Ryder Cup Round 3 Matchup Bets (Expect McIlroy and Fleetwood to dominate)
Day 1 of the Ryder Cup is in the books and we're on the precipice of a blowout. If you were hoping for an event that's going down to the wire, you have to be disappointed by Friday's results.
Heading into Saturday, Europe has a 6.5-1.5 lead and is now a -550 favorite to win the Ryder Cup. Unless you want to bet on the USA to make a big comeback, there's no real fun in betting on the outcome of the event.
So, let's focus on matchup bets instead. I have a pick for each of the Saturday's foursomes.
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Ryder Cup Round 3 Pairings
- McIlroy/Fleetwood vs. Spieth/Thomas
- Hovland/Aberg vs. Scheffler/Koepka
- Lowry/Straka vs. Homa/Harman
- Rahm/Hatton vs. Cantlay/Schauffele
Ryder Cup Round 3 Best Bets
McIlroy/Fleetwood -135 vs. Spieth/Thomas
This might end up being the most lopsided matchup of the entire event. Rory McIlroy was on fire on Friday, and he and Tommy Fleetwood beat Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay 2 & 1 in the morning foursomes.
Meanwhile, Spieth was the worst player in the field on Friday. He collapsed down the stretch in his four-ball matchup with Justin Thomas, and it cost them losing a 2 UP lead with five holes to go.
I expect things to go even worse for them tomorrow. The way these two golfers have been playing this season doesn't lend well to an alternate shot format. Spieth is going to have some bad shots that are going to leave Thomas in bad spots. I think Fleetwood and McIlroy win this one in a rout.
Hovland/Aberg +120 vs. Scheffler/Koepka
Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka were another team that blew a late lead in a four-ball match on Friday afternoon, and they're another pairing that I think won't be able to play to their strengths in an alternate shot format. Scheffler's good for a few missed short putts each round which could prove deadly in a foursome match.
Meanwhile, Hovland and Aberg's game complement each other perfectly for alternate shot and it showed on Friday morning, beating Max Homa and Brian Harman 4 & 3.
Homa/Harman +115 vs. Lowry/Straka
I'm a fan of how Max Homa and Brian Harman play with each other in alternate shot format. Despite losing on Friday morning, I think that was much more a result of having to face a red-hot Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg than it was poor play from themselves.
Now, they have a much more favorable matchup against Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka.
I think this is a great matchup for Homa and Harman and is a good spot for the United States to get on the board.
Cantlay/Schauffele +130 vs. Rahm/Hatton
The legendary pairing of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele disappointed on Friday. They lost their morning foursome 2 & 1 to McIlroy and Fleetwood and then Schauffele lost in an afternoon 4-ball with Collin Morikawa.
I think they'll bounce back on Saturday morning. They have had too much success together to not think they'll have a better performance. I don't think the odds are set right in this one and I think there's some nice value on Schauffele and Cantlay at +130.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
You can check out all of Iain's bets here!