It has been a quarter of a century since the United States has won a Ryder Cup championship on foreign soil – but oddsmakers like the American team to end that drought as they tangle with a team of European all-stars beginning Friday at Le Golf National in Paris. The U.S. squad, led by captain Jim Furyk and Tour Championship winner Tiger Woods, are -120 to win the event and -150 to hoist the trophy against a European side guided by captain Thomas Bjorn and FedEx Cup winner Justin Rose.
Here are 18 betting facts to help you come out of the weekend a winner, no matter which team prevails:
1. The Americans are coming off a convincing 17-11 triumph in the previous Ryder Cup at Hazeltine and have a former world No. 1 in Woods playing better than he has in five years. But the Europeans have dominated Ryder Cup competition outside the U.S., winning five consecutive competitions abroad and eight of the previous 11 Ryder Cups overall. If you like the upset, feel free to take a shot on the Europeans to prevail outright at +125; if the teams tie in points, the U.S. will retain the trophy.
2. Speaking of draws, the Ryder Cup has finished in a tie just once since moving to a U.S.-vs.-Europe format, and only twice in the history of the event. The previous draw occurred in 1989 at The Belfry, when the U.S. team rallied from a four-point deficit to win the final four matches and complete a shocking comeback. But it's notable that six of the previous 13 Ryder Cups since then have been decided by a single point – so while the draw option is a longshot at +1,100, it might attract some action.
3. Having said all that, the previous two Ryder Cup competitions have been one-sided affairs, with the European side claiming a five-point victory in 2014 in Scotland and the Americans rebounding with a six-point rout two years ago. Oddsmakers like the 2018 edition to be a whole lot closer than the previous two, based on their handicap odds. You'll get Europe +1.5 for -138, +2.5 at -178 and +3.5 at -225 – or you can opt for the favorites -1.5 at +110, -2.5 at +137 or -3.5 at +175.
4. Nothing rallies the troops like a clean sweep – but it has only happened a handful of times in Ryder Cup history. The United States has completed a 4-0 whitewash in foursomes play on five occasions, most recently in 2016. And both sides have earned 4-0 four-ball victories twice, with the Americans doing so in 1967 and 1971 and the Europeans following suit in 1987 and 1989. Europe is +3,300 to sweep either four-ball event, and +2,500 to blank the Americans in a foursome competition; the U.S. is listed at +2,500 and +2,000, respectively, to return the favor.
5. Both sides are loaded with talent, so it comes as no surprise that the odds for top team points scorer are wide open. Rose and Rory McIlroy are tied as the top European options at +450; McIlroy comes in at 9-6-4 all-time in Ryder Cup matches, while Rose is 11-6-2 and is coming off an incredible run to the FedExCup title. Ryder Cup rookie Jon Rahm is next in line at +700, while Tommy Fleetwood (+800) and Francesco Molinari (+900) round out the top five.
6. Things are even more interesting on the American side, where five players are listed between +450 and +750. Dustin Johnson (+450) is the leader for the U.S. team, followed closely by Justin Thomas (+550) and two-time 2018 major champion Brooks Koepka (+600). Jordan Spieth is also in the mix at +750. Oh, did we forget someone? Tiger, perhaps? Woods is installed at +650 to lead the American side in points and is going to be an incredibly popular play given how he performed in the FedExCup playoffs.
7. Handicapping Woods is going to be incredibly difficult, given that it has been a half-decade since he has been this good. But if you want to roll through his extensive Ryder Cup history, well, it's not good. Woods has a losing record at the tournament, coming in at 13-17-3 while earning just .44 points per match. He has a 4-8-1 record in foursome play, and an only-modestly-better 5-8-0 record in fourballs – so use caution when betting his side to win either match type.
8. It's important, however, to note that Woods has been far more effective in his Ryder Cup singles matches, coming into this weekend's action with a sensational 4-1-2 record over his seven tournament appearances. And that begs the question: Might Furyk send the 14-time major champion out first, a maneuver typically intended to set the tone for the day? Oddsmakers like the chances of that happening – they've made Woods the third favorite at +600, behind only Patrick Reed (+500) and Spieth (+550).
9. With so much talent assembled in one place, you would think that holes-in-one would be a regular occurrence – but this isn't the case. In fact, there have been just six aces in the history of the event. The first came at Muirfield in 1973 courtesy Peter Butler; it would take 20 years before Nick Faldo would record the second hole-in-one in Ryder Cup history. Constantino Rocca and Howard Clark added aces in 1995, while Paul Casey and Scott Verplank were the last to do it in 2006. An ace this year pays out at +450.
10. Individual player points bets will be one of the more popular props during Ryder Cup week – and given past experience in this tournament, some plays appear safer than others. On the American side, Woods has earned an average of just over two points per event, and that was in his heyday; he's listed at -188 to finish at or below 2.5 points, and that's a reasonable option despite the low payout. Looking for a solid underdog play? Reed is 6-1-2 in two Ryder Cup events; consider the over-2.5 bet here at +150.
11. Among the European contingent, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson are all installed at -175 to finish at or below 2.5 points and +125 to rack up three or more points. Garcia might be the best option of the three to make good on the over bet, having gone 19-11-7 in his Ryder Cup career with 22.5 points from seven appearances. Poulter is also a strong choice here with a 12-4-2 record and 13 points in five tourneys, while Stenson is just 7-7-2 but has eight points in three appearances.
12. The Ryder Cup is full of fun betting opportunities – and choosing how many singles matches will finish square is one of them. For perspective's sake, only one of the 12 singles showdowns in 2016 finished tied, as Garcia and Phil Mickelson battled to a well-fought draw. In 2014, there were three matches to wind up square, while Woods and Molinari settled for the only draw of the 2012 Ryder Cup singles matches. One or fewer draws this year pays out at -138, compared to 2+ draws at +100.
13. As for who will make the tournament-winning putt, this one is more of a crapshoot than just about any other Ryder Cup prop. So many factors go into who winds up in position to make that putt – but that hasn't stopped oddsmakers from choosing Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas as co-favorites at +1,100, with Brooks Koepka not far behind at +1,200. In fact, the top eight options are all American, while Poulter carries the best odds among European golfers at +1,600 to sink the winning putt.
14. Back to strategy-based picks – and when it comes to choosing which American rookie will fare best, you can't go wrong with the hot hand. And while DeChambeau finished the 2018 playoffs with back-to-back 19th-place finishes, he did rack up consecutive tournament victories prior to that. He's a live underdog play at +225, though he'll be in tough to topple Thomas (-125), who posted top-10 finishes in four of his final six tournaments. Tony Finau (+350) also has four top-10 results in his past six tourneys.
15. On the European side, the battle for top first-timer honors is a two-man affair, at least according to oddsmakers. Rahm is the favorite at +187, but he missed the cut in four of his final 11 tournaments while posting just two top-10 finishes since a fourth-place result at the Masters. Tommy Fleetwood is close behind at +220 but might have the upper hand with four top-10s in his last 10 events, including a second-place finish at the U.S. Open in June. We give Fleetwood the edge here.
16. As mentioned earlier, nearly half of the past 13 Ryder Cup tournaments have been decided by a single point – and if you like that trend to continue in 2018, you'll get +900 odds on the Americans pulling out the 14.5-13.5 victory, or +1,000 odds on the Europeans winning by the same score. The strongest odds belong to the U.S. prevailing 15-13; that outcome pays at +800. A 14-14 tie, which would allow the U.S. to retain the trophy, shares the third-best odds with a one-point American win at +1,000.
17. Determining the top wild-card will also be an intriguing exercise for Ryder Cup bettors. Of the four wild-cards named to the European roster, there is precious little separation between them. Poulter, Stenson and Garcia carry identical +250 odds to produce the most points among wild-card entrants, with Casey on their heels at +300. While we've already discussed the Ryder Cup records of Poulter, Stenson and Garcia, Casey is just 3-2-4 all-time with five points from three Ryder Cup events.
18. The American wild-card picture is a little clearer – and if the odds for this grouping are a precursor to Woods' November showdown with Phil Mickelson, then Lefty might want to find a way to back out. Woods is a +125 favorite to emerge as the top wild-card choice on the U.S. side, with DeChambeau a distant second at +275. Mickelson and Finau are both installed at +400; Mickelson hasn't posted a top-10 result since May 3, while Tiger has five top-10 showings over that span.
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