All one bettor needed was for Mito Pereira to par the par-4 18th hole during the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club on Sunday afternoon.
Pereira, the leader entering Sunday after carding a 9-under par through 54 holes, stepped up to the 18th tee with a one shot lead on the rest of the field. He proceeded to send his tee shot into the water and finished by carding a double-bogey.
It not only dropped Pereira out of the lead, but allowed Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris to then compete in a three-hole playoff after being tied at 5-under par through 72 holes. Pereira finished 4-under par 276 on the four-day tournament after a final round of 5-over.
He cost one bettor a six-figure pay out due to his collapse on the 18th hole.
Professional sports bettor Rufus, as he’s known on Twitter, bet $500 on Pereira to win the PGA Championship at 300-to-1 odds at Circa Sports in Las Vegas. Should Pereira have hung on, Rufus would have won $150,000 on a $500 wager.
Rufus wasn’t the only one who lost out, though.
Pereira watched an even bigger pay day slip through his finger tips as a victory at the PGA Championship would have earned the 27-year-old native of Chile $2.7 million. Instead, Pereira finished in a tie for third resulting in $870,000 — a loss of $1.83 million, as shared by Action Network’s Darren Rovell.
Justin Thomas claimed the victory at Sunday’s PGA Championship.
