The world’s premier men’s team golf event, the Ryder Cup, returns next week — and this fall, odds will be legally available under Michigan sports betting rules for the first time. The 2021 edition will be held Sept. 24-26 from Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin.
After an embarrassing showing in 2018 in France, will the United States be able to bounce back against Europe this time around? Here’s an early breakdown.
Ryder Cup odds favor the Americans
With 28 points up for grabs over the weekend, 14.5 points are required to be the winning team. Since Europe won the previous Ryder Cup, a 14-all tie means Europe would retain the Cup. The Americans, therefore, must win the event outright.
When it comes to the odds, pay attention to what you are wagering on. There are two major odds lines. One is for Winning Team, the other is for Who Will Raise The Ryder Cup.
Winner means the team must score at least 14.5. In those odds, DraftKings Sportsbook has Team USA as a -215 favorite. Team Europe has +225 odds. Odds for a tie are listed at +1200.
When it comes to lifting the cup, PointsBet Sportsbook lists Team USA as a -200 favorite, while Team Europe is at +150.
A draw has only occurred twice, the last coming in 1989.
Europe has been the dominant team over the past 20 years, however. It has won seven of the past nine Ryder Cups. Four of those wins have been by at least five points.
Team USA’s last three wins (1999, 2008, 2016) have come on home soil.
Meet Ryder Cup Team USA
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the Ryder Cup by a year, the format for deciding the teams was a little different.
This time around, the top six players from the Ryder Cup points list qualified for the team, while the other six were selected by the team captain.
Steve Stricker is the captain of team USA this year. He is assisted by Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples.
Team USA consists of:
- Collin Morikawa, rookie
- Dustin Johnson, 5th Ryder Cup
- Bryson DeChambeau, 2nd Ryder Cup
- Brooks Koepka, 3rd Ryder Cup
- Justin Thomas, 2nd Ryder Cup
- Patrick Cantlay, rookie
- Tony Finau, 2nd Ryder Cup
- Xander Schauffele, rookie
- Jordan Spieth, 4th Ryder Cup
- Harris English, rookie
- Daniel Berger, rookie
- Scottie Scheffler, rookie
Meet Ryder Cup Team Europe
Team Europe has a different way of picking its team.
This year’s squad has the top four qualifying players from the European Tour’s Race to Dubai points list, along with the top five players that were not qualified already, from the World Points List.
The captain was then allowed to select three players of his own.
Team Europe is being captained by Padraig Harrington. He is assisted by Robert Karlsson, Luke Donald, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell and Henrik Stenson.
Team Europe consists of:
- Jon Rahm, 2nd Ryder Cup
- Tommy Fleetwood, 2nd Ryder Cup
- Tyrrell Hatton, 2nd Ryder Cup
- Bernd Wiesberger, rookie
- Rory McIlroy, 6th Ryder Cup
- Viktor Hovland, rookie
- Paul Casey, 5th Ryder cup
- Matthew Fitzpatrick, 2nd Ryder Cup
- Lee Westwood, 11th Ryder Cup
- Shane Lowry, rookie
- Sergio Garcia, 10th Ryder Cup
- Ian Poulter, 7th Ryder Cup
How to watch: 2021 Ryder Cup
- What: United States vs. Europe
- When: Friday Sept. 24-Sunday Sept. 26
- Where: Whistling Straits in Haven, Wis.
- Format: Friday & Saturday – 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches and 4 fourball (better ball) matches each. Sunday – 12 singles matches. Each match has 1 point in value. A tie is ½ a point for each team.
- TV: Golf Channel, NBC
- Online livestream: Peacock
- Satellite Radio: Sirius Channel 92
Which golfer will lead their teams?
The Ryder Cup provides a lot of prop odds and betting options.
One is top scorer overall, or top scorer for each team.
DraftKings lists Justin Thomas as the top US scorer with odds of +600. Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth are all at +700.
Thomas showed out in his Ryder Cup debut in 2018, scoring a team-high four points with a 4-1 record. Spieth came through with three points. Thomas is currently sixth in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The hot pick on Team USA is Patrick Cantlay at +750. Cantlay is coming off winning the FedEx Cup and has climbed to fourth in the world rankings.
On Team Europe, Jon Rahm is listed at +350 to be their top scorer. Rory McIlroy is next at +450.
Rahm had just one point in his debut in 2018. He still is No. 1 in the world rankings. Tommy Fleetwood (+850) scored four points in his debut in 2018. McIlroy is the most experienced outside of Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia. Garcia (+800) actually owns the most Ryder Cup points in history with 25.5. He has a 22-11-7 individual record.
Who will be the top rookie?
Another interesting prop is for the top rookie performer this year.
The 2021 Ryder Cup features nine first-time players, which is pretty significant.
Patrick Cantlay is the favorite at PointsBet with +400 odds. Xander Schauffele is next at +450, while Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland each have +500 odds.
The Ryder Cup is a different animal. Even the most composed golfers can wilt under team pressure and intense crowd attention.
Morikawa and Schauffele each had significant wins this year. Morikawa won the Open Championship, while Schauffele won at the Tokyo Olympics.
