As it televised the British Open golf tournament over the weekend, ABC reported that one legal sports gambling place in Britain had taken in 6 million pounds of wagers. But no one bet on Todd Hamilton, the eventual champion.

Before the tournament, Hamilton would have appeared to be a sucker bet. The 38-year-old had struggled since college to try to join the U.S. pro tour, finally making it last year on his eighth try. He had mostly been playing in the Far East, winning a few tournaments but hardly making a worldwide impression.

His success offers lessons for bosses and dreamers.

In the white-collar world, Hamilton might have been in corporate purgatory. He had been a guy with a mediocre record for more than a decade, so he probably would never get chosen for the plum assignment.

Lots of bosses would pigeonhole him as lifetime rank-and-filer, failing to recognize his potential. For him, the British Open was the assignment of a lifetime — a place where he could play to his strengths. Do you, as a boss, look for places where mid-level workers can show their strengths, or are you too enamored with your “rising stars” to pay attention to anyone else?

Hamilton was also a dreamer, someone who thought he could make it as a pro despite lots of failures. But he was also someone who could point to steady improvement, winning several tournaments in Asia.

Too many dreamers are like the early rejects on “American Idol”: They don’t realize how tough the competition is, and how weak they are. They just assume that because friends and family members offer kind words that the world will love them.

But Hamilton had a more realistic gauge of his talent. And now he has an even better one.