RYDER CUP: Every two years, golf takes a break from the usual “lone wolf seeks personal glory” routine and becomes something else entirely, something louder, rowdier, and more tribal. The Ryder Cup is back, and for the next three days the top players from the United States and Europe will trade polite applause for chest bumps, stoic fist-clenches for full-throated roars, and $20 million purses for the chance to represent something much bigger than themselves. (okay, so maybe the US team is now getting paid, and maybe that makes them a band of soulless mercenaries, and maybe that has something to do with their record in this event over the past 15 years… but I digress)
This year’s edition will be staged at Bethpage Black, the beastly Long Island brute that’s as tough as it is iconic, having hosted three major championships this century. It’s a great venue for an event of this nature and it marks the closest that the Ryder Cup has ever been to the New York metropolitan area, which is significant because of the area’s reputation for loud, boisterous, and occasionally unruly crowds. Trust me: it’s going to be a madhouse.
The American side will be looking for revenge after the drubbing in Rome, and U.S. soil is the only place they’ve been able to find any success over the past 20 years, as the European side has now won 7 consecutive Cups on their home soil. This will feel like an away game in every sense for the Europeans — the crowds will make sure of that — and the U.S. side has been priced as the favorites despite their well-documented Ryder Cup struggles, currently trading at 1.74 to lift the trophy on the BETDAQ exchange.
Captain Luke Donald leads a European squad which returns the core that delivered victory in Rome: McIlroy, Rahm, Hovland, Fleetwood, Aberg, Hatton, Lowry… familiar faces all, and a squad that knows how to win together. The Americans have a lot to prove in that regard, but they definitely have a new vibe this year under captain Keegan Bradley, the fiery New Englander who bleeds red, white, and blue and seems like he was born for this job. Bradley will have the crowd on his side and he’ll also have the undisputed best player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, as well as some of the familiar Ryder Cup stalwarts like Schauffele, Cantlay, Thomas, Morikawa, and DeChambeau.
The course, Bethpage Black, is a par-71 which tips out at over 7,500 yards and demands power, precision, and resilience. The rough is penal, the bunkers are deep, and the green complexes are as challenging as any in championship golf. I expect a difficult setup, one that rewards aggression and will produce plenty of drama for the crowd. It’s going to be a fun weekend.
The format remains unchanged: foursomes and fourballs on Friday and Saturday, with 12 singles matches on Sunday, for a total of 28 possible points. The defending champs, Europe, need only 14 points to retain the Cup, while the U.S. team needs 14.5 to win it back.
Markets are lively on the BETDAQ exchange, and below are my thoughts on the three most popular ones: top European scorer, top U.S. scorer, and side to lift the trophy. Enjoy and best of luck!
Recommended Bets
Jon Rahm top European points scorer at 5.0- It may be Rory’s team these days, but Rahm is the top player, the one who is likely to be the favorite in every match he plays. He has a 6-3-3 overall record in his Ryder Cup career and is a perfect 4-0 in Foursomes (alternate shot), the most challenging format. What’s more, he’s in top form, having finished runner-up at LIV Indianapolis last time out after falling short in a playoff, and he’s a stone-cold lock to be utilized in every possible session this week. He’s a nice value at the current price.
Scottie Scheffler top U.S. points scorer at 3.7- Call this pick boring if you want, but winning money isn’t boring to me, and Scheffler has proven conclusively that he’s the best player in the world regardless of stakes, venue, or format. He’s fresh off yet another victory at the Procore Championship two weeks ago, his sixth of the season, and his match play exploits include a victory and a runner-up in the now-defunct WGC Match Play. Though he struggled in Rome, Scheffler went 2-0-1 in the 2021 Ryder Cup, so he’s thrived in this pressure cooker before, and most will remember his legendary final round 62 at the Paris Olympics last year to take home gold. He’ll be out there in every session this week and he’s going to be tough to beat. Place your bets accordingly.
United States to win at 1.74- As regular readers of this column know, I’m American. Guilty as charged. However, I’ve always tried to not let that cloud my judgement when it comes to this event, and indeed I think this is the first time I’ve picked the U.S. team to win in over a decade. It does feel like something is different this time around, though… Keegan Bradley has made some changes, like forcing (“strongly encouraging”) team members to tee it up in competition at the Procore two weeks ago, and because of this we know that several members of the U.S. team are in great form at the moment, while some key members of the Euro team, most notably Ludvig Aberg and Rasmus Hojgaard, may not have their best stuff. Call it a hunch, but I like the Yanks to pull it off this time around. U-S-A! U-S-A!
