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2024 Presidents Cup Betting Preview
The Presidents Cup kicks off Thursday at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada, and the United States squad captained by Jim Furyk will take on the Internationals led by Mike Weir. Since its inception 30 years ago, the U.S. has dominated the competition by going 12-1-1. Nonetheless, the Internationals are getting respect from the oddsmakers +275 to win, giving them about a 25 percent implied chance to come out victorious for the first time since 1998. The Internationals have come close in their last two home editions of the event, losing 16-14 in Australia in 2019 and and 15.5-14.5 in Korea in 2015.
This is the second time Royal Montreal is hosting the event (also held it in 2007) and was also the home of the Canadian Open in 2014. Playing as a par-70 at approximately 7,300 yards, it's fairly long for a par-70 and the fairways are narrow. While we don't have any prior strokes gained data to draw from, I think we can conclude a combination of length and accuracy will be nice to have around here. In analyzing who I'd like to bet on for DFS and betting purposes this week, the first thing is trying to decipher how much golfers are going to play. Unlike the Ryder Cup, we have four days of golf and five sets of matches over the first two stages of fourballs/foursomes, so not as many players will sit out. Looking at the past team matches and analyzing how often golfers played is a good place to start, and it's not uncommon for the rookies to play less. Fourball requires aggressiveness, so it's a good idea to target guys that are capable of making a lot of birdies. I expect players to have a lot of longer iron shots into greens, so I'll look towards quality iron players as well.
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2024 Presidents Cup Team Breakdown
U.S. Team
Name | Presidents Cup Record |
Xander Schauffele | 6-3 |
Patrick Cantlay | 6-3 |
Max Homa | 4-0 |
Tony Finau | 3-2-3 |
Collin Morikawa | 2-1 |
Keegan Bradley | 2-2-1 |
Sam Burns | 0-3-2 |
Scottie Scheffler | 0-3-1 |
Rookies: Wyndham Clark, Sahith Theegala, Russell Henley and Brian Harman
It's no surprise to see the often paired together duo of Schauffele and Cantlay at the top of the list of Americans, as they've gone a modest 4-3 together over the last two editions of the event while each winning both of their singles matches. Finau is the only other player that was on the 2019 and 2022 teams where he went 2-0 with Homa in foursomes. Surprisingly, Scheffler went winless two years ago, although one would expect that to change this time around as he's playing at a much higher level now.
Team International
Name | Presidents Cup Record |
Adam Scott | 18-25-6 |
Hideki Matsuyama | 7-10-5 |
Sungjae Im | 5-3-2 |
Jason Day | 5-11-4 |
Si Woo Kim | 4-3 |
Tom Kim | 2-3 |
Christiaan Bezuidenhout | 1-0-1 |
Byeong Hun An | 1-2-2 |
Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith | 0-4 |
Rookies: Min Woo Lee, Mackenzie Hughes
Scott will be making a remarkable 11th appearance at the event, but his overall record leaves much to be desired. Perhaps he can right the ship this year following a strong summer in which he nearly won twice. Canadians Conners and Pendrith will look to forget their abysmal 2022 showings, and a switch in venue to their home country may be just what they needed. Pendrith has had a resurgent year, winning the Byron Nelson and also qualified for the Tour championship for the first time.
Top Team USA Point Scorer
Xander Schauffele (+450)
I know it's not an outside the box pick by any means, but if the team match is competitive this year, Schauffele has a good chance of playing all five times. His record in team events compared to Scheffler is enough for me to lean towards him. Pivoting towards Cantlay at +650 makes sense as well, although they didn't play every match together at the Ryder Cup.
Top International Point Scorer
Tom Kim (+700)
We saw Kim's passion at the 2022 Presidents Cup where he was the heart and soul of this team, so you know he's going to up for this as much an anyone. After falling off a bit early this year, he looked much better this summer, playing well at the Canadian Open and nearly won the Travelers. He played all five matches last time and as the youngest on the team, I'd expect him to do it again.
Top Rookie Scorer
Russell Henley (+550)
It's pretty crazy that at age 35 this is the first time Henley's made a Ryder or Presidents Cup team, but that's a testament to how good he's been this year. The key thing here will be to see if Henley plays in Thursday's fourball action. He's an excellent fit for foursomes, so there's a great chance we see him play four times if we see him Thursday. These are long odds considering there are only six rookies.
Tournament Winner
I know this looks like I'm playing both sides here - I think the U.S. wins narrowly but that there's value on the Internationals at +275. I think this is much closer to a 60/40 split compared to the 75/25 betting odds. After Furyk chose to leave Billy Horschel and Justin Thomas at home in favor of going right down the pecking order in the standings for his captain's picks, I question his ability to make tough decisions in switching up pairings when necessary or leaving struggling players on the bench. Ultimately, I think the U.S. has too much talent for the Internationals to overcome, especially at the top of the roster, but I expect this to be close come Sunday.
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