McIlroy’s Masters Magic Helps William Hill Punter Turn £23 Bet Into £25k Mega Win

Golf Ball and Hole

Seeing a grown man instinctively drop to his knees, his body quaking with emotion… sport is still unbeaten when it comes to delivering scripts that Hollywood writers could only dream of.

Rory McIlroy had waited eleven years to complete the career grand slam of golf majors; a spell in which he’d failed to win any of the sport’s four most prestigious events.

Even the hardiest of souls could be forgiven for doubting whether it would ever happen for them, but not McIlroy. His play on Sunday at Augusta National veered from the scarcely believable to the downright terrible – such was the pressure he was under, but in the end the Northern Irishman was able to see off his Ryder Cup teammate, Justin Rose, in the first hole of a play-off.

For punters that had backed McIlroy at prices of around 8/1, it meant a late bedtime on Sunday – it was past half midnight by the time that he had slipped into the Green Jacket, the customary prize handed to The Masters champion. There would have been plenty of long faces at the office and shopfloor on Monday morning.

But it would have been worth it if you’d backed the winner… although the emotional rollercoaster of McIlroy’s victory must have been almost too much to bear for one William Hill customer, who backed the Northern Irishman to win alongside two other horse racing punts.

They were hoping to turn a £23.72 each way treble into a cool £25,000 payday…

Rockett Man

The punter in question, who has remained anonymous but is thought to reside in Ireland, dug deep into the ante post prices.

They backed Nick Rockett to win the Grand National earlier in April, while also calling on the 14/1 chance Godwinson to prevail in the Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster back in March.

And so the treble got up and running a few weeks ago on the opening day of the Flat season. A 22-horse field assembled for the Lincoln Handicap, with Midnight Gun – carrying James Doyle – and Thunder Run, saddled by Clifford Lee, the market favourites.

Godwinson, from William Haggas’ yard, went off at odds of 15/2, although our savvy punter’s ante post action saw them secure a rather more agreeable 14/1 on their selection.

Things were not looking particularly good when Godwinson found himself tangled up at the back of the pack in the one-mile race at Doncaster, but Cieren Fallon was able to go through the gears and find extra from his five-year-old mount.

With Midnight Gun fading, Godwinson stayed on nicely and was ridden out over the final throes, just about hanging on to win by a nose from the 22/1 outsider, Oliver Show.

With five million viewers on ITV and many more with bets on following on from their phones and tablets, you might not need a reminder of what unfolded at the Grand National a few weeks later.

Willie Mullins headed to Aintree well-stacked with another high-quality team of entries, with defending champion I Am Maximus prominent against the market principles once more.

But it was another Mullins horse, Nick Rockett, who stole the show as a 33/1 underdog, lasting the mammoth trip better than the rest to land a second consecutive Grand National triumph for the Irish trainer.

Once again, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Mullins broke down in tears after the race; his son, Patrick, was in the saddle for the famous victory, while the death of the horse’s owner Sadie back in 2022 added more poignancy to proceedings.

Irish Eyes

William Hill’s Irish punter must be a patriotic sort, having backed his countrymen Fallon and Mullins to come up with their famous wins.

And their treble was left in the hands of another, McIlroy, in a titanic edition of The Masters at Augusta National last week.

The 35-year-old started his first round beautifully, but a pair of late double bogeys appeared to have derailed his title chances.

But McIlroy’s class and temperament showed through as he posted rounds of 66 on both Friday and Saturday to lead Bryson DeChambeau by two shots heading into Sunday’s final round.

What followed was 18 holes of the most jaw-dropping golf, as McIlroy tested the boundaries of the sublime – particularly his stunning right-to-left wedges into the greens on 15 and 17 – and the ridiculous, when chipping into the water on 13.

A few late dragged putts condemned McIlroy to a play-off with Rose, who had already lost in extra time against Sergio Garcia in the 2017 edition of The Masters.

And he would be denied again as McIlroy, somehow, found the composure to hit excellent drives and approach shots to leave a short birdie putt, with which he made no mistake.

He finally got his hands on the Green Jacket… while our punter was able to turn £23.72 into a rather handy £25,548.