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Ricky Rothstein
Ryder Cup Golf Odds and Betting Picks
The biggest four events on the PGA Tour are unquestionably the four Grand Slam tournaments, but easily the most emotional event in golf is the biennial Ryder Cup team match play competition between the United States and Europe. And while the Europeans have dominated the Ryder Cup the past two decades, Team USA is the -172 favourite this week on Sports Interaction golf odds with Europe at +138. Expect to see plenty of tributes to Arnold Palmer, who died Sunday, at this event, which begins Friday.
Ryder Cup Background and Format
The Ryder Cup location alternates between the USA and Europe — the competition moved to even-numbered years in 2002 — and this week is staged at Hazeltine National in Minnesota. It’s the first time Hazeltine has hosted the Ryder Cup, but it has hosted two U.S. Opens (1970, 1991) and two PGA Championships (2002, 2009). You may remember the 2009 PGA Championship as then-unknown South Korean Y.E. Yang came from behind in the final round to upset Tiger Woods and become the first Asian-born winner of a major championship. Woods is a vice-captain to USA captain Davis Love III this week. Team Europe is captained by Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke, best known as the winner of the 2011 British Open.
Each team has 12 players. Eight players on Team USA qualify by points and four are chosen by the captain, while for Europe it’s nine and three, respectively. The only time that all 12 players on each side are assured of competing is in Sunday’s head-to-head singles matches. Each of the first two days includes one four-match session of four-balls and one four-match session of foursomes. The captains decide all matchups. There are 28 total points available, with each match worth one point and a tie resulting in a half-point for each side. The first team to reach 14.5 points is the winner. If it’s a tie, the Ryder Cup stays with the defending champion.
The golf odds listed above are for which team lifts the trophy. There are also odds on the actual result, with the USA at -194, Europe at +186 and a draw at +1100. There have been two draws, in 1989 & 1969.
The Ryder Cup used to be so dominated by the USA that it was expanded from just players from Great Britain and Ireland to all of continental Europe in 1979. The tide started to turn in 1985 when Europe won for the first time. Last year at Gleneagles in Scotland, the Europeans dominated 16.5-11.5 to win the Ryder Cup for the third straight time and eighth in the past 10. Team USA’s both wins in that stretch were in America.
Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy Top Individual Odds
All four major winners from the PGA Tour season are in the Ryder Cup: Americans Dustin Johnson (U.S. Open) and Jimmy Walker (PGA Championship), and England’s Danny Willett (Masters) and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (British Open). Also playing is Sunday’s Tour Championship and FedExCup winner Rory McIlroy. The favoured winning margin is the United States by 1-3 points at +275, while the favoured exact score is the USA winning 15.5-12.5 and 15-13, both at +900.
Northern Ireland’s McIlroy is the +401 favourite to be the top European scorer in the event. If you are going to bet on a leading scorer prop, it’s important to do so on a player who will compete in every match possible. And surely McIlroy will do so. This is McIlroy’s fourth Ryder Cup and he has a record of 6-4-4, so that would be eight points. Johnson, the likely PGA Tour Player of the Year this season, is the +400 favourite to be the top scorer for the Americans. It’s his third Ryder Cup and he’s 4-3-0 in his matches.
Ryder Cup Odds & Predictions
For top European scorer, go with Spain’s Sergio Garcia at +553. He is one of the greatest Ryder Cup players ever with a record of 18-9-5 in his matches, good for 20.5 points. The record for points in a Ryder Cup career is 25 by England’s Nick Faldo. For top American scorer, I like Patrick Reed at +600. He was 3-1-0 in his first Ryder Cup two years ago. Team USA will win the Ryder Cup.