(IG: yockonyc/@fdsportsbook) pic.twitter.com/gkVrMCanhP
— br_betting (@br_betting) May 24, 2021
Really glad this bettor didn't cash out
WHEW.
Hey remember my tweet about the @PointsBetUSA client who debated a cashout on Phil? Story has a happy ending. Cheers @MattPerno pic.twitter.com/CBSSajZ4wL
— Teddy Greenstein (@TeddyGreenstein) May 24, 2021
Sportsbooks in general lost money
We lost low six figures overall [in Nevada],” William Hill assistant director of trading Adam Pullen told ESPN. “We lost over a million dollars when Tiger won the Masters a few years ago. I think this is probably the second-biggest [golf] loss after Tiger that we’ve had.”
DraftKings, BetMGM and PointsBet also suffered overall net losses on the PGA Championship, the books said. BetMGM sportsbook director Jason Scott characterized the company’s nationwide net loss on the tournament as a “little less” than seven figures.
