Weekend Review: US PGA Championship shock fills bookies' satchels
100/1 outsider Jimmy Walker's one-shot victory at Baltusrol tops-off a strong weekend for the layers
Jimmy Walker’s shock victory at the US PGA Championship was the highlight of the weekend that went very much in favour of the bookies.
The outsider’s maiden major title proved popular with most firms, in particular with Unibet which priced Walker at 100/1.
“Jimmy Walker’s victory was good for the book, the 100/1 shot was hardly touched and we cashed in,” said Unibet’s William Vickery. “We weren’t too nervous after Day’s last gasp eagle as he would have also been a positive for us.”
And Ladbrokes’ Jessica Bridge couldn’t hide her delight with the American’s surprise one-shot win at Baltusrol.
“It’s not every day you get a 100/1 winner of a golf major so we have no complaints over Walker’s win this weekend as the satchel is overflowing with coppers,” she said.
“The places could have been better if we are being greedy â [Branden] Grace was a very bad result as he was incredibly popular pre-tournament,” she added.
Betfred also said Walker’s victory was a “good result” for the firm, however, Betway was one of the few to have its fingers burnt. “Jimmy Walker was not a great result for us as he was very well backed, especially in-play,” said Betway’s Alan Alger.
With golf making its return to the Olympics next week, Ladbrokes expects interest to be high despite the negativity surrounding its comeback to the event.
“Despite the criticism from various parties, the bookies are at least looking forward to golf’s participation at the Olympics next week, and we’re expecting it will deliver stakes in line with regular tour events, so we’ll be looking to dangle the carrot for golf punters with price boosts and offers,” said Bridge.
Elsewhere, the firm saw year-on-year turnover increase for the Challenge Cup semi-finals, benefiting from live coverage on the BBC and very little sport on free-to-view TV.
Despite gaining on Wigan Warriors’ defeat to Hull FC, Warrington-based Betfred was not pleased to see its local club smash Wakefield to advance to the final.
“We lost big time on Warrington Wolves because they hammered Wakefield more than we expected, so at the end of the day we were only slightly up,” said Betfred’s Peter Spencer.
The firm now has Warrington Wolves slight favourites to win the Ladbrokes-sponsored Challenge Cup final later this month.
But while results proved favourable in the golf and rugby league, Betfred made a big loss in the Scottish League Cup with one punter netting just under £58,000 after correctly predicting three scores.
Fifty four-year-old Steve Sales bet just £1.40 on Dundee, Inverness and Ross County all to win 7-0, in what Betfred boss Fred Done described as one of the most “incredible” bets he’s seen.