Sunday 12:00 Even though Lee Westwood has suddenly become Phil Mickelson on the greens and looks the most likely winner of the 2013 British Open, 15/8 is too short for a man who has a history of crumbling under the pressure. Even though its counter-productive to hold grudges against players for their previous failures on your dime, Westwood's collapse at Turnberry in 2009, where he bogeyed three of the last four holes to miss out on a play-off by a shot, still haunts me. As I look at the screen in Ladbrokes in Dundrum, a man whose major victory inspired great joy (won me money) in the recent past is staring back at me. Adam Scott played very well to edge Angel Cabrera at Augusta and his gorgeous textbook swing screams multiple major winner.
In an attempt to crack the code of Muirfield this week, I've attempted to take a modern 'Moneyball' approach to my gambling. My belief in the green in regulations statistics can be compared to Damien Comolli's flawed over-reliance on the chances created stat which appeared to be one of the main inspirations behind his disastrous purchases of Stewart Downing, Jordan Hordan and Charlie Adam in 2011. But at least Liverpool's former director of football no doubt received a sizable pay-off after losing his job whereas yours truly could be left staring at his bank balance wondering where it all went wrong. On Friday night, the statistic revealed Dustin Johnson and Branden Grace as potentially playing better than their score would indicate but a 76 and a 77 respectively on Saturday indicated they both played like pillocks. It hasn't all been Charlie Adams though and Henrik Stenson, who has been immaculate from tee to green all week, has a good chance of bringing in some each-way dollar.
Even though Scott's stats didn't jump off the page of the British Open's official website, gut feeling, sentiment and the fact that's he's a class player all contribute to leaving the bookmakers with a betting slip with his name on it.
1:30 Accompanied by the Sunday Times and a self-made breakfast roll, a four-hour vigil on the couch beside my nervous-looking brother awaits.
2:25 Is your enjoyment of a sporting event genuinely enhanced by gambling is a question that crosses my mind? The simple answer is only if you win, as right on cue, the first of many punches hits thin air after Stenson sinks his second birdie putt in his first three holes.
2:35 Westy hooking his tee shot into the rough prompts a high-five and malicious hope that the collapse has begun. Kipling wrote to treat the two impostors known as triumph and disaster just the same but Rudyard must never have been a gambler.
3:00 Tiger Woods seems unlikely to finally win a major from behind on the final day as he starts with two bogeys from four holes and looks even more sullen than usual.
3:45 Its time for the first refuelling break from the golf and even though my ready-to-cook spaghetti and meatballs have been deemed too messy to take into the TV room, I know that if something good happens, my brother will charge into the kitchen. So when those footsteps are heard coming towards the door, only glad tidings await. Scott has nailed a long putt for birdie and has already got back those two shots he dropped to move back to even par.
4:10 Even though not planning another bet for the day, that doesn't mean I'm not checking the odds in-running on my two lads in the hope that the objective wise bookie tells me that they are likely to lift to Claret Jug. One doesn't need to be objective and wise to know I'm in good nick as Stenson and Scott are tied with the ailing Westwood at the top of the leaderboard on one under. Phil Mickelson is a potential danger on level par but I assure myself that either A. he'll bottle it and B. no one ever wins the Scottish Open and then the British Open the week after, right?
4:45 My brother is reminding me of his confident prediction that Westwood would also 'bottle it'. He has played like a drain today alright and maybe the pressure has been too much for the man from Worksop. However, in all sports, human frailty is a more interesting and simpler story than a technical failure or a mere reversion to the mean and is too often used as the sole reason for a the inadequacies of a competitor. Mental weakness is an accusation that has been rightly levelled at Mickelson in the past but his spectacular up and down on 16 show no signs of that and he is playing worryingly well.
5:00 Scott has bogeyed his last two holes and Lefty's stress-free birdie of the par 5 17th has resigned the two of us to probable defeat unless Phil blows it on 18. The swearing is just about over and only silence remains.
5:15 Mickelson gets a tad fortunate with the bounce of the ball to avoid the bunker and leave himself a makeable putt but one couldn't begrudge him a slice of luck after a sensational performance in the final round. As always, Peter Alliss' hopes for the finish with aplomb from the prospective champion and Phil delights him to by holing another birdie to record a magnificent 66. Scott has faded down the stretch but I am just about willing to forgive the Australian for this "personal slight" after he delivered for me in Augusta.
5:30 Stenson birdies the eighteenth to finish on level par and guarantee a top 5 finish and some each-way winnings to cover most of my losses. While not too disappointed with the final outcome, there isn't quite enough magnanimity in me to watch Mickelson lift the Claret Jug and to listen to commentators rightly laud the mercurial American.
5:31 So...what are the odds on Donegal against Monaghan ?
(Photos Via Zimbio)
