How to bet on the Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is a match-play tournament hosted every two years, which pits the top golfers from the US against the best from Europe. The tournament is 28 matches long, and is divided into three formats (foursomes, four-ball, and singles) across five different sessions. The US and Europe both enter a team of 12 players led by a captain for the event.

Each of the 28 matches is worth one point (if there is a tie, each side is awarded half a point), and the first team to score 14.5 points wins. This presents a very fun opportunity for golf bettors to wager on different teams, players, and matches during the event.

The Ryder Cup usually features many of the world’s top golfers, ranging from Americans including Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, and Xander Schauffele, to the likes of Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy for Team Europe.

Team USA clinched the Ryder Cup in 2021 by a score of 19-9, in what was their third victory this century. The USA took an 11-5 lead into Sunday’s singles and didn’t look back, ultimately scoring 19 points to clinch the record for the most by any team at a Ryder Cup since 1979.

The event also switches between the US and Europe every time is held. It will next take place from September 29 to October 1, 2023, in Rome, Italy at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.

Since it is match-play golf, each golfer at the Ryder Cup competes as an individual against a single opponent, rather than competing against the field. This often gives way to some dramatic golf being played with fiery personalities taking centre stage. How each golfer plays against the par of the course doesn’t matter, as it’s all about how they play against their opponent. If a golfer bogeys but his opponent double bogeys, they still win the hole.

The three types of match-play at the Ryder Cup work as follows:

• Foursomes: Two players from Team USA match up against two players from Team Europe. Each team plays one ball with alternating shots. If the score is tied after the hole, the hole is halved, so no scores carry over from hole to hole.

• Four-ball: This is another two-on-two format, except each player plays their own ball. The player with the lowest score on the hole wins the hole for their team.

• Singles: This is a one-on-one format, whereby the player with the lowest score on each hole wins the hole and points for their team. All 12 players on each team participate.

Players qualify automatically for each team depending on how they do during the regular PGA TOUR season (for the 2021 Ryder Cup, this was six on Team USA and nine on Team Europe), with the remainder personally selected by the team captain.

The 44th edition of the Ryder Cup will be played from September 29 to October 1, 2023 at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy for the first time. Italy will become the seventh European nation to host the event, joining England, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and France. Luke Donald will captain Team Europe, while Zach Johnson will take over for Team USA.

Approximately 25 minutes from Rome, Marco Simone offers an exciting course for match play. There are numerous water hazards laid out throughout the course, providing many risk and reward options for players who are looking to take a point for their country. An 18-hole redesign took place by European Golf Design in collaboration with Tom Fazio II to ensure the Ryder Cup will be a drama-filled event, with work completed in March 2021.

The closing holes at Marco Simone will captivate fans, as golfers are met with a pair of stiff par-4s, a potentially drivable par 4, a difficult par 3, and to finish, a par 5 with water surrounding it. Overall, the course is a difficult par-72 and 7,268-yarder set to excite fans and bettors alike.

Current form over course history will take precedent here, as the course isn’t a part of the regular season PGA TOUR schedule.