Who are the favourites for this year’s Ryder Cup?

With the spectacular that is the Ryder Cup on the horizon, the excitement for one of the biggest events of the sport has continued to escalate and grow to the heights that fans are able to continually take it.

The biennial contest is scheduled to take place across the weekend of Sep. 28 – Oct. 1 and will be hosted on European greens, with the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club course in Rome being used.

What happened in the 2021 Ryder Cup?

The 2021 edition of the Ryder Cup was the 43rd event to have been held and took place at Whistling Straits, Haven, Wisconsin. Team USA were the eventual winner of that competition after they triumphed with a 19-9 victory; a score that would result in a record being achieved as it was the biggest winning margin to have ever been recorded.

It was the youngest team that the USA had ever fielded in the tournament, and Steve Stricker’s side were able to make youth count as they raced to the win. They claimed their overall 27th win, and this year’s crop of players will be looking to take the margin to double that of Europe’s all-time win record (14). There have also been two ties throughout the nearly 100-year history of the Ryder Cup.

What is expected to happen at the 2023 Ryder Cup?

Given the domination that Team USA displayed two years ago in Wisconsin, as well as the teams that have been selected, it perhaps does not come as a surprise to learn that the current Ryder Cup odds online being offered favour the Americans. However, the margin has been closing the more competition gets closer, as some of the players to have been selected by Europe have been in good form.

The Americans, though, will still fancy their chances of being able to record a sizeable victory and retain their title on foreign ground. The only issue that they may have in the back of their minds is the fact that the last win that they had achieved in Europe was back in 1993 when it was contested at The Belfry in England.

Led by Zach Johnson, Team USA consists of the following 12 players:

1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Xander Schauffele
3. Jordan Spieth
4. Justin Thomas
5. Collin Morikawa
6. Brooks Koepka
7. Max Homa
8. Brian Harman
9. Patrick Cantlay
10. Sam Burns
11. Wyndham Clark
12. Rickie Fowler

It is an incredibly strong lineup and it is far from surprising that they are the favorites to come out victorious. Of the 12, eight have played in the Ryder Cup before, with just Homa, Burns, Clark, and Harman yet to have experienced it. Clark, though, is the current US Open champion, so he should not be fazed by the occasion.

Can Europe compete or will it be another blowout?

As mentioned, the difference between the odds ahead of the competition has already started to shift, with the gap in price having been reduced considerably. This is because Europe has been able to select a number of players who have been in good form recently and will be looking to enter the Ryder Cup determined to recapture the title that they last won in 2018 when they were victorious in France.

The team will be led by Luke Donald and will also feature a number of experienced players, as they also feature eight players who have played in the event before. The 12 to have been selected include:

1. Jon Rahm
2. Rory McIlroy
3. Viktor Hovland
4. Robert MacIntyre
5. Tyrrell Hatton
6. Matt Fitzpatrick
7. Tommy Fleetwood
8. Sepp Straka
9. Justin Rose
10. Shane Lowry
11. Nicolai Hojgaard
12. Ludvig Aberg

MacIntyre, Straka, Hojgaard, and Aberg are each going to be considered novices for this year’s competition, but each of them have been playing well and are included based on performance and merit. As a result, they could be the players to make a difference for Team Europe, as they may be hungrier than those that have featured in previous editions of the Ryder Cup.

What should we expect to see in the 2023 Ryder Cup?

Making predictions about huge sporting events can be relatively difficult, especially when it is an occasion like the Ryder Cup. However, with the talent that Team USA has available to them to call upon, it would not be a surprise if they were to retain their title. Nonetheless, the fact that they are yet to win on European soil for 30 years is a record that could continue to be extended, especially if the Europeans continue to use it as a form of motivation.