A 10-year-old bet: How McIlroy's Open win made his father $340,000 richer

Rory McIlroy was not the only winner at the British Open on Sunday. The BBC said McIlroy’s father, Gerry, and three of Gerry’s friends placed a combined bet of 400 pounds (now $680) in 2004 on McIlroy winning the British Open before he turned 26. McIlroy was 15 at the time of the wager and is now 25. The odds were 500-1, so the syndicate looks to collect 200,000 pounds ($340,000) now that McIlroy has lifted the claret jug. [caption id=“attachment_1627275” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] McIlroy was 15 at the time of the wager and is now 25. Reuters[/caption] “I’m immensely proud of myself,” McIlroy said after his two-shot victory Sunday that was never really in doubt. “To sit here, 25 years of age, and win my third major championship and be three-quarters of the way to a career Grand Slam… yeah, I never dreamed of being at this point in my career so quickly.” He had to work a little harder than he wanted for this one. Staked to a six-shot lead going into the final round, McIlroy turned back every challenge. He made two key birdies around the turn, and delivered a majestic drive at just the right moment to close with a 1-under 71 and complete his wire-to-wire victory. In another major lacking tension over the final hour, what brought The Open to life was the potential of its champion. After nearly two years of turmoil, McIlroy looked like the kid who shattered scoring records to win the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, and who won the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island by a record eight shots a year later. Boy Wonder is back. Or maybe he’s just getting started again. McIlroy won by two shots over Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler to become the first start-to-finish winner since Woods at St. Andrews in 2005. AP