Gambler Nearly Wins Huge Golf Bet, Correctly Picks 3 of 4 Major Winners

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@RickieFowler bring me for a round at Augusta and we'll call it even.  pic.twitter.com/KYAv9jN49V

— Bakes (@OfficialBakes) August 14, 2017"

Coming close to victory often makes defeat even tougher to swallow. One bettor nearly pulled off the bet of a lifetime by correctly picking all four of the year's golf major champions.

Had Rickie Fowler won the Open Championship instead of Jordan Spieth, bettor Jordan Baker would have turned a £2 wager into £2 million, which translates to a $2.59 bet accruing roughly $2.59 million.

But as Golf Digest's Alex Myers noted, Baker conducted his transaction through Bet365, which caps its golf payouts at £500,000.

At least Fowler dashed Baker's hopes before Justin Thomas won the PGA Championship on Sunday. Reverse the order, and Baker would have watched three improbable outcomes break his way, only to fall short at the final moment.

Instead, Fowler—who had the best odds of the four selected golfers—finished in a tie for 22nd in July after Sergio Garcia won the Masters and Brooks Koepka took home the U.S. Open.

Baker deserves props for correctly choosing three of the four golfers to emerge victorious. Perhaps he should have taken it one tournament at a time. In June, he told Myers that he didn't make any individual wagers on the opening two majors.

It appears going two-for-two gave him confidence to keep defying the odds in other sports. 

"

pic.twitter.com/1cBsyv21hs

— Bakes (@OfficialBakes) June 20, 2017"

Anyone who swings for the fences will miss more often than not.

[Jordan Baker, h/t Golf Digest]