Tiger Woods' 18th hole 'gesture' cost bookies millions

Tiger Woods made a gentlemanly gesture — giving Europe's Francesco Molinari that last putt of the final match of the Ryder Cup — and it ended up costing bookies millions of dollars, according to reports.

Woods, playing in the last match, held a 1-up lead on Molinari on the 18th hole, but when Europe clinched its 14th point to assure itself of winning the Cup, the Woods-Molinari match did not matter — except to the bookies throughout England and Las Vegas.

Looking back at the three-foot putt he called "inconsequential," Woods could have holed it and beaten Molinari and the 39th Ryder cup would have ended in a 14-14 draw.  But he missed the shot and decided not to force Molinari to make his par from a similar distance.

That conceded the hole to to Molinari, halved their match, giving Europe the outright 14-1/2 to 13-1/2 win.

"To be honest, I really didn't pay that much attention," said Woods.  "I was trying to get my point."

While Woods didn't care if he had beaten Molinari and it ended in a draw, bookies are facing huge payouts because of Woods' concession to his opponent.  Otherwise, the bookmakers would not have had pay the bettors who gambled Europe would beat the Americans.  That left bookies having to pay the bettors who placed bets on the Europeans coming back from a 10-6 deficit that day.

Betting firms said they were facing the biggest Ryder Cup payouts ever despite —only moments earlier — they were looking it an bookies' ideal result of a draw.

This comes on the heels of Vegas bookmakers still licking their wounds after the Green Bay Packers-Seattle Seahawks Hail Mary fiasco last week.

To put it in simpler terms.  Bettors who wagered on Europe to win outright were quoted at 33-1 odds when the visiting team trailed 10-4 Saturday morning.

Tiger's magnanimous gesture had Vegas paying out big time  Sunday night.  And, incredibly, Woods apparently had no idea he had a chance to win.

"I went one-up at 17 and I asked Joey La Cava (his caddie) what was going on down 18 because my responsibility was to be able to get my point.  Then they said Europe had a chance to win on this hole, or retain the Cup," Woods said.  "After all that settled down. My putt was useless.  It was inconsequential.

"So I hit it too quick and gave him his putt and it was already over."

It might be some consolation to the bookies that the real loser Sunday was the U.S. team who folded like a pair of threes in a high-stakes poker game.  Nah ... I doubt it.

Keegan Bradley compares Ryder Cup atmosphere to Patriots game

If anyone has set the tone for the Ryder Cup this year it's Keegan Bradley.  The St. John's alum might be the perfect person to lead the U.S. over Europe in the 39th Ryder Cup and he got things started yesterday.

The rookie was paired with veteran Phil Mickelson and together the two lefties looked like a couple of kids on the last day at school.

Bradley's exuberance and clutch play sparked the U.S. to a 5-3 lead after the first two sessions — going 2-0 with Mickelson in taking down two of Europe's best teams.

The 2011 PGA Rookie of the Year made big shot after big shot in between high-fives and chest bumps with his idol Mickelson.

Bradley called it the best day of his life and afterwards the Vermont-raised golfer said the Medinah Country Club atmosphere was like seeing his favorite football team at Gillette Stadium.

"[We were] running down the fairway, arms around each other, we were screaming," said Bradley.  "It was like a Patriots game out there."

The 46-year old Mickelson echoed the sentiment and said he "felt young again playing with Bradley."

Bradley was superb on Friday.  He made clutch shots and didn't wilt under the boisterous Chicago-area crowd while on the greens.  His long putt on the 15th hole, all but clinched the win.

"There's a simple reason why Keegan is perfect for the Ryder Cup," said Mickelson, who went 2-0 on the same day for the first time in nine Ryder Cup appearances.  "The more pressure the situation, the better he plays, the better he sees the shot, the better the result.  There's no higher pressure situation than the Ryder Cup."

Bradley's energy might have rejuvenated his partner's game and it sounds like there's plenty more lightning left inside the former Red Storm star.

While the two players were enjoying a rousing ovation from the fans after yesterday's final victory, Bradley exclaimed, " Oh baby, I wish I could go 36 more."

Tiger Woods drills Ryder Cup fan in head

Tiger Woods got a favorable 40-yard bounce off the head of a fan during the morning matches on the opening day of the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club.

The unlucky young man was hit on his head while watching Woods drive on the seventh hole during the golfer's morning foursome Friday morning.

Woods was steered to the dazed fan by his caddie, Joe Lacava.  The fan, who was bleeding from a cut on his head, sat on the ground while Woods offered words of encouragement.  He lost a brewski, along with the blood from the stray drive, but managed to continue watching from the gallery with a towel on his head.

Woods was appreciative of the fan's involuntary assist and gave the wounded spectator a customary signed glove for his headache.

Woods and his partner Steve Stricker won the 7th hole with a birdie, but lost their foursome match 2-and-1 to Team Europe's pairing of Ian Pouter and Justin Rose.