Rory McIlroy's dad waited ten years to win six-figure bet

Whoever offered odds of 500-1 on Rory McIlroy to win The Open made a big mistake.

Sure, McIlroy was 15 at the time - and it was his dad who placed the bet. But Gerry knew something the rest of the world didn't.

This kid was different. After receiving his first-ever golf club as a gift, a young McIlroy went to bed holding it perfectly.

He would beg his dad to play golf every day and became Holywood Golf Club's youngest member at the age of seven.

So by the time McIlroy turned 15 in 2004, his dad already knew he was going to be one of the best golfers in history.

But Ladbrokes didn't.

When Gerry walked into the bookies to place a £200 bet on his curly-haired, freckled son to win The Open by the time he was 26, they offered him a £100,000 return.

Just months later, McIlroy was already starting to make the bookies sweat.

He became the youngest-ever winner of both the West of Ireland Championship and the Irish Close Championship in 2005, then broke the course record at Royal Portrush as a 16-year-old in 2006.

The Northern Irishman burst onto the scene as a professional in 2007 and he was already playing in The Open three years after the bet was placed, finishing tied 42nd as the low amateur.

The same year, McIlroy became the youngest Affiliate Member in the history of the European Tour to earn a card.

By 2009, he had his first professional win when, at 19-years old, he won the Dubai Desert Classic and finished the year as the ninth best player in the world.

Suddenly, the 500-1 bet appeared to be a formality.

McIlroy surged to world No.1, winning the US Open in 2011 at the age of 22 and the PGA Championship the following year.

But success was slower to come by at The Open.

After missing the cut in 2013, McIlroy had one year left to get the job done - and his highest finish to that point was a tie for third at St Andrews in 2010.

As if by fate, McIlroy finally won golf's oldest championship in 2014, on his dad's last chance to win the bet.

And it wasn't only Gerry who profited. He split the winnings with a friend who provided half the stake - and another punter from Holywood made £50,000 after betting £200 at 250-1 that McIlroy would win The Open by 50.

A Ladbrokes spokesman said at the time: "As the family celebrations get under way there'll be an extra bottle or two of bubbly courtesy of the bookies.

"This is the most expensive Open result since Tiger Woods' 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. 

"It's not the first time a famous parent has taken us to the cleaners. Lewis Hamilton's family and friends cashed in from bets placed when the F1 star was just nine years old."

They added: "Nine out of 10 times, these bets come to nothing, but on this occasion the punters definitely knew more than we did."

McIlroy's dad was working two jobs when he placed the bet in 2004 - and it was a deserving reward for a devoted father.

Speaking about his efforts to mould McIlroy's passion for golf, Gerry once said: "From 12pm to 6pm I was a bartender at Holywood GC, then, after going home for tea, I'd return to the sports club from 7pm-midnight to work behind the bar.

"I am a working-class man and that's all I knew – to get the money we needed for Rory to be able to learn and compete at golf."

By 2014, the McIlroy family was not short of cash. These days, the 34-year-old is thought to be worth more than £200million.

But speaking after his victory at Hoylake, McIlroy considered the bet a symbol of the platform and belief given to him by his parents.

He said: "I don't think it matters so much to my dad any more, but the mates he did it with, I think they're a little happier. He's never reminded me. I knew that he'd done it. I'm not sure if it will pay out. If it does, it's a nice little bonus.

"The support of my parents has been incredible. Growing up and doing everything, the sacrifices that they made for me. But even up to this day they're the two people in this world that I can talk to anything about. I couldn't ask to have two better parents.

"They're there for me at the worst of times, like this time last year after missing the cut at Muirfield, or the best of times walking off as the champion golfer of the year this year. I can't speak highly enough of my parents. They're the best people in the world."

McIlroy returns to Royal Liverpool in 2023 as the clear favourite after his victory at the Scottish Open on Sunday.

In 2014, if anybody bet McIlroy would not win a major for nine years, the odds might've been even greater than 500-1.

Listen to all four days of The Open from Royal Liverpool on talkSPORT 2, starting on Thursday!