The Loop
Betting on the U.S. at the Presidents Cup: Is the risk worth the reward?
The U.S. team has been declared the favorite for this week's Presidents Cup by just about everyone not on the International squad. But just how big a favorite are the Americans? We looked at several online betting sites to find out.
BetUS had the Americans as the biggest favorite at -400. That means if you bet on the U.S., which boasts a 7-1-1 record in the event, you'd have to risk $400 to win $100. Bovada and Top Bet both listed the U.S. as -350. On the flipside, the International team was listed at anywhere from a +250 to +280 underdog ($100 bet would win $280). Suddenly, wagering on the Internationals doesn't seem so crazy.
These guys can't lose... Can they?
BetUS had the most bets listed of any of the sites we checked out. Some others of note:
-- Top American points earner: Tiger Woods (+450). Bill Haas, the lowest ranked (No. 29) player on the team came in at +1600. Twenty-year-old Jordan Spieth had the second-worst odds at +1200.
-- Top International: Adam Scott (+350). Surprisingly, the reigning Masters champ wasn't an overwhelming favorite here with Jason Day (+450) and Charl Schwartzel (+550) close behind. Captain's pick Marc Leishman rounded out this category at +1800.
-- Top captain's pick: Jordan Spieth (+125). Not surprisingly, the red-hot Spieth is the favorite here. Webb Simpson is +160 followed by Brendon de Jonge (+400) and Marc Leishman (+450).
Woods, the world's top-ranked golfer, was the overall favorite to win the most points in the competition (+700), followed by Scott (+900) and Day, Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker (+1000). The last time this event was held in the U.S., Woods went 5-0 at Harding Park in San Francisco, winning four of those points with Stricker as a teammate. Woods will play with Matt Kuchar on Day 1 this time, with Stricker pairing with Spieth.
So be prepared to risk a lot more money than you'll win if you back the U.S. this week at Muirfield Village. Oh, and if you're feeling really good about the red, white and blue, perhaps you should go ahead and bet on the underdog Americans for the 2014 Ryder Cup in Scotland. BetUS is currently offering +115.