Having looked at who might lead the way when it comes to the European team at the Ryder Cup, it is now time to turn the attention to the USA side for the three-day event where some of the best players in the world are on show.
They include the very best player in the game right now in Scottie Scheffler but a number of his teammates are in the top 10 so this market really feels as open as the betting would suggest is the case.
The Favourites
It is Scottie Scheffler who is the favourite to top score for USA this week. He is 9/2 to do just that but I wouldn’t say he is guaranteed by any means. His putting issues won’t be quite as concerning this week with lag putting largely the order of the day in this but he certainly won’t be feared by Europe given his recent woes on the green. The other reason why he might not be guaranteed is he has a humdinger of a draw on Friday morning. Value must be elsewhere.
Ordinarily it might have been on the 5/1 about Patrick Cantlay. We pretty much know that unless they get thumped somewhere along the line he will partner Xander Schauffele throughout the event but obviously if they do lose then Cantlay can only get a maximum of four points. The problem with backing him is they are by no means guaranteed to turn Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood over on Friday morning. I’m happy to look elsewhere.
The same applies to Xander Schauffele, albeit he is slightly bigger at 11/2 and I would probably favour him to pick up a singles point more than I would Cantlay, although not by much. Then there is the potential for Schauffele and Cantlay to get the same result in the singles so assuming they are paired together all weened then we would only get a dead heat on whatever position they end up in. I’ll pass him over as well.
The Contenders
Collin Morikawa is an 8/1 shot to lead the USA point scoring this week. He became a lot more interesting after the draw for Friday morning where he is out against arguably the weaker of the European pairings. This is a course which is absolutely tailor made for Morikawa but even then I’m just not guaranteed with the quality in reserve that he will see five sessions of play. If I knew he would I’d be all over him but I’m not sure enough.
Max Homa is into 17/2 after he was named in the second pairing off on Friday morning. It is easy to forget that he is a rookie in the Ryder Cup but he has played in the Presidents Cup before so this sort of thing isn’t completely new to him. Were he and Brian Harman to combine for a point Homa could easily go on and push for a decent week but he looks vulnerable to the bigger hitters expected to come in for the fourballs so he isn’t for me in this market.
Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler are next in the betting at 14/1. That is strange for the former because he isn’t out in the foursomes on Friday and you do wonder how involved he’ll be as the lone LIV player although Johnson did pick him so you would imagine he’ll use him a fair bit. Even so sitting the opening session out isn’t ideal. That isn’t a problem for Fowler as he is out in the morning and you could see him having a big role to play.
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The Outsiders
Sam Burns comes next in the market at 16/1. That is a surprise when you consider that he is out with the world number one on Friday morning and you would imagine every session he plays in the first two days will be alongside Scottie Scheffler. Statistically though he is a real worry. He’ll be fine on the greens but his stats getting there are the worst in the tournament and I just expect that to catch him out at some point.
There are a trio of players at 20/1 this week. The first of those is The Open champion Brian Harman who is out in the morning on Friday which makes him a touch of value with a chance of getting an early point on the board but I’d be surprised if he played either fourball session which puts me off. I think we can pretty much guarantee that Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth will partner each other on Friday afternoon but they can only get a maximum of four points and the Thomas form is a major turn off.
That leaves the US Open champion Wyndham Clark to bring up the rear in this market at 28/1. Clark stunned plenty when he won the US Open but as a big hitter he is ideal for the fourball matches although whether he plays both remains to be seen. He certainly wouldn’t be a guarantee in the singles so you can understand why he is the outsider of the 12 and in truth is probably a little skinny with at least 3.5pts needed to win this market you would think.
Betting
This market feels much more open than the odds suggest and at the prices I think I’ll take a chance on Rickie Fowler. He gets his juices flowing for this kind of event and is probably the most likely along with Morikawa to win a point on Friday morning. The fact that he can partner pretty much anyone on this team appeals to me as it might get him into four sessions if not all five. He has shown in the past that he can handle European conditions as well.
You can get 14/1 on Fowler and I like his pairing with Morikawa in the foursomes and were Zach Johnson to split Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth up, Fowler is a natural partner for them and he could also go out with a Brooks Koepka or a Wyndham Clark as well. I don’t think Johnson has too much room to move with others, especially if Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele start slowly so Fowler might be more involved than the odds suggest and is good enough in this format to go well.
Tips
Back R.Fowler Top USA Point Scorer (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 15.00 with Boylesports (1/4 1-3)
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