Ryder Cup betting tips: Who is our expert backing at Bethpage?
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As we eagerly await the 45th matches at Bethpage, our resident tipster Tom Jacobs has picked out a few Ryder Cup betting markets…
It’s officially Ryder Cup week, folks. And, as I’m currently in Las Vegas, it would be rude not to have a little flutter on a few markets that have caught my eye at this early stage.
Let’s dive in…
Ryder Cup betting tips
Ryder Cup Winners: USA (8/11)
Of course, I want to back Europe to win and I do have a level of a belief that they could pull off an upset in New York and become the first away team to win the Ryder Cup since 2012.
Earlier in the season, when some of Team USA’s depth pieces were struggling, I was convinced Europe had a chance. It looks a different prospect now, and I’ll be backing the home side as Ryder Cup winners at 8/11.
It previously looked like Patrick Cantlay and Ben Griffin could be hinderances rather than positives, but Cantlay has finished 9th at the FedEx St Jude Championship and 2nd at the Tour Championship since, while Griffin ended the season with four straight top 12s and a run of excellent approach play. Mix in JJ Spaun, who is playing extremely well and almost won again at the St Jude, and a very capable rookie in Cameron Young and this team now looks a different prospect to even a few months ago.
Top Overall Points Scorer: Scottie Scheffler (6/1) and Bryson DeChambeau (14/1)
Scottie Scheffler has now won again as well. His win at the Procore Championship a fortnight ago was his sixth of the season and another sign of intent that he is ready to put in his best performance in the Ryder Cup so far.
Scheffler’s record to date is a pretty modest 2-2-3. His defeats have come courtesy of his foursomes play, with a resounding 9&7 loss to Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland while playing alongside Brooks Koepka the last alarming instalment in this Ryder Cup format. The difference this year, though, is it looks like he’ll be paired up with Russell Henley, who is making his debut in this tournament but went 2-1 alongside Scheffler when paired together at the last Presidents Cup.
USA once again have the best player in the world on their team, and while Scheffler is out there you expect him to win, even if his team play leaves something to be desired. Now that he can partner with Henley and his good friend Sam Burns across four pairs matches, the World No.1 can lead the way. With this in mind, it’s also worth taking a look at Scheffler to be the Top Overall Points Scorer at 6/1.
I don’t tend to back the favorite in this event, but Team USA will surely live and die by Scheffler’s performance, and Bethpage looks the perfect venue for Scheffler to record his best performance in an otherwise underwhelming Ryder Cup.
Scheffler will be the popular bet in any singles matchup, as he’s unbeaten in that format thanks to a thrashing of Jon Rahm at Whistling Straits, before settling for a half against the same opponent two years later in Rome. I’m confident he will win against anyone he plays, and that adds to him picking up a good points haul in this week.
If he doesn’t play with Henley and Burns in the pairs format, both of whom are playing well, and match up nicely with Scheffler, then captain Keegan Bradley may put in Bryson DeChambeau alongside Scheffler and that could be a huge win in fourballs.
Two of the best drivers on the planet, Bryson and Scheffler have the ability to submit their opponent on the best-ball format, going unbeaten together at the 2021 Ryder Cup, with a win and a half, and if they are paired together in this format, that’s a huge plus to Bryson DeChambeau’s chances of finishing Top Overall Points Scorer at 14/1.
While it does seem unlikely Bradley will put his two best players out there together, and will instead split up the two, in a fourballs scenario I don’t see a reason why he would get beat no matter who his partner. While his foursomes record leaves much to be desired, he has been paired with Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods at the wrong ends of their career – and in a week where neither managed to secure a single point. DeChambeau also had to face the dream duo of Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari in France.
There isn’t a bad partner for him in fourballs, while in foursomes he might just have a chance to pick up his first Ryder Cup point as he almost certainly plays in this format on home soil for the first time in his career this week. There’s a list of decent partnership options for him here at Bethpage and he won’t be asked to carry around lifeless veterans this time around.
Is USA are going to dominate they will lean on their two best players, and that is Scheffler and DeChambeau.
Day 1 Correct Score: USA 6-2 Europe (12/1)
At Whistling Straits, Team USA won both Friday sessions 3-1 to take a 6-2 lead into Saturday, and at Hazeltine they were 4-0 up after the first session before a bit of a collapse in the afternoon. The good news is that 4-0 drubbing came in foursomes and the 3-1 loss in the afternoon looks like an anomaly, as USA would normally feel very confident about good play in Fourballs.
Go back to 2012 at Medinah, where USA were the last home team to suffer defeat, and you’ll see another 5-3 victory on day 1 for USA, but the chances were there for 6-2 again.
So while 5-3 has been the result after day 1 in the last two American-hosted Ryder Cups, I am confident that USA can make a dominant start on day one again, before Europe even think about rallying back.
Top Rookie Points Scorer: Cameron Young (3/1)
Cameron Young has been exceptional towards the end of this current season, keeping his foot on the gas with four straight top 11s since his breakthrough win at the Wyndham Championship.
Young will almost certainly play two fourballs matches given his skillset and form, and I like his chances of winning in Sunday’s singles. That leaves foursomes as the biggest question mark. If he isn’t picked in that format, he immediately stares down a maximum of 3 points, but it looks like Young could be paired with Justin Thomas or Collin Morikawa in that format, based on rumors and practice rounds, and that could be huge for the debutant.
Russell Henley is a big favourite in this market, based on the assumption that he’ll play twice with Scheffler in the foursomes. But even if that does happen, he still has to go and win both of those two matches, and another to really have a chance of winning in this market.
I do like JJ Spaun and think he has a chance of being a catalyst for Team USA, but like Ben Griffin and Henley, I think they are expected to be good in the foursomes rather than fourballs, and that is where Europe might enjoy more success. Then when it comes to the singles, Young’s length will make him a more likely winner over the other trio.
I have no interest in Rasmus Hojgaard this week, who I don’t think will play all that much, so I think we can cut this market down to the four Americans, and Young makes the most appeal to me at the odds.
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Our expert has picked out his favorite Ryder Cup betting tips.
