At long last, the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black has finally arrived. Well, actually, we still have one more rainy day standing between us and Friday’s opening tee shot. The longest week in golf is feeling extra long right now.
The good news? That gives us more time to continue to scour the odds boards, pour over the data and make any last-minute adds to the card. Given the sheer amont of offerings, there may not be a better week to be a golf bettor.
Our experts have full breakdowns of their favorite plays below.
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Ryder Cup picks 2025: Pick to win
Pat Mayo, Underdog/Fantasy National, Mayo Media Network analyst: Team Europe to win (+170, DraftKings, tie is a loss) — These teams look pretty even on paper entering the Ryder Cup and an extra 75 cents seems lofty, and that’s solely because it’s in the U.S. Should the U.S. be favored? Yes. But this much? No.
Christopher Powers, Golf Digest senior writer: Team U.S. -1.5 Tournament Spread (-110, DraftKings) — The very recent history of this event would lead you to believe this should be a U.S. blowout. While part of me thinks that’s the most likely outcome, another part of me is drinking this disgusting European kool aid about them bringing 11 of 12 guys back from Rome, bringing Luke Donald back, and seeming extremely well-prepared and determined for this away-game test. That still won’t be enough to win, but it will be enough to keep it close on Sunday, which will make for great TV.
Andy Lack, Inside Sports Network: Team U.S. to win by 1-3 points (+300, FanDuel) — To be very clear, I do believe that the U.S. team has the better squad on paper both from a course fit and form standpoint. With that being said, Europe has both the coaching and continuity advantage, and I really do strongly believe in the system and foundation that Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari have built based on culture and advanced analytics. I would be genuinely shocked if this is a blowout. US in a nail-biter.
Ryder Cup picks 2025: Favorite U.S.-related prop
Mayo: Collin Morikawa under 1.75 points (+100, Coolbet) — It’s been awhile since Morikawa has shown anything on the course so it plays out one of two ways. Keegan chucks him out early to get him going or they give him a four ball Friday match. If he loses either, he may get buried and we don’t see him again until singles.
Powers: U.S. Day 1 winner (-105, FanDuel, tie is a loss) — The U.S. has won Day 1 in each of the last three home Ryder Cups, all by two points or more. I do think Europe puts up a much better Day 1 fight than the U.S. did in Rome, but the home-field advantage is still far too great on Friday.
Lack: Justin Thomas 1.5 points or less (-105, FanDuel) — I’ve been fairly low on Justin Thomas over the last couple of months, and I have been particularly disappointed about his performance in recent major championships. I know that he has a strong Ryder Cup record, but his performance in Rome was mediocre at best, and the United States have far stronger players right now from a form and fit standpoint. Let’s hope Keegan Bradley walks through making some uncomfortable decisions.
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Ryder Cup picks 2025: Favorite Europe-related prop
Mayo: Matt Fitzpatrick, Top European point scorer (+1575, Coolbet) — Very sneakily (or not if you’ve been paying attention), Fitz has reverted back to his 2022 form to end the summer. Since the U.S. Open he’s vaulted back inside the top 30 in the world from outside the top 75 with his string of consistent play. He’s posted seven top 10s in his past nine starts and continued playing in Europe after the playoffs and had no finish worse than sixth in any of his three starts. He won his major in the Northeast at a difficult course and may get a chance to play in foursomes to kick off the event. If he can win that match, we may get four sessions out of him.
Andrew Redington
Powers: Ludvig Aberg, Top European point scorer (+900, FanDuel) — Aberg played four sessions as a rookie in 2023 in Rome and went 2-2-0, including a 2-0 foursomes record alongside Viktor Hovland, which included the 9&7 drubbing of Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka. Can’t imagine Luke Donald splitting that Nordic duo up and I think it’s possible the European captains plays this young buck all five sessions.
Lack: Jon Rahm, Top European point scorer (+400, FanDuel) — Firstly, I love this golf course for Jon Rahm. His power off the tee, long iron play, and experience on long, major championship style golf courses should serve him quite well at Bethpage. Rahm has a 6-3-3 overall Ryder Cup record and I expect him to get a plethora of opportunities to be paired with some of Europe’s strongest other players.
Ryder Cup picks 2025: Favorite miscellaneous prop
Mayo: Sepp Straka under 1.25 points (+100, Coolbet) — Hasn’t been playing much, and when he has, it hasn’t been good. If we don’t see him Day 1 with Lowry in alternate shot, he may only get two sessions for a max of two points.
Powers: Viktor Hovland, Top Wildcard points scorer (+1000, FanDuel) — This is simply a play on opportunity. Hovland has played all five sessions in both of his Ryder Cup appearances. He’s a guy Donald can pair with anyone and find success, and it’s hard not to love his chances against anybody in Sunday singles. The only other one in this field who is a lock to play all five sessions is Jon Rahm, so it might be a battle to four points between the two of them.
Lack: Scottie Scheffler, Top Overall point scorer (+500, FanDuel) — I actually think that Scottie Scheffler is somehow undervalued by the market here. +500 to score the most points at the Ryder Cup when he is routinely half that price to win 120-player tournaments is wild to me. The U.S. team has a strong enough end of roster that I am fairly confident that Scheffler will be a favorite in every single match he plays. There is not a single other player in the tournament we can say this about.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
