Ryder Cup 2021 Preview

The Ryder Cup is back! After postponement in 2020, we are back in 2021 with a trip to the USA and the Whistling Straits golf course for three days of fantastic team golf action. The appeal this competition has is because it brings something we do not see very often, and we’ve been delayed even further due to the postponement.

Team Europe are heading over the pond in a bid to retain the trophy they won in France back in 2018. The US team will be desperate for revenge, and it is a very different looking line up they have. Half of the team are rookies, playing in their first event, while it is the first time in 17 years that we have seen the Team USA Ryder Cup team announced without the names Mickelson and Woods in it.

Will home support galvanise the Americans and push them forward, or will the occasion be too much for the rookies? Here’s our take on the action coming this weekend.

Ryder Cup Format

For those who don’t know, here is how the Ryder Cup format works.

Friday – 4 x Fourballs, 4 x Foursomes – eight points available
Saturday – 4 x Fourballs, 4 x Foursomes – eight points available
Sunday – 12 x singles – 12 points available

Ryder Cup 2021 Preview

If you are looking at the two teams on paper and looking at world rankings and performances this season then Team USA have a pretty big advantage over the Europeans. However, we have seen this in the past, and it is worth remembering that the world rankings are based on individual single play, not the team game we see here.

16 of the 28 points available in this competition come from team play with the fourballs and foursomes, and this is where players need to work together to do something different.

With Team Europe, we can look back through history and pick out the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, who won four out of five points at his first Ryder Cup in 2018, all of which came in the fourballs and foursomes.

Team USA have players similar to that, Justin Thomas has a strong 4-1 record in the Ryder Cup while Jordan Spieth is 7-5-2 so far. However, six of their players have never played in the Ryder Cup before, and the trophy could actually be decided by how those six players perform and whether they can handle the European experience.

Given the prices on offer to win the Ryder Cup, we have to side with the Europeans here. Their team is set up perfectly for an away event, with experience to manage the crowd they will face. A good start could well see the fans demand more from Team USA, and the rookies may not be able to handle that pressure.

In terms of players, Tommy Fleetwood was the perfect playing partner in 2018, we are backing him to be the top European point scorer and repeat that here. For Team USA, we like Justin Thomas, who was excellent in 2018 and could well have the job of playing in the top USA pair this weekend.

Looking at the rookies, Viktor Hovland stands out, as he is very likely to be put with an experienced partner when he plays. That could well help him navigate and pick up points, so he is our choice to be top rookie.

Ryder Cup 2021 Best Bets

• Team Europe to win @ 2/1
• Tommy Fleetwood top European scorer – 17/2
• Justin Thomas top USA scorer – 6/1
• Viktor Hovland top rookie scorer – 11/2

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