USA Now -275 Favorite For Presidents Cup Following Announcement of Captain’s Picks
- The 13th Presidents Cup runs from December 12-15 from Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia
- Captain’s picks have been named with Tiger Woods selecting himself
- Do the Internationals stand a chance at winning?
In just over a month’s time the United States will compete against the International squad for the biennial Presidents Cup matches that historically have been dominated by the States.
Ernie Els and Tiger Woods have made their four captain’s selections with El Tigre making official what was already obvious – he needs to be on the squad. Is there any hope the Internationals can close the gap and win or are we in for yet another dismantling by USA?
Odds to Win 2019 Presidents Cup
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| USA | -275 |
| Internationals | +260 |
| Tie | +1200 |
*Odds taken November 8th
If you’re wondering why USA is so heavily favored, just take a look at the rosters. The top eleven golfers on the American side are higher in the world golf ranking than the highest ranked International, which is Adam Scott at 17. While the International side has home course advantage at Royal Melbourne (also hosted in 1998 and 2011, with a split in victories) the lack of depth on their team is glaring.
2019 Presidents Cup Teams & Player World Ranking
| Team USA | Team Internationals |
|---|---|
| Brooks Koepka – 1 | Adam Scott – 17 |
| Dustin Johnson – 3 | Hideki Matsuyama – 20 |
| Justin Thomas – 4 | Louis Oosthuizen – 23 |
| Patrick Cantlay – 6 | Marc Leishman – 27 |
| Tiger Woods – 7* | Jason Day – 29* |
| Xander Schauffele – 9 | Sungjae Im – 34* |
| Bryson DeChambeau – 10 | Abraham Ancer – 35 |
| Webb Simpson – 11 | Adam Hadwin – 44* |
| Tony Finau – 14* | Cameron Smith – 49 |
| Patrick Reed – 15* | Joaquin Niemann – 54* |
| Gary Woodland – 16* | Haotong Li – 61 |
| Matt Kuchar – 22 | C.T. Pan – 62 |
*Denotes Captain’s Pick
Tiger Woods to be Second Playing Captain Ever
If it wasn’t obvious before, it was after Tiger Woods won PGA Tour victory #82 at the Zozo Championship two weeks ago – he needs to join Hale Irwin as the only playing captain’s in the 13 match history of this event.
Thanks to format changes this year at the Presidents Cup Tiger is only required to play one team match before Sunday. It was a big part of his decision to be a playing captain.
— Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) November 8, 2019
Tiger won’t have to go all out like the Ryder Cup which has two sessions each day. The Presidents Cup has just one session each of the four days, so he’ll be fresh and rested accordingly. If history is any indication he probably won’t have to play every day anyhow, with USA sporting a gaudy 10-1-1 all-time record in this event.
Don’t Fall for the Odds on a Tie
A tie is super unlikely, even though +1200 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
| Year | Result |
|---|---|
| 2017 | USA won by 8 pts |
| 2015 | USA won by 1 pt |
| 2013 | USA won by 3 pts |
| 2011 | USA won by 4 pts |
| 2009 | USA won by 5 pts |
2019 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, just Jason Day has tasted major glory (back in 2015) while Hadwin and Niemann have registered one PGA Tour victory each and Sungjae Im is in search of his 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 bigger payout to wager on the International squad, there just doesn’t seem to be a clear path to victory with USA having such a deep and talented roster. Don’t try and do anything fancy here and stick with the status quo in this event. Bet the Americans with confidence.
Pick: Team USA Wins Presidents Cup (-275)
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.
