The Ryder Cup starts on Friday at Bethpage Black, in New York, and as ever pits the USA against Europe for the right to be the holders of one of the most prestigious trophies not just in golf, but professional sport as a whole.
The Ryder Cup was featured in the Round the Sports World column earlier this week if you want a lowdown on the tough choice US captain Keegan Bradley had to make when it came to deciding whether to pick himself as a player, and how the US tend to have the better players.
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Ryder Cup Winner
There are 28 points up for grabs across the three days of action. Europe, as the current holders, only need 14 points to ‘win’ the Cup because the rules state that if you tie the competition, the team in possession of it keeps it for another two years.
It’s up to the team not in possession of it - in this case, the USA - to get to 14.5 points in order to wrestle it back.
The Ryder Cup winner market is a three-runner market because the tie is in it. In other words, there can be a tie from a betting perspective, but if that were to happen, Europe would have retained the Cup from a sporting perspective.
Who’s Our Money on?
Neither side. The USA are rightly favourites because the history books tell us what an advantage it is to be playing at home. But Europe are greater than the sum of their parts thanks to a superior team ethos.
You could argue that, at the considerably bigger price, Europe are worth backing; but we’ll swerve it anyway. If anything, a small bet on the tie at 14.0 in what could be a very close contest, is the pick of the three.
Top US Points Scorer
Each team is made up of 12 players. During the first two days, the players compete as pairs in two different formats: foursomes and four-balls. On Sunday, the 12 players from each team play a singles match against a player from the other team.
Each match is either won, awarding 1 point to the victor, or the match is tied, meaning they each get half a point.
There’s a maximum of five matches that can be played by each of the 12 members of the team. The captain picks who plays on the first two days and who they will partner with. Everyone plays singles on Sunday.
It’s quite rare for any one player to feature in all of them, but it probably happens with two players per team every Ryder Cup. These players are considered so vital by their captain that he doesn’t want to leave them out at all.
Who’s Our Money on?
World Number 1 Scottie Sheffler is the 3.75 favourite, with the big-hitting LIV Golf member Bryson de Chambeau 7.0, while Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are 8.0, Russell Henley 10.0, and Sam Burns is the next in the betting at 12.0.
To say Scheffler is the man to beat here is putting it mildly. He’s been the best golfer on the planet by some distance for the last three years or so. It doesn’t seem to matter where the event is being played, what the conditions are on the day, what the format is, or anything else. More often than not, Scheffler brings his A-game to the table.
Which is why US captain Keegan Bradley is likely to play him in each of the five possible matches. At just 29, he has no excuses for getting too fatigued out there, so expect him to play four at the very least, probably five. And the more matches you play, obviously, the better your chances of getting points and top scoring.
As it happens, Scheffler’s record is good in the Ryder Cup, rather than spectacular, but then again, he’s a far better player now than he was in the two previous editions.
He has every chance.
Top Captain’s Pick
12 of the 24 players who will be in action are captain’s picks, meaning that rather than qualifying automatically for the team through their rankings, they were selected by the captain.
The result is that this is a 12-runner market and you’re betting on which of these 12 will score the most points. In the event of a tie, which is quite likely, the players tied will be dead-heated.
Who’s Our Money on?
Like Scheffler, Spanish superstar Jon Rahm of Team Europe is likely to play all five matches, with Europe captain Luke Donald knowing how valuable his experience of playing on a US course will be. It’s a good starting point that he’s likely to play five, or at least four. Rahm is also fresh from winning this year’s LIV Golf League so he’s clearly in superb form. Rahm is 5.0.
But at 9.5, you can back the cool-headed, 18-tournament winner, former US PGA Champion Justin Thomas. This will be his fifth appearance at a Ryder Cup, where he’s won 61.5% of points up for grabs, an extremely solid record indeed.
He may play more matches than some might think and is particularly suited to fourballs, where his steady-Eddie style of play is perfect for his partner to be more aggressive. Don’t rule this man out on this market.
