The Tour Championship ended last week and now we are ready to watch the most exciting tournament in all of golf, the Ryder Cup. United States vs. Europe in a much anticipated event that can be seen live on the Golf Channel and NBC. Davis Love III vs. Darren Clarke. Dustin Johnson against Rory McIlroy. Justin Rose vs. Jordan Spieth. The list goes on and on. This is an event that pits the best players from the United States against the best players from Europe in a three day marathon of match play golf.
There is a lot of inexperience on the Europe side with six rookies. Team U.S. only has two rookies. Someone is going to have to step up in a big way for Team Europe and most of the time they do. Maybe it;s Thomas Pieters or Rafa Cabrera-Bello who step up. On paper it looks like a crush job for the U.S., but just like in other sports, this is why we play the game.
The Format: The Ryder Cup involves only match play competitions between players selected from two teams of twelve from the United States and Europe. There are a total of 28 matches throughout the three days and all matches are 18 holes. On Friday and Saturday there are four fourball matches and four foursomes matches each day; a session of four matches in the morning and a session of four matches in the afternoon. On Sunday, there are 12 singles matches. The winner of each match scores a point for his team, with half a point each for any match that is tied after the 18 holes. The winning team is determined by total points and the first team to 14.5 points is the winner. In the event of a tie the Ryder Cup is retained by the team who held it before the contest.
Hazeltine National Golf Club will host the 41st Ryder Cup matches and the layout measures 7,628 yards and plays to a par 72. The track is one of the toughest tests in all of golf and should provide plenty of excitement in the match play format. Hazeltine will join Pinehurst No.2 as the only courses to host a U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Amateur, PGA Championship and Ryder Cup.
United States leads the overall series 25-13-2. However, Europe holds a 10-7-1 edge since the old Great Britain and Ireland squad was expanded to include the entire continent.
TV Coverage: Friday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. ET - Golf Channel. Saturday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. - NBC. Sunday, Noon-6 p.m. - NBC.
Current Ryder Cup Golf Odds at BookMaker Sportsbook:
TEAM USA -190
TEAM EUROPE +220
TIE +1200
TEAM U.S.A.:
Dustin Johnson 6-4-1
Jordan Spieth 2-1-1
Patrick Reed 3-0-1
Phil Mickelson 16-19-6
Jimmy Walker 2-1-1
Brandt Snedeker 1-2-0
Zach Johnson 6-6-2
Brooks Koepka ROOKIE
Rickie Fowler 0-4-4
J.B. Holmes 2-0-1
Matt Kuchar 4-5-2
Ryan Moore ROOKIE
TEAM EUROPE:
Rory McIlroy 6-4-4
Justin Rose 9-3-2
Sergio Garcia 18-9-6
Henrik Stenson 5-4-2
Lee Westwood 20-15-6
Martin Kaymer 4-3-3
Rafa Cabrera-Bello ROOKIE
Matthew Fitzpatrick ROOKIE
Andy Sullivan ROOKIE
Thomas Pieters ROOKIE
Danny Willett ROOKIE
Chris Wood ROOKIE
ODDS ANALYSIS
NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller thinks the U.S. team will win in a convincing way and had this to say, “I do believe the Euros have got, at least on paper, the worst team they’ve had in many years. I just think with all these rookies, when you lose Poulter, it’s like tearing your heart out, I think this is the year not only could the U.S. win, they could win by like five points.”
However, whenever you count the Euros out, or they are a big underdog, they play well and thrive on being the lesser opponent. There is no doubt about it, European captain, Darren Clarke has his hands full and will count very heavily on his horses and hide the weaker ones. Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson are going to play every session. The question may be weather or not they run out of gas before Sunday’s singles matches.
PREDICTION: Everyone loves the U.S. chances to finally win the Ryder Cup, but the true VALUE is in the Euro’s side at +220. Home turf and a loaded team, but the U.S. squad finds a way to lose their fourth consecutive Ryder Cup. Euros win!
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