Golfing punters have never had it so good

Richard Gillis on how golf has encouraged a new breed of punter who sits at home in front of the television, with laptop at the ready, waiting for the right moment to have a bet.

Golf sits among the top three or four gambling sports in Ireland, although a long way behind racing and soccer.

The game commands less than 10 per cent of the sports book market, according to Brian Cusack of Paddy Power. The options available to the sports gambler have increased with the introduction of betting exchanges such as Betfair, which allow punters to bet against each other rather than against the traditional bookie. The result of this shift in structure means punters have the ability to bet for (back) or bet against (lay) a golfer and the chance to "trade" a position, much like one would buy and sell a stock on a stock exchange.

And regardless of the choice of bookmaker, much of the betting on the Open will take place once the event is up and running. Live or "in-play" betting, mainly via the internet, has added an edge to traditional sports book gambling and created a new generation of punters armed with laptops and mobile phones who will spend Sunday afternoon in front of the TV taking positions as the action unfolds.

In last year's British Open, over 85 per cent of trade on the main outright winner market on Betfair was done during the tournament, or "in-play". This year, that percentage is expected to rise even higher, particularly if it's a close-run event with a few big-name players in contention on Sunday afternoon.

The dramatic final day of the US Open at Winged Foot offered a glimpse of how fortunes can be won and lost by betting in real time. "Going into the last two holes at Winged Foot, eventual winner Geoff Ogilvy was being backed at 199 to 1 on Betfair," says golf betting analyst Jeremy Chapman. The Australian chipped in on 17 and went on to get a great up and down on the final hole, making him clubhouse leader on 5 over par.

However, out on the course Mickelson was two shots clear and trading at 13 to 1 on with two to play. He then hit the first of three wayward tee-shots, hitting the roof of a corporate hospitality tent. Betting was immediately suspended while it was discovered where his ball had landed.

Mickelson escaped with bogey. Meanwhile Colin Montgomerie holed a snaking 30-foot putt up ahead on the 17th to tie for the lead. Immediately a secondary market opened taking bets on Monty to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Standing in the middle of the 18th fairway with an eight iron in his hand Montgomerie was priced at 1 to 3 to win and Mickelson had drifted to 4 to 5.

The records show that the two big names double-bogeyed the 18th, leaving Ogilvy to take the trophy while watching on TV in the clubhouse. It was a win that Ladbrokes estimates saved the UK and Ireland betting industry over €4 million.

Mickelson's errant driving down the stretch cost one Ladbrokes punter a €695,000 payday. The bet was a £1450 (€2105) patent on Sir Percy winning the Epsom Derby, Westmead Hawk landing the Greyhound Derby and Mickelson to win the US Open.

And a legacy of Montgomerie's near miss has been a renewed interest in his chances of winning a major. Monty has come in from 50 to 1 to 25 to 1 on SkyBet for this week's British Open Championship.

The British Open comes quick on the heels of a World Cup which generated well over a billion euro across the UK and Ireland gambling industry. Aided by technological advances, sports betting is enjoying enormous growth and the online market is one of the fastest growing sectors in British and Irish business life.

Since 2001, according to research by Nottingham Trent University, there has been a seven-fold increase in betting in the UK, amounting to €73 billion a year, or more than €1,160 per person.

It's a cash bonanza that has created a conundrum for sports governing bodies, one that can be seen in the contrasting attitudes displayed by golf's major rights holders.

"The European Tour has always seen the betting industry as a business opportunity," says Jeremy Chapman, noting the enthusiasm shown by the Tour to bookmakers such as Ladbrokes and Victor Chandler becoming event sponsors.

However, there will be no bookmakers to be found at the Royal Liverpool course this week. "The Royal and Ancient (which owns the rights to The Open Championship) has always been very much against, they don't think that golf and betting go together."

Try telling that to the punters on Padraig Harrington this week, particularly if he takes possession of the claret jug come Sunday afternoon.

Wide Open Market

If the betting markets are any guide, and they often are, this week's British Open Championship is well named. In fact it's wide open. Phil Mickelson apart, the form of the other members of golf's big five, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen, is patchy at best.

So, although Woods will start as favourite, his price has drifted on Paddy Power from 5 to 1 to 11 to 2 following his first ever missed cut in a Major, at the US Open at Winged Foot. "He's very uneasy in the market," says Brian Cusack, lead golf trader at Paddy Power.

His lack of match practice since has persuaded some brave souls to back him to make it two in a row: Woods is 7 to 1 to miss the cut this time around.

Mickelson, this season's Major championship form horse is second favourite at 12 to 1 with Paddy Power. He comes to Liverpool after winning The Masters and tying second for the US Open, but has a relatively poor record on British links courses. This is making him easy to ignore for Ireland's growing number of golf punters who sense a killing to be made by picking a high price winner from the rest of the field.

To this end, the odds on a maiden Major championship victory for Padraig Harrington are shortening by the day. Some of this can be put down to patriotism. However, enthusiasm for the Dubliner's chances is not confined to Ireland as Ladbrokes in the UK announced that last week they received a £5000 (€7261) bet on him at 25 to 1.

"Harrington is the big one, there is an industry wide move for him because he's playing well and has a good Open record," says Cusack.

Paddy Power's liability on a Harrington win "runs well into high six figures" which explains his rapid fall in price, from 30 to 1 to 20 to 1.

Most bookies are extending each-way bets to include a top six finish. Darren Clarke appears decent value. "Clarke is being taken as a good each-way bet because people are wondering, with his off-course problems, whether he has the practice rounds behind him to go all the way," says Eoin Ryan of Betfair. "He is 43 to 1 on the exchanges, a price that has remained fairly static. Punters are feeling that he just isn't firing on full cylinders."

Paul McGinley's price hovers from 100 to 1 on Paddy Power out to 125 to 1 on William Hills in the UK, and up to 139 to 1 on Betfair. The prices reflect an ordinary Open record and a recent battle against injury. However, some punters may take him each-way given his recent rally at the K Club. "These prices would be massive for a player of his quality if he was back to his best," says Betfair's Ryan.

Similarly, Americans Jim Furyk at 33 to 1 and Freddie Couples (125 to 1) are seen as having a puncher's chance around a links requiring a cool head as much as length. Last year's US Open champion Michael Campbell is also looking reasonable value at 50 to 1.

Ryan estimates that Irish punters will have a choice of up to 50 different categories of market. These will include top player from UK and Ireland, top American or best Australasian player. Those with an inside track on the vagaries of the weather in North West England will be tempted to put a few euro on the winning final score. Taking players to make the cut or estimates as to the number of putts they make over the four days of competition will also attract interest.

"You can bet on anything but the colour of Ian Poulter's trousers," says golf betting analyst Jeremy Chapman,who estimates that around €30million will be placed overall.