Going into the 2021 Ryder Cup, you would think the Americans already have things sewn up. The tournament it set for Wisconsin’s Whistling Straits, and there are not many European fans expected because of COVID-19 travel restrictions for fans on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The USA roster has eight of the top ten players in the world rankings, while the European side only has Jon Rahm out of that list. This follows a trend in which the Americans have the better roster on paper — but the Europeans still win. Europe’s team has won 9 of the last 12 Ryder Cups.
Let’s take a look at which side should get your Ryder Cup betting money this time around.
PGA News: Ryder Cup Preview
Padraig Harrington will captain the European side, as the teams play three days of matches from September 24-26. This course hugs the cliffs along Lake Michigan and has bunkers seemingly everywhere. The PGA Championship has taken place here three times in the last 17 years.
The European record since 1979, when continental Europeans joined their British counterparts, is 11-8-1 against the United States. When the last Ryder Cup took place in 2018, the American roster had nine major champions among the dozen players — and those players had won 10 of the last 16 majors.
Brooks Koepka, one of the American players this time around, is already complaining about the format, talking about how it goes against his usual style of play, which is all about individual competition rather than playing as part of a team. A lot of the European advantage has to do with their confidence — and something of a chip on their shoulders. They go into each tournament reading about how the American side has the better players, and they just go in and keep winning.
Lee Westwood will play in his 11th Ryder Cup for Europe at the age of 48. He and Sergio Garcia are the only two players who have played in Ryder Cups across four different decades. During his Ryder Cup career, Garcia has accounted for 25 ½ points — which matches the career point total of the whole American team.
On the U.S. side of things, the memories are primarily bad. They have won just once in the last decade, and that came in 2016, when they prevailed at Hazeltine. The European team that year had six rookies, and five of those never made it to another Ryder Cup roster. Matt Fitzpatrick is the only survivor.
This time, the U.S. side has six rookies. The last time they had that many novices was 2008 — and it worked, as the U.S. won at Valhalla. The rookies include Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, and Xander Schauffele. Morikawa has won two majors, a World Golf Championship and has stood atop the U.S. standings in his first year of Ryder Cup eligibility. Cantlay is the defending FedExCup champion, and Schauffele just won an Olympic gold medal. Cantlay and Schauffele played shutdown golf as a team against Australia in the Presidents’ Cup in 2019.
Returning U.S. players include Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth, who are the Ryder Cup veterans here, entering their third Cups. Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka bring the drama, as they have a feud with each other, DeChambeau won’t talk to the press, and Koepka won’t stop whining to the press. Captain Steve Stricker spoke to both of them, and they said they would mend fences for the tournament.
It’s hard to get excited about a U.S. roster that includes Koepka and DeChambeau, but the likes of Morikawa, Schauffele, Cantlay and Dustin Johnson (along with Spieth’s hot play in 2021) make the U.S. an interesting pick. But can they show the mental fortitude to get the win?
Ryder Cup Betting Odds
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