You could hear our entire country groan as Cameron Smith’s tee shot on the 12th splashed into Rae’s Creek during the final round of the 2022 Masters. But one gambler may have made even more noise out of frustration as an amazing bet came up short like Smith’s 9-iron.
That’s because as the Action Network’s Darren Rovell reported earlier today, someone had backed Smith and Scottie Scheffler to finish 1-2 at Augusta National this week. In either order. Before the tournament started.
Sure, they entered as the two hottest players on the planet and as two of the favourites, but that’s still one heckuva bet. And the $US750 wagered on that exacta would have fetched $US93,000 ($A125,000)!
And it sure looked like it would hit with Scheffler leading Smith by three shots heading into the final round. Even more so after Smith birdied the first two holes as the final pairing distanced itself from the rest of the field. At that point, the reigning Players champ was five shots clear of third place. This mystery gambler was probably counting his money. Then disaster struck.
After a rare birdie on the difficult 11th, Smith was still alone in second over a charging Rory McIlroy when he dumped his ensuing tee shot into the water on the 12th. His pitch from the drop area wasn’t much better and he wound up making a triple-bogey to tumble down the leaderboard. Ouch.
To the Queenslander’s credit, he eventually bounced back with back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 on his way to a T-3 finish. But… that’s not going to make that gambler feel any better. In fact, it probably only made it worse.
PHOTO: David Cannon
