Back Europe to win Ryder Cup before opening ceremony
Published:Virtually all of the money in the past week has been on the US winning the Ryder Cup, but punters fancying Europe are advised to place their bets ahead of the opening ceremony.
The heavy support for the US has resulted in them being cut from 5/6 to 4/6 for victory, with home advantage and the better recent form of their team the leading reasons for this.
However, Europe cannot be discounted, as they have won six of the last eight renewals of the Ryder Cup, have fewer rookies on their team and more overall experience of the demands of the competition.
Europe are currently 6/5 to win the Ryder Cup, but there is a strong chance that hearts will rule over heads in the final build up to the first tee shot.
As with most sporting events, there is liable to be an influx of patriotic punts on a European victory and this could drive down the price.
The sight of the opening ceremony may be the moment to begin this stream of bets, so it may be best to take the price on Europe now.
Among the relatively late bets that have already been popular with punters is for Luke Donald to be the top points scorer from within the European ranks.
Donald is now 11/2 in this market and he is expected to help Europe get off to a promising start in the opening-day foursomes, given that he has a 100 per cent winning record in this format over past Ryder Cups.
Brandt Snedeker was previously appealing to punters in the US equivalent of this market, although Dustin Johnson is now attracting support at 9/1 as the Medinah course is expected to suit his long game.
All odds and markets correct as of publication
