USA at Europe 2010 Ryder Cup Preview, Odds, and Predictions: USA Team Captain Corey Pavin leads the 12 best American golfers across the pond to The Celtic Manor Resort, the City of Newport, Wales to take on Colin Montgomerie and his European Team. The Matches start on Friday, October 1st at 7:45 AM (2:45 AM ET) with 4 fourball matches in the morning, followed by 4 foursome matches in the afternoon. The schedule is repeated on Saturday and completes on Sunday with 12 singles matches pitting each player one on one in a match playing against one of the opposite team. The odds makers at Bodog have the odds at 10/1 that the 2010 Ryder Cup will end in a 14-14 Tie.
European book makers have every bet imaginable for this event, and even the more traditional sports books here have odds available from which team will win, which player from each team will score the most points, overall points, which will play with whom, etc. The USA currently holds the Cup by winning here in the states in 2008 at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville Kentucky taking it back after 3 consecutive defeats. The first team to get 14 ½ points wins the Cup and the team holding the Cup retains it with a tie. The odds makers at Bodog have the odds at 8/1 that the 2010 Ryder Cup will be won 14 ½ – 13 ½ by the Europeans.
The team players for the USA are: (R –denotes Rookie)
Phil Mickelson
Hunter Mahan
Bubba Watson – R
Jim Furyk
Steve Stricker
Dustin Johnson – R
Jeff Overton – R
Matt Kuchar –R
Stewart Cink
Rickie Fowler –R
Zach Johnson
Tiger Woods
The team players for Europe are:
Luke Donald
Ross Fisher – R
Peter Hanson – R
Padraig Harrinton
Miguel A. Jimenez
Martin Kaymer – R
Graeme McDowell
Rory McIlroy – R
Edoardo Molinari – R
Ian Poulter
Lee Westwood
As you can see it is a field sprinkled with youth as well as veteran players with all the story lines you could ask for to make this an exciting event. Vegas odds makers have Tiger Woods +930 odds as 2010 Ryder Cup Top Combined Points Scorer at Celtic Manor Resort with leading European Rory McIlroy at +1200 to be the Top Combined Points Scorer.
Will it be the youth of the European team lead by McIlroy that says he relishes at a chance to play heads up against the World No. 1 player Tiger Woods, or the experience of the Americans that pull off the Upset. I predict a close fought USA win late on Sunday in the singles matches.