The 2023 Ryder Cup is fast approaching. In just over one month, the two teams will line up at the Marco Simone Club in Rome, with the USA looking to defend the trophy they won in spectacular style at Whistling Straits in 2021. But first, the two captains have to finalize their respective playing rosters, and the market we’re looking at today in our latest golf picks is betting to make the 2023 USA Ryder Cup team.
USA Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson has the chance to go down in history. The USA team hadn’t won a Ryder Cup on European soil since the Belfry in 1993 when Tom Watson led his team to a 15-13 win over the Europeans in the UK.
Since that victory for the US, Europe has largely dominated on both sides of the Atlantic. But in more recent years, the US team has started to win again in the States, and they have now won the last two on home soil in 2016 and in 2021. The win in 2021 was huge, with Steve Stricker’s team thrashing Europe 19-9, which was the biggest winning margin since 1967.
The win was also by the youngest-ever USA team in the history of the Ryder Cup. Unfortunately, the LIV Golf breakaway has affected the US team. As it also has the European team.
Despite the issues caused by the LIV Golf breakaway, the US still looks to have the better players on paper. And this is reflected in the latest Ryder Cup odds, where Team USA is -135 to win the trophy. A win for Europe is +150, with the tie at +1200.
The odds might sound closer than they should be. But this is down to the course setup. The Europeans – as is their prerogative to do so with home advantage – will no doubt create a course with smaller fairways and longer rough. This is the opposite of what the majority of the US team regularly plays on when competing on the PGA Tour.
If this tournament was in the States, there is absolutely no doubt that the American team’s odds would be far shorter.
This is what is making Zach Johnson’s wildcard picks so intriguing. Johnson will want players he believes can handle the pressure and also have the experience of playing more golf on European courses. This means he may pick past reputations ahead of current Stateside form.
| Betting to make the 2023 USA Ryder Cup team |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brooks Koepka | -2000 | -2000 | -2000 |
| Max Homa | -1200 | -1200 | -1200 |
| Rickie Fowler | -800 | -800 | -800 |
| Collin Morikawa | -700 | -700 | -700 |
| Cameron Young | -300 | -300 | -300 |
| Justin Thomas | -225 | -225 | -225 |
| Sam Burns | +200 | +200 | +200 |
| Tony Finau | +200 | +200 | +200 |
| Lucas Glover | +225 | +225 | +225 |
| Keegan Bradley | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Russell Henley | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Dustin Johnson | +700 | +700 | +700 |
The first name that springs to mind when it comes to picking a player on reputation is Justin Thomas. Just over 12 months ago Justin Thomas had just won his second PGA Championship title and was an absolute certainty to play in the Ryder Cup.
But the former World No.1 player has had an absolute stinker of a year and sits well outside the automatic qualifying places. There is no way he could be picked on form. But he may get the pick on reputation and past Ryder Cup experience.
But Thomas has to place all his hope on Zach Johnson giving him a wildcard pick.
The best online golf betting sites make Justin Thomas -225 to make the 2023 Ryder Cup team. But we think that is a bet well worth avoiding. He may get the nod to go to Europe. But it is one hell of a risky bet as things stand.
Another name who looks sure to go is LIV Golf rebel Brooks Koepka. But despite his short odds, events could transpire that see Koepka not make the cut.
The 2023 PGA Championship winner currently sits in fifth place on the list of automatic qualifiers for the Ryder Cup team. But with just the top six players selected, Koepka could get bumped off the list by any two of Max Homa, Xander Schauffele, or Jordan Spieth after the BMW Championship.
Should two of those players push Koepka outside of the top six, he would be relying on a wildcard from Zach Johnson. We certainly wouldn’t want to be waiting on a wildcard had we backed Brooks Koepka at -2000, so that bet also looks worth a miss.
Finally, what about Lucas Glover? The 43-year-old has come from nowhere to stand on the brink of getting a shock place on the 2023 Ryder Cup team. If anybody had suggested Glover’s name six months ago, they’d have been laughed out of town.
But now after his wins at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the Wyndham Championship, he has seen his odds slashed to +225.
Currently, in 16th place in the standings, Glover is still relying on a wildcard pick from Zach Johnson. But it would probably represent a bigger risk for Johnson not to pick Glover than to take him to Italy.
At odds of +225, we think a bet on Lucas Glover to make the 2023 US Ryder Cup team is a good value betting pick.
See below the best Las Vegas sportsbooks, where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
