Ryder Cup Day 1 Odds & Preview – Pairings and Picks for Friday Fourballs and Foursomes

• The 43rd Ryder Cup from Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, WI starts Friday, September 24th
• Team USA is the +110 favorite to win the morning Foursomes matches and they’re +100 to win the afternoon Four-Balls
• See the odds and analysis as the United States begin their quest for their first Ryder Cup victory since 2016

The long wait for the Ryder Cup matches is finally over with the United States and Europe set to tee off Friday morning. The event was pushed back a year due to COVID-19, as the world’s best will compete at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

The course should be familiar to the golfers, as it hosted the 2004, 2010 and 2015 PGA Championships.

USA is favored to win just their third Ryder Cup since 1999. As is often the case, the underdog Euros band together and rip the hearts out of their bitter rivals, so it won’t be a cakewalk. On paper, the USA should overmatch the Europeans handily, with them boasting eight of the top-ten golfers in the world, compared to just one for their counterparts (#1 Jon Rahm).

In the morning, the matches will be Foursomes, which is often referred to as alternate shot. That’s followed by Four-Balls in the afternoon, where each golfer in the group plays their own ball through the entirety of the hole. Historically, the States struggle mightily at Foursomes, so it is mildly surprising that is the first group session.

Friday Ryder Cup Odds

Odds as of September 23rd at DraftKings

Star Studded First Group Out

It should come as no surprise that captains Steve Stricker and Padraig Harrington are sending out the big guns early on, with world #1 Jon Rahm paired with fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia. The United States will counter with great friends Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.

Day 1 Foursomes Groupings

US is sitting DeChambeau, English, Finau & Scheffler; Euros sitting Fleetwood, Hatton, Lowry & Weisberger.

— Adam Schupak (@AdamSchupak) September 23, 2021

With it being alternate shot, and with the Straits course being very penal for shots that miss fairways, the United States might be more in tough than expected. Thomas was 169th and Spieth was 180th in driving accuracy last season. Rahm and Garcia were 61st and 93rd, respectively, which should give them a leg up to begin each hole.

Garcia has also had a phenomenal Foursomes record in his stellar Ryder Cup career, going 10-4-3. A lot hinges on which Spieth will arrive this week off the tee, because if he gets wayward, it’ll handcuff his partner Thomas too much.

Looks like Jon Rahm’s beard got into a fight with a Sharpie and the marker won pic.twitter.com/ctyOg8kiYY

— Amanda Rose (@AmandaGolf59) September 23, 2021

The morning Foursomes could result in a draw, with the second and third matches leaning towards the United States. The anchor match Euro pairing features Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter. They always produce fireworks, so they could snag that battle to square it up after the morning session.

• Pick: Day 1 Foursomes tie (+275)

United States Poised to Grab Lead In Four-Balls Format

Without knowing who the groups competing will be in the afternoon, it stands to reason that the USA duos will have the upper hand, simply because there’s less variance in potential scores. Each player will play their own ball throughout the match, and that’s where the United States and their more talented roster can shine.

They simply have better players, and the course is set up to their liking with it being on their home soil.

It would be a stunner if most, if not all of the Americans who won’t tee it up in the morning don’t play in the afternoon. That means Tony Finau, who won a FedEx Cup playoff event, and Bryson DeChambeau, who starred in the playoffs, can get to work. The bottom four players of all 24 competing in total strokes gained the last 50 rounds are Europeans (Fleetwood, Wiesberger, Fitzpatrick and Westwood). This is a situation where the cream can rise to the top in the afternoon.

• Pick: United States win Day 1 Four-Balls (+100)