The United States will be favored going into the 45th Ryder Cup, with sportsbooks giving the Americans a slight edge over the talented European team by virtue of the notoriously rowdy Ryder Cup gallery.
USA holds -150 odds to Europe’s +150, with the tie showing +1200 on the three-way tournament winner line, according to ESPN BET lines. The United States maintains those same odds in the two-way “to lift the trophy” market, while Europe is +120 by virtue of a tie resulting in the previous winner retaining the cup.
The Ryder Cup is a golf betting event unlike any other. The biennial tournament can only have three possible results, as opposed to a regular golf tournament, major or otherwise, that has just one winner from a field of sometimes more than a hundred. “Those prices need to be managed accordingly,” Adam Landeka, VP of sportsbook strategy & growth at ESPN BET, said via email. Those two main markets will make up a majority of the event’s handle, he adds.
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As with any golf event, bookmakers start their usual handicapping with the course, in this case, the infamously difficult Bethpage Black, which last hosted a professional tournament in 2019 for the PGA Championship. They also have to take into account the unusual team aspect, including the chemistry of each squad, as well as home-course advantage, a true rarity in golf.
“The New York crowds are going to be a bit boisterous, I would say, so that should be an advantage to the American side,” DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN.
The books also, per usual, take action from bettors into consideration. At ESPN BET, patrons are generally backing the home team, with the USA team holding 57.5% of the wagers and 50.9% of the money on the three-way line, though Europe is notably getting a positive bets-to-handle ratio with 37.9% of wagers and 45.8% of the money. At BetMGM, Europe has actually garnered a majority of the bets (65%) and handle (72%) on the two-way line.
Avello notes that the tie option is generally not popular with his book’s patrons, and ESPN BET reports just 4.6% of bets backing it.
Anthony Salleroli, lead golf trader at Caesars Sportsbook, notes that his and other books put these odds up “shortly after” the conclusion of the previous competition, meaning that these lines have been live for almost two years. Bookmakers also note that, as with most sports betting events, wagering will pick up in the final days and hours before tee-off.
The most popular markets outside of the main lines figure to be for top points scorer, both for Europe and USA, as well as overall. Scottie Scheffler is the odds and handle leader for the latter two at both BetMGM and ESPN BET. Jon Rahm (+350) is the favorite for top European scorer, but Rory McIlroy (+375) and Tommy Fleetwood (+550) have both taken more money.
“Because it’s not a traditional tournament, we lose out on all our niche shop markets that you really can’t attribute to match play events,” Salleroli told ESPN. “But we compensate by thinking outside the box and seeing what else we can offer that is groovy with compliance, and give the best catalog that we can for the customers.”
Once the Friday matches are announced Thursday afternoon, bookmakers will quickly turn around head-to-head odds, and that’s when they expect the betting to really pick up.
“It is different, but we know the players very well,” Avello said. “We are doing matchups all the time, so this isn’t anything hard or unusual for us.”
While it’s hard to say that the Ryder Cup can stack up to other major golf events when it comes to handle — and is a far cry from the Masters, which is by far the most-bet golf event of the year — sportsbooks are optimistic that 2025’s edition can bring in more action given its presence back on U.S. soil and the competitive balance between the teams. Bookmakers also expect in-play wagering to be popular once the competition gets underway, especially if the score is close throughout the weekend.
“If the teams are within a few points on Sunday, I’d expect the tournament to garner more interest with casual patrons who are following the storyline,” Landeka said.
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