Sports Betting: Bookies Relieved As Tiger Loses Out

William Hill and other bookmakers celebrate surprise victory for YE Yang in Minnesota.

Bookmakers were celebrating the avoidance of a major payout last night (August 16th) after Tiger Woods narrowly failed in his bid to win the US PGA Championship.

The world's number one golfer started the final round in Minnesota with a two-shot lead but was eventually beaten by unheralded South Korean YE Yang, who finished three strokes in front to claim the title.

William Hill was one of the many sports betting firms breathing a sigh of relief following Yang's victory, as punters had placed over £300,000 on Woods to win, with bets of £32,000, £20,000 and £12,000 coming in during the latter stages of the tournament.

"We very rarely take on Tiger, but could not resist this time round and it could so easily have gone wrong," said Rupert Adams, spokesperson for the bookmaker.

"Sunday looked likely to be a disastrous day for us with Liverpool and Tiger victories set to cost us a seven-figure sum - instead we had a ripper of a weekend."

Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 victory over Liverpool at White Hart Lane also saved the bookmaker a sizeable payout, as a large number of punters had backed all of the Premier League's 'Big Four' to win their opening games of the season.

Paddy Power is now taking bets on which golfers will win a major next year, with Woods priced at 4/9, Lee Westwood available at 8/1 and Vijay Singh an 11/1 bet.