The Presidents Cup: The 14th Biennial Match Between the US and International Teams

• The 14th biennial match between the United States and International teams
• The International team, which has only one win, is decimated by LIV Golf defections
• Regular PGA Tour stop the Quail Hollow Club hosts

The Presidents Cup Top Points Scorer Odds

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The Presidents Cup Picks and Predictions

Cameron Young to top score in the event at +2000 with bet365

Sungjae Im to be Top International Scorer at +650 with BetMGM

This week could be a very strange one.

Reports from North Carolina indicate that, ahead of the 14th edition of the Presidents Cup, an extraordinary amount of tickets and hospitality have been sold.

And yet there looks to be every chance that the match itself will be horribly one-sided.

As we’ll discover, the match has always favored the American hosts, but the International team has lost a raft of it’s finest players to LIV Golf while the US team has been less affected.

If you need any idea of just how much the books and compilers believe this contest is a mismatch then just look at the odds.

BetMGM price Team USA at -700 with the Internationals +650 and the tie +1700.

But even more damning is the Top Points Scorer market displayed above – the first 10 names are all American!

Many loclas – especially the fans – will not care if the result is one-sided, but for the sake of the event, television viewing figures and just pure entertainment, it’s vital that the visitors at least stay in touch until Sunday.

Format

US captain Davis Love III and International captain Trevor Immelman both have teams of 12 players.

They will play five foursomes (alternate shot) matches on Thursday and five fourball (betterball) matches on Friday.

Saturday has four foursomes in the morning then four fourballs in the afternoon.

On Sunday, all 12 players compete in the singles.

Each win is worth a point, tied matches a half point, the first team to 15.5 points wins and if the match closes 15 points a piece the result is shared.

History

This is a relatively new event, created in part to provide Team USA with preparation for the Ryder Cup (they were struggling badly in that event in the 1990s) and also to give international golfers the opportunity to enjoy team camaraderie.

The first match was in 1994 and Team USA has won 11 times with just one International victory (in 1998) and a tie in 2003.

That means the Americans have won eight matches in a row and last did so in 2019 when Tiger Woods was the player captain in a tight match hosted by Royal Melbourne in Australia.

Course

The Quail Hollow Club is a par-71 set at 7,571 yards which immediately reveals that length from the tee might matter.

The course has been tweaked a little for this week so the ‘Green Mile’, a tough stretch that normally comes at the end of a round, will play as the 13th to 15th so that it is integral to the result (match play doesn’t automatically require 18 holes, of course).

Rory McIlroy is a three-time winner on the layout and Justin Thomas won the PGA Championship there in 2017. Long straight driving is rewarded and the greens are very fast.

The Result

Backing a home win is the stuff of big rollers.

The International team has never had so many rookies (eight) but there are also six new boys on the American team. Will that actually help the visitors?

If there is to be a huge shock it will require both complacency from the home team and something special from the Internationals.

Unless you have deep pockets or a very strong feel for a surprise then this looks like a market worth ignoring.

Young Can Fly

Whilst an International win would be great for the game and the event (though not much fun for the Americans) it is hard to foresee.

There is plenty of youthful talent in the team, but better line-ups than this have failed to better Uncle Sam’s best and the knowledge that big crowds will be in attendance is a further problem.

Throughout the history of team matches (Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup, Presidents Cup) big and noisy home crowds have proved difficult to overcome.

If the Internationals win the pleasure will be great, but the chances are that they won’t.

So in terms of top scorer on the American side I’m happy to extend into the top score for the entire event and get slightly more value in the each way market.

With Quail Hollow favouring excellent and long drivers that points towards 2022 breakout star Cameron Young and he’s a backable each way price.

I can see Love III giving his entire team a good opportunity to accumulate points, arguably even more so if the game is one-sided, so I think he’ll get a good crack.

Take him each way to top score at +2000 with bet365, top price and paying out four places.

Singing for Sung

Three years ago Sungjae Im shared the prize for top International scoring with 3.5 points and I see no reason why he should not thrive again.

There are four Koreans on the team and there looks a good chance that Im will pair up with Tom Kim, a fellow whose enthusiasm and sheer talent looks ripe for producing a fine partnership.

Im also has great durability which will matter, both in playing lots of games and also staying strong if the team is struggling.

Take him to top the International scoring at +650 with BetMGM.

How to Watch The Presidents Cup