It’s Presidents Cup weekend from Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C. Unlike traditional stroke golf tournaments where the most popular wagers are picking winners, top three, and top-five finishes, this is a match-play team event so the betting options are a bit different.
There will be head-to-head wagers available once captains Davis Love III and Trevor Immelman decide their session pairings each morning, but the other popular wagers of the weekend are outright winner, point spread, and top combined points scorer.
Presidents Cup Outright Winner
Quail Hollow is the fifth golf course in the United States to host the Presidents Cup. That bodes well for the U.S. team, who is 11-1-1 over the first 13 incarnations of this event, never losing on American soil. The loss came in 1998 in Australia, while the tie occurred in 2003 when darkness set in South Africa and Tiger Woods and Ernie Els couldn’t finish a sudden death playoff.
The United States is a -800 outright favorite in this event, not just because they’ve never lost in America, but because this team is stacked. The U.S. has five of the top 10 golfers in the OWGR on their squad, while the highest rank International player is #16, Hideki Matsuyama.
The 2019 Presidents Cup in Melbourne was one of the most exciting in history, with the U.S. needing a huge comeback on Sunday to pull out the 16-14 win. That being said, it’s hard to find any value on the International team at +750.
Presidents Cup Point Spread
The 2000 Presidents Cup was the most lopsided in history, with the United States avenging their loss from two years earlier with a 21-½ to 10-½ victory. The U.S. -7.5 on the point spread is priced at +110, followed by -6.5 (-110) and -5.5 (-145), so oddsmakers expect the Americans to pull this one off rather easily.
One of the big things hurting the International team’s ability to cover the number here is the banning of LIV players from competing in this event. That costs the International squad world #3 Cameron Smith, #21 Joaquin Niemann, and #24 Abraham Ancer. Players from the 2019 team, such as Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman, could have provided valuable experience as well.
As a result of the LIV ban, the International team now has 8 of their 12 team members being first-timers at the Presidents Cup. The U.S. features six first-time players, but two of those (Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa) have won a major, and Billy Horschel is a former FedEx Cup champion (2014).
Presidents Cup Combined Points Scorer
This one is all about getting the Cup (and the charity money) for your team so combined points score betting is a little riskier. The U.S. has some great options, though. Patrick Cantlay (+800) and Xander Schauffele (+800) both have some solid value as they should do good in the team events after winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Billy Horschel (+2500) and Sam Burns (+1100) finished second in New Orleans, but he could team with Scheffler (+800), who he referred to as his ‘best friend’ even though he beat Scheffler with a 38-foot birdie putt in a playoff to win the Charles Schwab Classic.
Also of course, Justin Thomas (+1000) and Jordan Spieth (+1600) have valuable experience in this event, and Spieth is actually 5-0-0 in foursomes in his Presidents Cup career.
