2025 Ryder Cup Betting Preview & Tips – JP
2025 Ryder Cup Betting Preview
Now, it is time for James Punt’s 2025 Ryder Cup Betting Preview.
It hardly seems like two years ago since Europe won the 44th Ryder Cup at the Marco Simeone Golf and Country Club in Italy. The two teams will now face off this weekend at the famous Bethpage Black course, Farmingdale, New York.
The format remains the same. Two teams of twelve will play a total of twenty-eight matches in matchplay format. Eight foursomes matches, where the two players on each team play alternate shots. Eight fourball matches where the best score from the two players is the teams score.
The final day sees all twelve players on both sides playing in a singles matchplay format. All matches are played over a maximum of 18 holes. The first team to score 14.5 points is the winner. Should the overall score be 14-14, the defending champions will retain the cup.
History
Of the previous forty-four Ryder Cups, the first nineteen were played as the USA VS. Great Britain. In 1973 it became the USA VS. Great Britain and Ireland and in 1979, it became the USA vs. Europe.
When it was just the USA vs. Great Britain, and for three events the USA VS. Great Britain and Ireland, the score was 18-3 to the USA, with one draw. Since the European players were included, the score is Europe 12, the USA 9, with one draw.
From being a rather pointless one-sided affair, the Ryder Cup has become one of the most compelling sporting events in the world. Europe first won the cup in 1985 and since then they have won eleven more. Of the last ten Ryder Cups, Europe have won seven.
Home Advantage
In recent times, home advantage has played a very big part in the outcome. The last five renewals have all seen home wins. Eleven of the last thirteen have been home wins. The last three away wins came in 2012, 2004 and 1995, and all were away wins for Europe.
Part of the reason for this is that the on course crowds have become increasingly partisan and the actual golf means less than the winning. It has all got a bit ugly, to be honest, and I expect that this year’s event will plumb new depths. We are in Trump’s America now and who knows, if things are going the Europeans way, half the team might get deported before the singles matches get started.
The 2025 Ryder Cup Course
Bethpage Black is regarded as a bit of a monster. A 7500 yards par 70, it is long with just two par 5s. The home team’s Captain has full say on how the course is set up and will do so to his team’s advantage, and the away side’s disadvantage.
For example, when played in Europe, the European captains have been known to have the fairways narrowed at the 310-320 yard mark, so that the American big hitters either have to be very accurate, or leave the driver in the bag.
Captain Bradley will have worked with his vice captains and statisticians to look at both teams’ strengths and weakness’ and set the course up accordingly. Any perceived advantage will be looked at and acted upon, if there is an advantage to be had.
The 2025 Ryder Cup Teams
Team USA
Scotty Scheffler
The World’s number 1 player needs no introduction. He has been in red hot form in recent months and there can be no doubting his number 1 status. Scheffler has six wins this season and hasn’t finished outside of the top eight in any tournament since The Players Championship in March.
However, it is one thing playing regular tour golf, and another playing in a team, with an 18-hole matchplay format. His Ryder Cup record is not great. He has played a total of nine matches and won three, drawn two and lost three. I would have to add that on home soil, he has played four and won three. It is that old home advantage thing again.
JJ Spaun
Making his Ryder Cup debut. This year’s US Open Champion was catapulted up the world rankings with that win, and into the USA Ryder Cup team. Previous to that US Open win, his sole US PGA title was the Texas Open in 2022. He was in decent form coming into this with two top 10 finishes in his last four events played.
Xander Schauffele
Will be playing his third Ryder Cup. His record is played eight, won three, lost four and drawn one. On home soil he has played four, won two, lost one and drawn one. His season has been limited by a rib injury early on and having picked up two Majors in 2024, he is winless in 2025.
He finished T8 in The Masters, T28 in the PGA Championship, T12 in the US Open and T7 in The Open Championship. He made every cut in his fifteen PGA Tour events. Very solid form, if not spectacular. Schauffele hasn’t played for five weeks and that can’t be great preparation for a big event.
Russell Henley
Another Ryder Cup debutant. Has enjoyed a very good season, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational back in March and having eight other top ten finishes. He missed the cut in the Masters and US PGA Championship but was T10 in both the US Open and The Open. Not the best off the tee but the rest of his game is strong. Get him paired up with a bomber in the Foursomes and he will be a useful asset.
Harris English
Runner up at The Open Championship and T2 in the USPGA Championship. He had two other top 10s, including winning the Famers Insurance Open in January. Not a hugely consistent player but he has won a lot of money. His game doesn’t stand out in many areas but he makes the most of what he has got.
Bryson De Chambeau
The only LIV Tour player to qualify automatically, thanks to finishing in the top 10 in three of the four Major championships in 2025. His move to the LIV Tour in 2023 drew the ire of the bereaved families of 9/11 and he had a public spat with them after they accused him of betraying the United States.
However, he is a big pal of Trump and is now painted as the all American hero, so he should have the backing of the USA fans.
De Chambeau has played in two previous Ryder Cups, in 2018 and 2021. He lost all three of his matches in Paris in 2018, but on home soil in 2021, he played three, won two and drew one. One thing that is a bit strange is that he hasn’t played any competitive golf for over a month.
The Captain’s Picks
Justin Thomas
A Ryder cup Veteran of three previous events. His first was in Paris in 2018 and he was Team USA’s top player with four points won from five matches played. In 2021 at Whistling Straits, he only played three matches and won two. Last time out in Italy he played four matches, won one, drew one and lost two.
Thomas has played nearly all his fourball and foursomes with his old mate Jordan Spieth and he is not on the team this time, so they have to find him a new partner and that might be a negative for team USA.
Thomas’ recent form is not great, with just one top 10 from his last six tournaments.
Collin Morikawa
Played in 2021 and 2023. In 2021 Morikawa paired up with Dustin Johnson in the pairs and won three points. He drew his singles match. In Italy in 202 he played four and won one match, paired with Sam Burns.
Morikawa has not won on the PGA Tour in 2025, nor in 2024, but he was having more high finishes in 2024. It is fair to say that his career has stalled somewhat. He has gone through five different caddies in 2025 as he grasps at straws to try to find that spark. Recently changed his putter in an attempt to help with his putting woes. Plenty to be concerned about.
Ben Griffin
Top 10 finishes in the US PGA Championship and US Open lifted him into contention. He has also won two PGA Titles and since May, he has had six top 10s including a win. One of the most consistent players on the team.
This will be his Ryder Cup debut, and he has not even played in any Presidents Cups. Griffin has played in a total of twenty eight tournaments this season, but with five straight top 12 finishes coming into this, he doesn’t look to be over golfed.
Cameron Young
Another Ryder Cup debutant but he has played in one Presidents Cup where he played four matches and won 1.5 points. He has been in very good form lately with form figures of 1/5/11/4/9. Young is a big hitter and a very good putter so we could see quite a bit of him if he settles well. He is a native of New York state so he has real home advantage.
Patrick Cantlay
Missed the cut in the last three Major Championships but was T2nd at the Players Championship, his second top ten in August, so his most recent form got him on to the team (9/30/2/30).
Cantlay has played in two Ryder cups. In 2021, he played four and won three, drew one and in Italy in 2023, he played four and won two. He has won both his singles matches. One of the loudest voices when it comes to wanting to be paid to play.
Sam Burns
Made his debut in 2023 in Italy. There, he played three matches and won one. Recent form saw a couple of top tens at the BMW Championship and the Players Championship. He is the best putter on the PGA Tour and that will see him as a poplar pairs partner.
Team Europe
Rory McIlroy
Achieved his goal of the Career Slam of Major titles when he finally won the Masters in April. His game did go AWOL for a while as he struggled to find motivation after hitting his target. He started playing well again and won the Irish Open a few weeks ago.
McIlroy will have no problem getting himself motivated for this weekend. He is a veteran of seven Ryder Cups (winning five), the most experienced player from either team. He has played thirty three matches and won sixteen, drew four and lost thirteen. Rory played a lot of team events as an amateur and he just gets the event and matchplay golf.
McIlroy’s record in away matches is played fourteen, won seven, lost seven. He played in all five matches twice.
Robert McIntyre
Scotland’s only member of the squad. Bob has played in a lot of amateur team competitions but just one Ryder Cup. That was in Italy, so this will be his first action on enemy soil, and that worries me. He has been known to get involved with the crowd and if he tries to pick a fight with thousands of pissed up Americans, he will lose.
McIntyre only played in three matches in Italy but got 2.5 points. He was put out last in the singles, and maybe Luke Donald didn’t have too much faith in him. Since then, he has become a more accomplished player, winning on both sides of the Atlantic. His fiery nature is my biggest concern as the US fans will be all over him.
Tommy Fleetwood
This will be Fleetwood’s fourth Ryder cup and his second in America. He got two halves from three matches at Whistling Straits in 2021. He was one of three Europeans to win all five matches in Paris and was three from four in Italy.
Fleetwood finally won a US PGA title with the Players Championship a few weeks ago. He is very popular with US golf fans, so he may get less abuse than other. He also looks a lot like Jesus, and most Americans wouldn’t give Jesus too much stick.
Justin Rose
Has played in six Ryder Cups and won four. In away matches he has played fourteen matches and won eight, which is very good, but he didn’t play in the massacre at Whistling Straits.
Runner up to McIlroy at the Masters, Rose went on to win the Fed Ex St. Jude Classic, beating JJ Spaun in a play-off. He is still doing it at the ripe old age of 45. There has to be some doubt as to whether a 45 year old will be up for playing 36 holes a day, but can the team afford to have him sit out any of the pairs matches? Especially with such a good record in away matches.
Rasmus Højgaard
Europe’s only rookie. He was in Italy for the last Ryder cup, shadowing his twin brother Nicolai, so he got a taste of what to expect, but this will be a baptism of fire, making his debut away from home. Missed the cut at Wenworth two weeks ago, but he had two runners up spots from his last four events.
Tryell Hatton
A LIV tour player, but he qualified on merit thanks to a top four and two top twenty finishes in the Majors. Hatton has played in three previous Ryder Cups. Only one was in America and that was at Whistling Straits, a real low point for Europe in the Ryder Cup, losing 9-19. Hatton managed to get 1.5 points from his four matches
The Captain’s Picks
Shane Lowry
Maybe he could be in better form, he didn’t qualify on merit and only has a couple of recent top 20s under his belt. Made his debut at Whistling Straits and won one point. In Italy his second appearance saw Lowry score 1.5 points from three matches, so it is not a great record and he has only played in six matches. He might find himself sitting out a couple of matches.
Sepp Straka
Won twice on the PGA tour with the last being the Truist Championship at Philadelphia Cricket Club in May. His recent form is OK with a top 10 and top 20 in his last four. He hasn’t played for four weeks and he missed out on the teams get together at Wentworth last weekend.
Straka stayed at home in the US to be with his wife and new born child, who arrived earlier than expected. He did join the team for their practice trip to Bethpage. Any rustiness might be offset by ‘the nappy factor’.
Straka made his debut in Italy and was a bit of a stranger to the European crowd as he has lived and played in America for most of his life. He got one point from his three matches.
Ludvig Åberg
Another player who made his debut in Italy 2023. He won two points, both when paired with Victor Hovland, and they may well be paired up together once again. Åberg only turned pro in June 2023 and to find himself in a Ryder Cup team four months later must have been crazy. He hadn’t even played in a Major championship! In one match he and Hovland beat Scheffler and Koepka 9&7, a record margin of victory.
His 2025 form saw him win the Genesis Invitational in February. Most recently, he has scored three top 10s in his last seven events.
Victor Hovland
Made his debut at Whistling Straits where he played in five matches and got two draws. He played all five matches again in Italy and won 3.5 points. In March 2025, Hovland won the Valspar Championship and in his last three events he has finished 7/12/5 so he is in good form.
Matt Fitzpatrick
Perhaps the only controversial 2025 Ryder Cup pick by Captain Donald. Fitzpatrick has played in three previous Ryder Cups and managed to win just one point. He has played away twice and lost five from five, in total. It is difficult playing in away matches, but he lost two of his three matches in Italy last time out.
I thought Donald should have left Fitzpatrick out and taken a chance on the big hitting Marco Penge who would have been a great teammate for any of the European players in the pairs matches at the very long Bethpage Black.
2025 Ryder Cup: Summary
The home advantage factor is very big, the last team to win away from home was Europe, indeed the last three away wins were all to European sides
The one thing Europe have done well over the years is to prepare well and operate as a unit. The Americans play for the USA, the Europeans play for each other. No stone is left unturned in terms of meeting the players’ needs, and their caddies.
It was Tony Jacklin who first turned Europe into a formidable unit. He took the Captaincy in 1983 and treated the players like Kings. Concorde was chartered to fly them to Florida, they all got kitted out in the finest cashmere and he told them they were better players.
Jacklin got his rewards. His first Ryder Cup saw a one point defeat, but he led the team to three consecutive victories after that. Jacklin made the European team a very professional operation and that attention to detail has prevailed.
Continuity
This will be the first time that Europe will have retained the same captain since the days of Jacklin’s four cup reign. It worked for Europe then and perhaps the continuity factor will work for them again. It is not just Donald who remains the same, but he has the same vice captains, including Jose Maria Orlazabal, who helps keep the spirit of Seve alive, and many of the back-room staff.
The European team only has one rookie and it is just one initial different from the team that won in Italy in 2023. Nicolai Højgaard has been replaced by his twin brother Rasmus. It will not be a completely new experienced for Rasmus as he was embedded in the team in Italy. He will know the other guys well.
Four USA Rookies
The USA features four rookies. The team that gave Europe such a hiding at Whistling Straits in 2021 has been broken up. Only seven players remain. The is no Spieth, no Dustin Johnson, and no Koepka. Three big name, Major winning, experienced players gone. Only one player from the LIV tour has made the USA side. Europe have Rahm and Hatton, keeping that core together despite the split between the two tours.
The USA side could be weakened by having four rookies. Playing Ryder cup golf is very different to anything else the rookies will have experienced. Players have described just how nervous they have been teeing it up on day one. Feeling physically sick is a common one. A bit of adrenalin is a good thing, too much, a bad thing. Having played in a previous Ryder cup doesn’t dispel the nerves, but it helps.
Tougher For Captain
Having so many rookies can also make the Captain’s job harder. He has to pair his players up, finding pairings that work, and that can take time. Some just don’t work, like Woods and Mickelson. Captain Donald knows his players very well and knows how they interact with each other. He very likely had his pairings worked out weeks ago.
In terms of the quality of the two 2025 Ryder Cup teams, there isn’t much in it. The ‘European’ players actually play most of their golf on the PGA Tour, and not only play on it, but are winning on it. McIlroy, Straka, McIntyre, Fleetwood, Rose, Åberg and Hovland have all won on the PGA tour in 2025. Raham, Hatton, Lowry and Fitzpatrick have done in previous years. Only Rasmus Højgaard is a bit light on PGA experience.
Hostile Crowd
Most of the European players live at least part time in America. They are going to face a hostile crowd, but they are perfectly at home in America. When the Ryder Cups come to Europe, the Americans really are playing away. The food is different, the climate and so on. The Europeans do not have to adapt, just get over any jet lag.
Continuity vs. Home Advantage, which is worth more? That is the question. I am a big fan of continuity, in any sport. You have to introduce change, but too much all at one time can be detrimental. Have Team USA put too many rookies in the team?
USA are the 1.67 favourites for the 2025 Ryder Cup, Europe 2.80. The odds on Europe have been drifting in the last week or so, but I am prepared to ignore the herd and back the continuity factor to give Team Europe the edge.
Masterstroke
It may have been a masterstroke to retain the services of Luke Donald and his team of vice captains. The players regard him very highly, and that is not always the case with Captains. He got everything right in Italy, he learned the captaincy ropes and this event is not new to him in the role as team leader. Europe have the players, there is no gulf in class, and again, that is not always the case.
The European players have all been supplied with VR headsets, programmed to project playing in a very hostile environment. The players have been asked to wear the head sets to get used to the cat calls, the jeering, the swearing. The attention to detail goes that far for Team Europe.
All Inclusive
Will it work? We shall just have to wait and see. The expectation is that the New York crowds will be the worst ever seen at a Ryder Cup, and that is saying something. Things will not be helped by the fact that tickets have been sold as ‘all inclusive’ packages.
Food….and drink is included in the price. I know it will only be some weak as pish American beer, but I imagine the crowd will get their money’s worth. Inhibitions will cast aside with every bottle consumed.
There was quite an outcry when the ticketing arrangements were announced. At $750 each, per day, the pricing was described as ‘insane’. There was even speculation that the high price would mean that the crowds would be more genteel. Older, richer, less boisterous punters, no riff raff. And that may be the case. They might just be too polite. Maybe the doomsayers will be wrong about the USA fans.
The crowd will not be entirely American. Europe will be bringing 2500 fans so the European players will have some support.
High Ticket Prices
The high ticket prices forced the hand of the PGA into paying the USA players for playing in the Ryder Cup. Some of the (USA) players have been saying that they should be paid for a while now. Patrick Cantlay was quite outspoken about it in Italy 2023 and the PGA had nowhere to hide when charging $750 a pop for tickets.
The players, the USA players, are getting paid to play. The Europeans are not, and they haven’t asked to be. It is a different mindset. The Europeans see it as an honour, the Americans, a job.
2025 Ryder Cup Betting Tip: 2 points Europe to win the Ryder Cup @ 2.80 with SpreadEx
Looking at the winning scores by away teams, we have had two 18.5 – 9.5, two 15-13 and two 14.5 – 13.5. I can’t foresee Europe winning by much, one or two points is more realistic.
2025 Ryder Cup Betting Tip: 0.5 point Europe to win 14.5 – 13.5 @ 13.00 generally available
2025 Ryder Cup Betting Tip: 0.5 point Europe to win 15 – 13 @ 13.00 generally available
There is a myriad of side markets and the most popular is Top Points Scorer. You can back the top combined points scorer, and the top scorer for each team.
This is where you have to try and guess the pairings for the first two days and which ones might work best, and who might get to play in five matches. This year, with Europe big on continuity, we can look back at the 2023 event for some hints. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it kind of thing.
The first session in 2023 saw Europe winning all four foursome matches. The pairings were Rahm/ Hatton, Aberg/Hovland, Lowry/Straka and McIlroy Fleetwood. I can see something similar happing this time round. Rahm and Hatton are LIV Tour teammates, so that pairing looks very likely.
Same Ball
Fleetwood and McIlroy both play the same ball, the TP5. McIlroy switched to the TP5 this year, while Fleetwood plays the TP5X. McIlroy played the TP5X for quite a while, so switching back to that ball should be easy.
Lowry/Straka? That might happen again, but with Lowry not in top form, he may be left out. The Hovland/Aberg pair is strong and a good fit. Captain Donald played exactly the same pairings in Saturday Foursomes when they won three and lost one.
That meant only Lowry and Straka didn’t win both their foursomes. Surely Captain Donald will stick with the winning formula? Maybe the Lowry/Straka pairing changes, but the other three look good to go again.
Fourball Changes
Donald changed the line ups for the fourball matches. We had Hovland/Hatton, Rahm/ Hojgaard, McIntyre/Rose and McIlroy/ Fitzpatrick. Only McIlroy/Fitzpatrick won, with the other three being halved.
Saturday’s fourballs saw Hovland paired with Aberg, as per the foursomes. Fleetwood was paired with Hojgaard, McIlroy and Fitzpatrick were retained as a pair, while Justin Rose was paired with McIntrye as per Friday. So, a couple of changes, but still a lot of continuity.
Only two players played five matches. McIlroy and Hovland. McIlroy was Europe’s top points scorer with 4, Hovland and Hatton ended up with 3.5. Aberg, Rahm, Fleetwood and Hatton played four matches, the remaining six players all played three times.
Big Beasts
Team Europe have two Big Beasts in their line-up for the 2025 Ryder Cup. McIlroy and Rahm. Rahm didn’t get picked for all five in 2023. Rookies Hojgaard, Straka and McIntyre all played three, along with Lowry, Fitzpatrick and the 43 year old Rose.
It is easy to see this year’s rookie Ramus Hojgaard getting three matches, Lowry three matches, Fitzpatrick three and maybe Straka three. Rose is two years older now and he may be rested as a result, but he does have a good record away from home.
McIlroy is a stick on for playing five. Tommy Fleetwood has to get at least four matches along with Rahm, Hovland, Aberg and Hatton.
Obviously, those getting to play five matches, and at the very least four, have the best chance to be top points scorer. McIlroy is the 5.00 favourite to be the top European points scorer, as he was in 2023. It was John Rahm who was top scorer in 2021. Hatton was placed T2nd and 3rd in the last two Ryder Cups. McIlroy was placed in the top European points scorer market in 2016, 2014 and 2012.
McIlroy’s Odds Fair
McIlroy’s odds are fair enough, he will get five matches and a minimum of three points looks likely. Rahm is a 6.00 shot and he should be in the mix, but the one that interests me is Tommy Fleetwood.
He is a very popular player in America and he might get an easier ride than some. He is very easy going and not one to get too het up and you can’t say that about the likes of Rahma, McIntyre and McIlroy to some extent.
Fleetwood is likely to be paired with McIlroy in the foursomes again and that is a good start. It could be that he gets to play all five but he looks a stick on for four. He is in great form and has finally got that not winning in America monkey off his back. Fleetwood is a 7.00 shot and looks a solid e/w bet.
2025 Ryder Cup Betting Tip: 1 point e/w Tommy Fleetwood to be Europe’s top scorer @ 7.00 with Betvictor, Skybet, Betfair (1/4 the odds 1-3)
Justin Rose makes some appeal at 21.00 but at 45 years old, maybe he will be rested and get just three matches. Tyrell Hatton is 10.00. He has been placed in this market for the last two Ryder Cups and as a likely partner for Rahm he can score well in the pairs.
2025 Ryder Cup Betting Tip: 0.5 point e/w Tyrell Hatton to be Europe’s top scorer @ 10.00 with Betfred, Betvictor
In terms of the top USA points scorer, it is hard to look beyond Scotty Scheffler. He is the 4.00 favourite. Scheffler only scored one point in 2023 and it was Max Homa who was the top USA player, with Cantlay and Harman placed. In 2021 it was Dustin Johnson who picked up all five points, with Cantlay and Morikawa placed. Scheffler is notable by his absence.
Patrick Cantlay has played in two previous Ryder cups and got to play four times in each. With that sort of record, he should be a regular pick this weekend. He looks to have the right mindset for Ryder Cup Golf. He took a lot of stick in Italy but kept his head down and got on with it.
2025 Ryder Cup Betting Tip: 0.5 point e/w Patrick Cantlay to be the top USA points scorer @ 9.00 with SpreadEx, BET365
One interesting side market is the ‘first off in the singles’ market. The Captains invariably top load their singles line ups. Everyone wants to get off to a good start and ‘send a message’ to those teeing off later. The first players out will be one of the big beasts. Unless a Captain mixes things up, but that rarely happens.
For Europe, the temptation must be to open up with McIlroy or Rahm. McIlroy has gone out first in three Ryder cups, but it is said that he prefers to bat further down the order. In 2023, he was out in fourth place and he has previous gone out second or third.
Captain Donald went off with Rahm in 2023, the USA with, who else but Scheffler. If McIlroy prefers to come out third or fourth, that is what he will get.
It is hard to see Donald opening up with anyone other than Rahm. The big Spaniard would love a crack at the World Number 1. He only gets to play against Scheffler in the Majors these days and he will want to remind everyone that he is every bit as good as the top dog.
2025 Ryder Cup Betting Tip: 1 point John Rahm to be first out in the singles for Europe @ 4.00 with Skybet, Betfair
Of course, the other possible first out for the USA is DeChambeau. Maybe Donald would want McIlroy to play De Chambeau so we could yet see McIlroy out first, if Donald second guesses the USA line up, but I expect Donald to play things very much like he did in Italy.
In the same vein, we have the player to tee off last in the singles. In 2023 Donald left it to rookie Bob McIntyre to bring up the rear. It can be seen as a bit of a graveyard shift. It could be all over by the time the last man out is concluding his match, so putting a rookie out last makes some sense.
If a close match is expected, the Captains will want to have a good closer further down the order. Maybe not their very big beasts, but an experienced player who can get it over the line. Tommy Fleetwood has gone out 11th in the last two Ryder Cups and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him out late, but maybe not last.
I expect Donald to leave the rookie to bring up the rear.
