Simpson US Open triumph a terrific result for Ladbrokes
Published:After kicking off the US Open tournament as a 66/1 shot, Webb Simpson’s victory in the competition was a superb result for Ladbrokes, who now price the American at 40/1 for next month’s Open Championship.
Simpson was attributed a 66/1 price for that tournament also, prior to his heroics this weekend, which saw him become the second US Open winner in succession to win a maiden major title at that competition.
He drifted to odds as long as 80/1 in-play in San Francisco, as punters lapped up the odds regarding players with past experience in terms of winning majors.
Tiger Woods, Graeme McDowell, Jim Furyk and Padraig Harrington were particularly popular during play, and the largest bet received on Simpson was a £1,000 each-way stake at that lengthened 80/1.
It appeared at one stage that Harrington or McDowell could have made it three Irish wins in as many years at the US Open, which would have been disastrous for the bookies, but Simpson’s one-stroke victory saw Ladbrokes breathe a huge sigh of relief.
In reaction, Ladbrokes trimmed Simpson to 40/1 for success in next month’s Open, for which Woods is 6/1 favourite to win.
Woods is seeing support to land a 15th major title, but Simpson admitted in the aftermath of his win that he didn’t quite know how his compatriot has shown the mental resolve to win so many tournaments.
“One of my thoughts on the back nine was “I don’t know how Tiger has won 14 of these things,” Simpson told the Telegraph.
“I couldn’t feel my legs on the back nine.”
Meanwhile, Jessica Bridge of Ladbrokes said of his success, “Webb Simpson’s the forgotten man. He was so close to winning the US Money List last year but ever since he’s been friendless with punters. Needless to say we’re joining in the celebrations as he kept under the radar and let Furyk take all the limelight.”
Punters who don’t fancy him to complete back-to-back major triumphs will look elsewhere in the market for the Open championship though, with Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood 12/1 shots to succeed.
