Rory McIlroy Open Championship Odds Shorten

U.S. facing online bookmakers have begun to take notice of Rory McIlroy although some, like BetUS.com, still featured him among their "field" odds, with a payout potential of US$600 for every US$100 bet, which punters could also win should a few other low profile mostly unknown golfers win as well. 

The best Rory McIlroy Open Championship betting odds would pay US$2850 for every US$100 bet at SBG Global Monday.  His odds have since fallen to +2500 or 25/1.

Oddly enough it is British-based online bookmaker, Sportingbet.com, that had McIlroy listed among the early favorites, and still does, but features him with a price of 30/1 potentially paying out US$3000 for every US$100 bet.

The Belfast Telegraph had this to say about Rory McIlroy and his lack of notoriety in the States:

"McIlroy was totally unheard of in the States at the dawn of this year - so much so, many golf writers guffawed when Mark O'Meara, after playing with McIlroy in Dubai, said he was better technically than what Tiger was at the same age.

"The following Sunday, McIlroy clinched his first European Tour victory at the head of a world-class field in Dubai, propelling him into the world top-20. Aghast at this, 'Golfweek' columnist Jeff Rude wrote: "If long-time scribes such as myself haven't even seen you, you can't be in the top-30 in the world."

"McIlroy would have them all eating out of his hand. As he swept into the quarter-finals of the Accenture World Match Play Championship in Arizona, the Irish youngster thrilled our American cousins with his exquisite ball-striking on the course and charmed them with his laid-back attitude off it.

"Like Woods, a man he has idolised since aged six, McIlroy was born to win on the golf course and appears incredibly comfortable with all the privilege and pressure that may bring.

"McIlroy has banked nearly €2.5m in prize-money during the first 20 months of his professional career, not to mention lucrative contracts with Jumeirah, Titleist and the Lough Erne Resort, so McIlroy can afford many of the trappings of stardom.

"Though a Ferrari 340 F1 sits outside the front door of the home he owns overlooking Belfast Lough, Rory remains splendidly unaffected by the tinsel and trimmings of his new life."

Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com