The Ryder Cup got very heated on Saturday and it concludes on Sunday on what is always the best day of golf of any year that this famous tournament is played. Europe begin the final day needing four points to regain the cup while USA are looking for 8.5 to retain it.
We have ditched the pairs matches now and we are into one on one combat with all 12 players out on Sunday in singles action to determine the winner of the Ryder Cup on what has been a tremendous host course in Rome.
First Six Matches
Sunday could be all about the first six matches as if the European domination of the event continues the Ryder Cup could be won in this part of the day. We get underway with the last two winners of The Masters as Jon Rahm takes on Scottie Scheffler before two of the younger bucks meet in match two when Viktor Hovland faces Collin Morikawa. The third match sees Justin Rose going in search of another Ryder Cup point when he takes on Patrick Cantlay.
Rory McIlroy is likely to be a fired up individual on Sunday after the events to close out Saturday and it is the WGC Match Play champion Sam Burns who might feel the full wrath but Burns came to the party on Saturday afternoon. Two ball flushers are out in game five when the former US Open champion Matthew Fitzpatrick takes on Max Homa before the top half of the draw concludes with Tyrrell Hatton meeting the current Champion Golfer of the Year in Brian Harman.
Last Six Matches
We don’t truly know how much will be on the lower six matches on Sunday because of the current state of the competition but it might be that the hero does still come from here. Ludvig Aberg gets the second half of the draw up and running in a big hitting showdown with Brooks Koepka before another rookie goes out for Europe in Sepp Straka. He meets Justin Thomas and then another European rookie makes his singles debut when Nicolai Hojgaard goes up against Xander Schauffele.
At the start of play it feels like the last three matches won’t be contributing too much to the overall picture but Ryder Cup Sunday can be unpredictable so it is no surprise that Luke Donald has saved some seasoned campaigners just in case they are needed. Match 10 sees Shane Lowry meeting Jordan Spieth while Tommy Fleetwood goes up against Rickie Fowler in the penultimate game. The Solheim Cup last week came down to the final match and if that is the case here then two rookies will decide the Ryder Cup when Robert MacIntyre goes up against the US Open champion Wyndham Clark.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account and bet £10 to get up to £20 in free bets! Perfect offer for this tournament! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Betting
Four picks standout to me over the course of the day. We begin in the opening match where Jon Rahm has too many weapons around here for a Scottie Scheffler whose fire hasn’t lit up at all this week. All the talk has been of the Scheffler putting this year but his long game hasn’t come across the ocean with him either and the last time we saw him this week he was getting walloped 9&7 alongside Brooks Koepka. Scheffler beat Rahm at Whistling Straits two years ago and if this was Rahm’s fifth match of the week you could have made a case on tiredness but that isn’t how it has transpired and a rested Rahm gets Europe off to a winning start.
I would imagine there will be a bit of American red slightly below the top of the leaderboard going towards the middle of it and that can be headed by Patrick Cantlay, a player who has plenty of focus on him after the shenanigans of Saturday. He takes on Justin Rose whose best days are well behind him and for whom this course is probably a little on the long side for him. The big problem Rose has is while he and Cantlay are similar in strategy, Cantlay is just that bit better in all departments and a fired up Cantlay can bring some American joy to the proceedings on Sunday.
The longer the day goes on the more I expect Europe to control proceedings though. Jordan Spieth has barely found the short grass at any stage this week and if there is one thing we have seen in this tournament so far it is that you can’t win around here from the rough. It is too thick. Speith meets Shane Lowry on Sunday and while the long game isn’t functioning brilliantly for the Irish player, it is in better order than that of his opponent. Lowry has been fired up all week after the disappointment of two years ago and there is a reason why Spieth has never won a singles match in Ryder Cup play. He has no partner to put him in a position off the tee or get him back in play. Lowry wins match 10.
I wasn’t going to bet too deep into play on Sunday but if the reports that Rickie Fowler has been ill this week are true, and the fact he hasn’t been seen since Friday morning suggests that it is when you consider how many out of form Americans have had to play more matches than they should have, then you have to think Tommy Fleetwood has a great chance of winning the penultimate match. This is not a golf course to bring a half-energy game too and while I admire Fowler and think he has plenty of great match play attributes, Fleetwood can be relentless from tee to green and if he gets in front early a jaded and sick Fowler might struggle to find the effort to keep up. Fleetwood wins the Butch Harmon stable showdown.
Tips
Back J.Rahm to beat S.Scheffler for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with 888sport
Back P.Cantlay to beat J.Rose for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with 888sport
Back S.Lowry to beat J.Spieth for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with 888sport
Back them here:
Back T.Fleetwood to beat R.Fowler for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Betway
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2023
