A raucous Ryder Cup crowd at Bethpage will be a sea of red, white and blue, but there is value around the visitors who mentally have a stronghold over their American counterparts.
Sportsbet has the Americans floating around the $1.65 mark to win and Europe 2.50. That line screams a desirable punt worth taking for the betting man. For all of Team USA’s firepower, there is genuine value in backing the Euros.
As my colleague Matt Cleary discussed in his Monday column (linked below), the payment saga around the American side means Europe will hold the high ground.
Europe’s players will compete for pride, tradition and for the badge on their chest. Not a cent in remuneration. The Americans, meanwhile, will each receive US$500,000 simply for turning up, with $300,000 directed to a charity of their choice and $200,000 for themselves or whatever they see fit. It is not the sum but the symbolism. These players would not lift a finger for $200,000 in any other week, but here it becomes a transaction. Admittedly, their esteemed leader Keegan Bradley said he would be donating his entire half a mil to charity, here is hoping all of his multi-millionaire troops do the same.
Europe’s squad rejected the concept outright. For them, the Ryder Cup’s legacy and being part of something larger means more than cash. That difference in motivation might not be able to be statistically measured, but it has always mattered, and at Bethpage it could well be decisive.
The New York galleries will be raucous, even hostile. Yet Europe have a collection of players who will aim to harness that energy, I don’t think anything the New York crowd throw at the Euros will worry them. They have won 10 of the past 15 Cups, including a complete dismantling in Rome, and their chemistry looks strong once again. The Americans insist they are united but Europe don’t have to keep saying they are, they just are.
The players still have to perform. The Scandinavian duo of Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Åberg are a huge piece of the puzzle in my opinion. They must deliver for Luke Donald. Hovland has already won this season but has not quite touched the heights of his 2023 FedExCup run and has been tinkering with his swing and coaching set up all year. Åberg has been extremely solid without being amazing. Donald cannot afford to lean solely on Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Jon Rahm and co when coming up against the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler. If Hovland and Åberg play near their best, Europe’s odds shorten considerably.
Across the aisle, the Americans are youth-loaded. Four rookies, Cameron Young, Russell Henley, J.J. Spaun and Ben Griffin, will face the unique intensity of Ryder Cup match play. All are fine players, hence why they made this side, but the crucible of Bethpage is another matter. Europe, with only Rasmus Højgaard making his debut, holds firm in the experience stakes. History says home advantage usually prevails, but Europe’s seasoned core knows how to weaponise the underdog tag.
And then there are McIlroy and Rahm. McIlroy, 36, remains Europe’s emotional heartbeat, their best performer in Rome and a man who has said he would pay his own money to play. Rahm, fresh off LIV’s Individual Championship is a Ryder Cup force with a history of brilliance. These two rising lifts the rest of the group to their level.
The U.S. has depth, with seven of the world’s top 10 in its ranks, but depth alone does not win the Ryder Cup. Europe looks battle-tested, bonded, and motivated. The bookies may favour the U.S, but there is a sense of something special brewing in the European camp.
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