Ryder Cup 2023: Schedule, Preview, and Betting Tips
Marco Simone Golf & Country Club will play host to the 2023 Ryder Cup as Team USA and Team Europe take each other on in a flagship biennial tournament from September 29 to October 1 in Rome, Italy.
Captains Zach Johnson and Luke Donald have made their selections, and the line-ups promise an amazing weekend for golf fans around the globe.
The sportsbooks favor the US team slightly despite the fact they are three decades without a road victory over Team Europe. Below, we cover everything you need to know before golf’s biggest team competition, including the value picks with long odds from some of the biggest US sports betting operators.
2023 Ryder Cup Schedule & Format
We will see 28 matches in total in the 2023 Ryder Cup, each bringing a single point to the winning team. Here is the full schedule of events:
- Friday, September 29 — 4 foursomes in the morning session and 4 four-balls in the afternoon session
- Saturday, September 30 — 4 foursomes in the morning session and 4 four-balls in the afternoon session
- Sunday, October 1 — 12 single matches
For those who are not familiar, foursomes and four-balls represent two-on-two formats. Team Europe and Team USA will thus select two players apiece for each foursome and four-ball event (as you can see in the schedule, we will have eight foursomes and eight four-balls in the opening two days).
In foursomes, each team will play with a single ball. Each player will take his turn until the hole is completed. One player will hit first on odd-numbered holes (1,3,5,7, etc.), while the other will lead off on even-numbered holes (2,4,6,8, etc.).
Strategy is very important here because you want to pair the players who can complement each other, covering for teammates’ weaknesses.
In four-balls, each player will play with his ball, meaning there are four balls in action on each hole (hence the name). Only the lowest score is counted on every hole (out of the four players involved). The team whose player has the lowest score wins the hole. In case of a tie in the low scores, the hole is halved.
Finally, single matches are straightforward as the players go head to head in search of the lowest score on each hole.
Recent Winners and Their Closing Odds
Team USA demolished Team Europe 19-9 in the previous edition two years ago at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. It was the largest margin of victory for either team since 1975. That said, it was only the third victory for Team USA in the last ten Ryder Cup tournaments.
The underdogs won three of the previous seven events from the betting perspective. Team Europe did so in 2012 at +140 odds and in 2018 at +130 odds. Team USA was the favorite in each of the previous three editions, winning twice in the process. The losing teams have not managed more than 11 points in any of the previous three tournaments.
We can see that Team USA has regularly been the favorite since 2016. Do they have enough to justify the tag this time around?
Team USA
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler leads the US team as Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Brian Harman, Xander Schauffele, and Max Homa complete the list of six automatic qualifiers.
Captain Zach Johnson added his six (controversial) picks with the likes of Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, and Collin Morikawa.
The team will have four debutants, including Clark and Harman, who will travel to the Italian capital on the back of winning major titles recently.
Team Europe
European team’s captain Luke Donald also made six picks, three more than his predecessor Padraig Harrington had two years ago in Wisconsin. The remaining six players secured their Rome invitations via automatic qualifications.
Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, and Robert MacIntyre did so through the European Points lists, while Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Tyrrell Hatton entered based on their positions from the World Points lists.
Donald decided to opt for a blend of youth and experience, pairing rookies Nicolai Hojgaard, Sepp Straka, and Ludvig Aberg with experienced Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, and Shane Lowry for his six selections.
It is fair to say this team is in transition without the likes of Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, and Lee Westwood. Are Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, and the company ready to fill such big shoes?
Best Pick — Team Europe to Win (+125) with BetRivers
We like a lot about the +125 odds offered for Team Europe here. A team with such strong and in-form individuals just cannot be considered underdogs, especially not on home soil, where they have not lost since 1993 in this tournament.
Jon Rahm is the main “Player of the Year” candidate, while Rory McIlroy is the former world No. 1 and probably the most consistent player on the tour this year. Finally, young star Viktor Hovland comes into the competition in the highest of spirits after winning two straight titles.
The US team has the current world No 1 in their ranks, but some of their captain’s picks have been miles away from their best form of late. Lastly, Team Europe will be super-motivated to get their revenge for the painful defeat in 2021, and we will take the plus odds for their win at BetRivers all day long under these circumstances.
Value Pick — Rory McIlroy to Score the Most Points for Team Europe (+500) with BetMGM
Rory McIlroy has been sensational this summer. He finished inside the top seven in each of the previous seven tournaments he has featured, including four top-four finishes and a title at the Genesis Scottish Open.
Rory will travel to Rome on the back of successive fourth-place finishes at the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. He has a pedigree, and his calmness in crunch moments may well make the difference in Team Europe’s favor here.
Although this is a very difficult market to land, we like the +500 odds offered for McIlroy to score the most points for Team Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup.
A decent alternative option for this market would be Viktor Hovland, who has been fabulous in the previous two tournaments, winning both BMW and Tour Championship trophies with spectacular numbers in the process. He is priced up at +550 odds, but we will trust the more consistent McIlroy more this time around.
Value Pick No 2 — Scottie Scheffler to Be Team USA Top Points Scorer (+450) with BetMGM
While Team Europe have three standout options for their tournament “MVP”, the world No 1 Scottie Scheffler should be way ahead of the rest of the pack when it comes to the US team. Scheffler has seven top-three finishes in the last ten tournaments he has played. Interestingly, he has not won a single in the process.
That said, he is the best player on the planet at the moment, and the rest of Team USA just does not fill us with much confidence. Xander Schauffele is the second favorite to get the most points for his team in Rome, but he only has one top-seven finish in the previous nine events he has played. We generally do not like backing the favorites in these markets, but Scheffler should be the way to go here.
