Published: Friday, 25th July, 2008 08:00
£102k golf bet win simply divine
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A MYSTERY Haddington punter is £102,000 richer after God told him to back The Open golf champion Padraig Harrington.
The unnamed gambler stunned staff at his local Ladbrokes branch last Friday afternoon when he placed £3,000 on the Irishman to successfully defend the Claret Jug at odds of 33-1, declaring: “God has told me to back him.”
Harrington had started the championship week at Royal Birkdale as an outside bet for the title, having revealed he was nursing a wrist injury.
However, by the time he started his final round on Sunday, just two shots behind overnight leader Greg Norman, his odds had tumbled to 3-1.
The lucky gambler’s divine intervention led to what is believed to be the highest individual payout in the 40 years that Ladbrokes has been established in Haddington.
The winner, who has requested anonymity, was due to collect his money on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Market Street betting shop said: “We had more than 100 punters bet on The Open, but only a few backed Harrington.
“No-one else put down that amount of cash on a single golfer.
“We have never seen the winner in here before, but of course he could be a regular online gambler.”
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