BBM has never really understood why dads put bets on their young sons to win major sporting events when they become adults.
If your son grows up to win Wimbledon or captain England at a World Cup, chances are you’re not going to be short of a few bob by that stage. Not unless your professional athlete son is an utter tight-arse. In other words, if you put a bet on your son to find sporting glory in later life, you’re basically banking on him turning into Scrooge McDuck, hoarding his money away from his loved ones in a giant money pit which doubles as a swimming pool.
Still, BBM’s jaded bitterness probably won’t bother Gerry McIlroy, father of Rory McIlroy, too much. When his son won the 143rd British Open at Royal Liverpool last month, it landed him $180,000 following a 500-1 bet he put on a decade ago that a 15-year-old Rory would eventually hold aloft the claret jug.
“Although we’re facing heavy losses we can’t help but admire the foresight of Rory’s dad and his pals a decade ago,” said a spokesperson for the British bookmakers. Two friends of Rory’s father also collected nearly $145,000 from a similar wager. “They are all going to be very happy,” said Rory. “My dad has never reminded me but I knew he’d done it – it’s a nice little bonus.”
If he’d really had foresight, Rory’s dad could have got odds of 1000-1 that his ugly son would eventually bang Caroline Wozniacki. And the odds of Rory being the one to end it would have been astronomical.

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