Jack Binion once said if his life depended on a person sinking a putt, he’d want to have Doyle Brunson on the green.

A sensationally successful golf gambler during the 1970s and 80s, Brunson’s ailing legs and failing health have made him less robust on the course in recent years.

That’s probably why Huck Seed and Howard Lederer offered this challenge to Brunson and poker commentator Mike Sexton: They’d play a scramble, but Brunson and Sexton get to shoot from the red tees (the ladies’ tees, which are closer to the green) while Seed and Lederer play from the blue tees (furthest from green).

‘We started out betting 0,000 on the round but I could never understand why they would make this bet,’ says Brunson. ‘Neither of them was nearly as good as I was back when I played golf regularly.

Mike doesn’t hit too long, but from the red tees you don’t need to. And my leg was very bad, but I could still chip and putt.’

By the time the match got underway, the wager had risen to the point where the four gamblers were playing a 0,000 Nassau (three bets comprising front nine, back nine and all 18 holes), which meant nearly m was at stake.

Things started shakily for Brunson and Sexton – ‘We played bad and they played good’ – and the round was winding down with a couple of critical situations. ‘On the 16th, a par 5, I landed a 60ft putt,’ remembers Brunson. ‘Then, on the next hole, I made another very long putt.

We would up winning about 0,000, which was nice. But it was the end of golf for me. I completely blew out my knee, and I haven’t been on a course since.’