Presidents Cup Odds & Picks: USA Heavily Favored at -275 Over International Team

• The 13th Presidents Cup runs December 12-15 from Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia
• USA has dominated this event with only one loss in 12 all-time competitions
• Which player might snag the most points during the event this week?

The wait is finally over for the Presidents Cup down under at Royal Melbourne Golf Club with a battle between USA and the International players. These biennial matches have been historically dominated by the States, having won all but one of the competitions (the one loss was at this golf course in 1998 and there was one tie).

Tiger Woods and Ernie Els are the captains, with Tiger becoming the first playing captain at this event since Hale Irwin did it way back in 1994. Based on history and more importantly the world rankings, this should be a cake walk for the Americans yet again.

Do the Internationals stand any chance of pulling off the upset?

Odds to Win 2019 Presidents Cup

Odds taken December 8th

If you’re wondering why USA is so heavily favored, the structure of both teams heavily weighs the States with almost their entire squad higher in the world rankings than the Internationals. The top ten golfers are stronger than the best International competitor (Adam Scott at 18th). In other words, the lack of depth on their team is glaring.

2019 Presidents Cup Teams & Player World Ranking

*Denotes Captain’s Pick
**Denotes Injury Replacement for Brooks Koepka and Jason Day

Likely Top Point Getters at Presidents Cup

It would be stunning if Team USA didn’t dominate this Presidents Cup again, and if that’s the case, looking into who might register the most points for the Americans could be a worthwhile investment.

Gary Woodland has been one of the better Americans in the latter part of 2019 after struggling post US Open victory in June. He’s been third, fifth and seventh in his last three tournaments and with odds of +1200 to be top American and +1600 for top overall points performer, it’s hard to get better value.

I see now why they had to play the Hero in the Bahamas: Gary Woodland's ball flight, illegal in all 50 states.

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) December 6, 2019

Another solid slightly off the radar selection would be Patrick Cantlay at +700 and his odds increase to +1000 for top overall points getter. He just quietly goes about his business and has zero weaknesses in his game, as evidenced by him being no worse than 26th in the top six ‘strokes gained’ categories on tour last season. Though he’s a rookie to the Presidents Cup, he has the demeanor to not let that affect him at all.

Don’t Fall For the Odds on a Tie

A tie is super unlikely, even though +1400 odds are awfully juicy.

In those twelves all-time matches, there’s only ever been one tie way back in 2003 which pitted this year’s captains Tiger and Ernie in a playoff that remained deadlocked as darkness fell. The talent gap disparity is too wide for a tie to occur, however two matches ago USA won by just a single point.

Past Five Presidents Cup Results

Presidents Cup Betting Advice

The United States are insanely stacked – even the captain’s picks are dominant with Tiger and Gary Woodland both winning a major this year and Captain America Patrick Reed winning the Masters last year.

Of the captain’s picks on the other side, Adam Hadwin and Joaquin Niemann have registered one PGA Tour victory each while Sungjae Im and Byeong Hun An are both in search of their maiden title.

This moment from @TigerWoods at the '09 @PresidentsCup is your #FridayFeeling and then some. pic.twitter.com/C1uAu3GdhQ

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) November 8, 2019

As much as the odds would result in a big payout to wager on the International squad, there isn’t a clear path to victory with USA having such a deep and talented roster. Don’t do anything fancy here and stick with the status quo in this event and bet the Americans with confidence.

Pick: Team USA Wins Presidents Cup (-275)