Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup Rescheduled, Team USA Remains Betting Favorites

Posted on: July 8, 2020, 11:19h. 

Last updated on: July 8, 2020, 12:08h.

On Wednesday, the PGA of America, Ryder Cup, and PGA Tour jointly announced the two cups are being delayed. Both the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup are being postponed for a year by the coronavirus.

Ryder Cup golf odds Presidents Cup
Golf fans will need to wait three years between the 2018 and 2021 Ryder Cup matches. (Image: Alastair Grant/AP)

The Ryder Cup, originally scheduled for this September at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin, will now be played September 21-26, 2021.

The Presidents Cup, originally planned for the fall of 2021 at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina, will now be contested on September 19-25, 2022. Both cups will still occur at their originally planned courses.

“It became clear that as of today, our medical experts and the public authorities in Wisconsin could not give us certainty that conducting an event responsibly with thousands of spectators in September would be possible, PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh said. “Given that uncertainty, we knew rescheduling was the right call,” he concluded.

America Favored

Despite the postponements, the USA teams remain the betting favorites in both international competitions.

Team USA is at -150 (2/3) to win the Ryder Cup. Those odds imply a winning chance of 60 percent, with a $100 bet netting $66.67. Europe is the underdog at +130 (13/10), a winning $100 wager returning $130. A tie, which would result in the Europeans maintaining possession of the Cup, is a distant +1200.

The United States has won just three of the past 10 Ryder Cups. However, of the current top 20 players in the world, 12 are Americans. Only five players in the current top 20 would qualify for the European team.

Odds haven’t yet been released on the Presidents Cup, as it’s now more than two years out. But the Americans will almost certainly be heavy favorites. Since the tournament’s first playing in 1994, the International Team has won only once — in 1998.

Golf Delays

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly altered professional golf. The PGA Tour resumed play last month, but the grounds are free of spectators.

The Tour hoped to allow a limited number of patrons in at the Memorial Tournament next week but has since backtracked on that goal.

While this was a difficult decision, it was one made collectively, and we are appreciative of the process undertaken to this point that will allow us to welcome on-site fans when the time is right,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.

The Tour is spending two weeks at Muirfield Village — aka Jack’s Place — in Dublin, Ohio. Justin Thomas is the betting favorite for this week’s Workday Charity Open at 10/1. Rounding out the top five are Jon Rahm (12/1), Patrick Cantlay (14/1), and Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama (16/1).