UK Players Banned from Betting on Open Championship Golf

Lee Travino, who bet on himself to win the 1971 Open Championship at 14-1 and blew away the field. (Image: bahl.blog.blogspot.com)
The globe’s best golfers are up in arms this at the Open Championship in the UK, where they have been asked to sign a waiver to declare that they will not place bets on the outcome of the championship week. Betting is something of a tradition for many players at the Open, because, of course, sports betting is totally legal and readily obtainable in Britain. At the 1971 Open, Lee Travino famously bet £100 ($171) him to almost triple his prize money when he blew away the field on himself at 14-1, which helped.
However, for the time that is first the Open, the R&A, the governing human body for the game outside the US, has formally warned players that such behavior is now off-limits, despite the fact that it claims the rules have been around in spot since 2011. It had been news to some. One player, whom wished to remain nameless, told ESPN he was handed the waiver, while his caddy expressed his delight that the ban did not extend to caddies that he was ‘shocked’ when.
We sense a real way around the rules with that one.
’30 Dudes in Violation’
Pro golfer Graeme McDowell gave a far more measured and professional response, however, stating: ‘It’s really no different than just what we have on the European Tour and PGA Tour, so it does not change such a thing.
‘Honestly we love to gamble,’