Presidents Cup Odds
The Presidents Cup kicks off on November 17th at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Victoria. The Presidents Cup is a golfing competition between the United States and an international team representing the rest of the world excluding Europe. Europe competes against the US in the Ryder Cup. You can follow the tournament from the official website.
The competition is a four day event that consists of 34 matches in all. The first day consists of six matches of foursomes. The second day consists of six matches of four-ball. The third day consists of five matches of foursomes in the morning and five matches of four-ball in the afternoon. On the fourth and final day, twelve singles matches will be played.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with golf matches, below are some match definitions.
Foursomes – golfers compete in teams of two, using one ball, and taking alternate shots until the hole is completed. Team members also take turns in teeing off on each hole.
Four-ball – consists of two teams of two players competing directly against each other. All four golfers play their own ball throughout the round, and each hole is won by the team whose member has the lowest score.
Both teams have 12 players plus a non-playing captain. For the international team the captain is Greg Norman. The team itself consists of five Australians, three South Africans, three South Koreans and a Japanese player. The players are listed below:
Jason Day (Australia)
Adam Scott (Australia)
Charl Schwartzel (South Africa)
K. J. Choi (South Korea)
Kim Kyung-tae(South Korea)
Retief Goosen (South Africa)
Geoff Ogilvy (Australia)
Ernie Els (South Africa)
Y. E. Yang (South Korea)
Ryo Ishikawa (Japan)
Robert Allenby (Australia)
Aaron Baddeley (Australia)
The American team is captained by Fred Couples. The players are:
Matt Kuchar
Steve Stricker
Dustin Johnson
Webb Simpson
Nick Watney
Phil Mickelson
Bubba Watson
David Toms
Hunter Mahan
Jim Furyk
Bill Haas
Tiger Woods
Betting
From a betting perspective, the main interests are the overall winning team and the top points scorers. Based on his third place finish in Sydney, Tiger Woods is the odds on favourite for the top overall scorer, just ahead of Phil Mickelson, with Australian Jason day third favourite. I recommend selecting four or so players if you are planning on making a wager prior to the tournament start. Normally I wouldn’t back Tiger Woods, but his 3rd place last week is an impressive result. I would be inclined to include Tiger Woods, Jason Day and Adam Scott in my selections. Just remember to take into account the possible teammates for the foursomes and four-ball matches.
The Presidents Cup has been contested eight times since its inception in 1994. In that time the USA has won six, drawn one and lost one, and given their added experience through participation in the Ryder Cup as well as this event, the 1.93 odds on the USA look to be good value.
For those in Melbourne who are looking to attend, below is the event schedule. Tickets are available through ticketmaster.
Update:
Tiger Woods will square off against Australian Adam Scott – and his ex-caddie Steve Williams – in a promoter’s dream match-up on the opening day of the Presidents Cup on Thursday.
Woods will team up with Steve Stricker for the United States against the International team’s Scott and South Korean KJ Choi in the final match of the opening day’s foursomes at Royal Melbourne.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/golf/woods-to-face-scott–and-williams–on-first-day-at-presidents-cup-20111116-1ni7r.html#ixzz1dq6zz85e
Pairings for the opening day foursomes matches:
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Bubba Watson-Webb Simpson (USA) v Ernie Els (RSA)-Ryo Ishikawa (JPN)
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Bill Haas-Nick Watney (USA) v Geoff Ogilvy (AUS)-Charl Schwartzel (RSA)
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Dustin Johnson-Matt Kuchar (USA) v Aaron Baddeley (AUS)-Jason Day (AUS)
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Phil Mickelson-Jim Furyk (USA) v Retief Goosen (RSA)-Robert Allenby (AUS)
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Hunter Mahan-David Toms (USA) v Kim Kyung-Tae (KOR)-Y.E. Yang (KOR)
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Tiger Woods-Steve Stricker (USA) v Adam Scott (AUS)-K.J. Choi (KOR)
Here’s a pretty good promotion from Sportsbet:
Back either team to win, and if they lose by two points or less Sportsbet will refund your money.
Update:
Here are the pairings for the Friday four-ball session. The U.S. hold a 4-2 lead over the International team.
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MATCH 1 – Bubba Watson-Webb Simpson, U.S. vs. Ernie Els-Ryo Ishikawa, International
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MATCH 2 – Jason Day-Aaron Baddeley, International vs. Tiger Woods-Dustin Johnson, U.S.
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MATCH 3 – Phil Mickelson-Jim Furyk, U.S. vs. Adam Scott-K.T. Kim, International
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MATCH 4 – Geoff Ogilvy-K.J. Choi, International vs. Bill Haas-Nick Watney, U.S.
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MATCH 5 – Steve Stricker-Matt Kuchar, U.S. vs. Y.E. Yang-Robert Allenby, International
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MATCH 6 – Charl Schwartzel-Retief Goosen, International vs. Hunter Mahan-David Toms