Following Poor First Day USA Is Now +100 Underdog at Presidents Cup
- The United States shockingly trails 4-1 after day one of the Presidents Cup
- The Internationals are bidding for their first win in this event since 1998
- See the live odds and whether it’s worth a gamble to bet on the States
Absolutely nobody saw the Internationals beatdown of the United States coming – a four-to-one thrashing that saw just Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas emerge victorious for the American side, resulting in the Internationals largest day one lead in the history of the event.
Amazingly, this was the first time that they have led after any session since way back in 2005, and considering the top-ten Americans are all higher in the world golf rankings than the top International (Adam Scott), this constitutes a huge upset.
So is now the time to bet on the Americans to come storming back to win the Presidents Cup?
Updated Odds to Win 2019 Presidents Cup
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Internationals | -105 |
| United States | +100 |
| TIE | +1100 |
Odds taken December 12th.
If you’re wondering why the US was so heavily favored coming into the event, just take a look at the rosters which are heavily slanted towards USA.
2019 Presidents Cup Teams & Player World Ranking
| Team USA | Team Internationals |
|---|---|
| Justin Thomas – 4 | Adam Scott – 18 |
| Dustin Johnson – 5 | Louis Oosthuizen – 20 |
| Tiger Woods – 6* | Hideki Matsuyama – 21 |
| Patrick Cantlay – 7 | Marc Leishman – 28 |
| Xander Schauffele – 9 | Sungjae Im – 36* |
| Webb Simpson – 11 | Abraham Ancer – 39 |
| Patrick Reed – 12* | Byeong Hun An – 42** |
| Bryson DeChambeau – 13 | Adam Hadwin – 48* |
| Tony Finau – 16* | Cameron Smith – 52 |
| Gary Woodland – 17* | Joaquin Niemann – 56* |
| Rickie Fowler – 22** | C.T. Pan – 64 |
| Matt Kuchar – 24 | Haotong Li – 65 |
*Denotes Captain’s Pick
**Denotes Injury Replacement for Brooks Koepka and Jason Day
Captain Tiger Dominates on Day 1
Anyone thinking Tiger Woods might have a lackluster performance like he had in the Ryder Cup last year was sorely mistaken because the Big Cat paired up with Justin Thomas to dust Marc Leishman and Joaquin Niemann 4&3.
That, however, was the lone bright spot for a team that couldn’t match the Internationals hot putting and ball striking.
Playing Captain @TigerWoods ?pic.twitter.com/ZYzT8JFWHd
— Presidents Cup (@PresidentsCup) December 12, 2019
Three of the other four matches were at least close with the margin of victory only being one hole in two of them and two holes in the other one – but what would qualify as a huge shock was the team of former US Open champions Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland getting waxed 4&3 at the hands of Louis Oosthuizen and Abraham Ancer.
Not saying Day 1 is crucial for the International team at Royal Melbourne, but they’ve won the opening session just twice (1998 and ’03, the team’s only victory and a tie). It’s crucial.
— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) December 11, 2019
Day 2 will switch from the Four-Ball Format to the Foursomes (aka Alternate Shot), which has seen the States demolish the Internationals in the last six Cups to the tune of a total margin of 45-17.
Day 2 Foursomes Matches
| Dustin Johnson/Matt Kuchar | Match 1 | Louis Oosthuizen/Adam Scott |
| Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay | Match 2 | Adam Hadwin/Joaquin Niemann |
| Patrick Reed/Webb Simpson | Match 3 | Marc Leishman/Abraham Ancer |
| Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas | Match 4 | Hideki Matsuyama/Byeong Hun-An |
| Rickie Fowler/Gary Woodland | Match 5 | Sungjae Im/Cameron Smith |
Of note, none of the day one groupings for the Internationals are the same while three of the United States pairings are (Tiger, Reed, Schauffele) and Haotong Li is the only golfer to be benched for the first two sessions (Matt Kuchar, Rickie Fowler and Cameron Smith draw in for day two)
Who You Should Bet Today
It seemed inconceivable that the United States would ever be plus money to win the Presidents Cup with them being a massive -275 favorite to begin the week. There’s still plenty of golf yet to be played with 15.5 points needed to raise the cup.
Grab ahold of the friendly odds on the States now because with their stacked team plus incredible recent history in Foursomes, there’s a strong likelihood that they’ll close the gap after day two.
Stay the course and continue to bet the Americans with confidence, with this time being able to line your pockets with even more money.
Pick: Team USA Wins Presidents Cup (+100)
Michael "Hound Dog" Harrison is well known in the sports industry as the resident statistician for the SC with Jay Onrait Show. He has worked at TSN for over 16 years, where he's been featured on Sportscentre, That's Hockey, That's Hockey 2Nite, The Masters preview shows, and several more.
