Only a few more sleeps until the Ryder Cup kicks off at Whistling Straits. The 43rd edition of the Cup welcomes back fans, which are more critical here than at any tournament on the PGA TOUR or European Tour. With a ton of talent on the United States team, they are coming in as heavy favorites to win at -190. The Europeans should take offense to the line, however, mainly because they’ve won the Ryder Cup in 12 of the previous 20 competitions.
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Here are the bets we should be considering this week on DraftKings Sportsbook.
All betting odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
Most Points Won: Rory McIlroy (-110) over Xander Schauffele
Schauffele has become one of the more popular bets and DFS plays per the industry sentiment. Although I join in the groupthink with Schauffele, Rory’s experience in singles matches and the high likelihood that he’ll be in all five matches is too good to pass up. Rory’s lifetime record in singles matches is 32-17-3, and he’s excellent on Pete Dye courses, ranking first in SG: Ball-Striking over the previous 50 rounds.
Top Rookie Scorer: Viktor Hovland +550
Only a few years removed from his dominant college days, Hovland now enters golf’s most significant competition with a ton of upside. He’ll most likely join Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm as the golfers who’ll go in all five matches, which should give him an advantage over his fellow debutants. Hovland is strong Off-the-Tee and if he’s paired with someone like McIlroy in the early matches — watch out. Hovland ranks second in SG: Ball-Striking over the previous 50 rounds and 12th in putting.
Team USA to Win -190
It’s difficult betting against the European Team, winners of four of the previous five Ryder Cup competitions, but there’s too much talent on the U.S. Team to fade this week. Both McIlroy and Hovland are good values in their respective bets, and I like the hedge with some studs on the European Team, but this U.S. team is stacked. The average world ranking for the Americans is ninth, while the Europeans sit at 30th. The top four golfers in SG: Total on Pete Dye courses over the last 50 rounds are on the U.S Team (Dustin Johnson, Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau). The European Team isn’t short on experience, with Ian Poulter making his seventh appearance, Paul Casey in his fifth appearance and Rory McIlroy making his sixth. The Euro’s present a lot of value at +200 with three of the top four golfers in SG: Ball-Striking over the last 50 rounds on Dye courses on the European side (Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia), but it may not be enough this week. It’ll come down to if the U.S. Team can come together as a team. If the Americans can do that for just a week, they’ll hoist the trophy.
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