The Action Network spoke with several of today’s top professional golfers to find out their favorite personal golf betting stories.
- Who: Rory McIlroy
- When: Last year
- Where: Seminole GC (North Palm Beach, Fla.)
Put two of the world’s best players together in a match against a couple of lifelong amateurs and you’d think the result is a done deal. That’s the beauty of golf, though. Handicaps can even out any match — even when it’s McIlroy and one of his fellow superstars on the same side.
“My dad and Jimmy Dunne played Justin Thomas and myself at Seminole.
“If my dad plays a tee up, I give him three shots a side; if he plays from the same tee, it’s four a side.
“I love beating my dad, and Jimmy will not let you hear the end of it if he beats you. But it’s hard at Seminole, because all their shots come at the end. They get shots at 15, 17 and 18.
“So, JT and I are in control of the match the whole way, then the boys just turn it on.
“They make a couple of birdie-net-eagles. My dad rolls in a 20-footer at the last for a 4-net-3 and beats us.
“Whoever loses pays for the caddies. And we know Jimmy pays the caddies really well, so if we lose, we have to pay a pretty good amount.
“I rarely play for big money. That’s just not me. I’m not into it.”
Other golf gambling stories from the Tour
- Adam Scott's Favorite Golf Gambling Story: Fred Couples, Phil Ivey and $10K
- Justin Thomas' Favorite Golf Gambling Story: 36 Holes With Michael Jordan
- Gary Woodland's Favorite Golf Gambling Story: $32K Riding on the Final Hole
- Kevin Kisner’s Favorite Golf Gambling Story: Side Action in the Final Round
- Tony Finau's Favorite Golf Gambling Story: A $500 Hole-In-One
- Paul Casey's Favorite Golf Gambling Story: A Winning Pitch vs. Lefty
- Marc Leishman's Favorite Golf Gambling Story: The International Hustle
- Rickie Fowler's Favorite Golf Gambling Story: 1-on-1 with Michael Jordan
- Zach Johnson's Favorite Golf Gambling Story: When Doubling Down Goes All Wrong
- Brendan Steele's Favorite Golf Gambling Story: Ratted Out for Winning Too Much
