Bookies Blog

The 37th edition of the Ryder Cup gets under way at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, this weekend. The European team have arrived as worthy favourites, aiming to retain the trophy for the fourth consecutive time. Europe’s recent dominance in the competition means that Paddy Power is the only firm offering odds-against at 21/20.

Nevertheless, Team USA will be led by two golfing veterans, Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson and will be buoyed on by the home advantage. The Americans may have six rookies in their team, but they shouldn’t be underestimated, especially with exciting young talents such as Anthony Kim. They are currently available to back at 13/10 with Sky Bet, with the tie at 12/1 with the same firm.

Europe has scored thirteen or more in each of the last 12 Ryder Cups, and look a safe bet to triumph again this year. Sergio Garcia has a cracking 14-4-2 overall record in his 4 Ryder Cups and looks set for a huge performance. Very much a team player, Garcia is decent enough value at 15/2 with Coral to be top points scorer. He is certainly the player in form, finishing in the top 20 in his last 4 PGA tournaments and has never lost in eight alternate-shot matches. He “just loves the Ryder Cup” and let’s hope that he comes up with the goods. He is difficult to oppose, but some punters may prefer the chances of Padraig Harrington, who was chosen by Faldo over both Colin Montgomerie and Darren Clarke.

Phil Mickelson’s Ryder Cup record of 9-12-4 is offputting from a betting point of view, whilst Furyk reads 6-12-2. With 6 players making their Ryder Cup debuts for Team USA in Valhalla, the duo will have to perform better if America is to have any chance of snatching the trophy. Kenny Perry has had a brilliant PGA season, but it may be worth siding with Anthony Kim to finish as the top American. Kim has drawn comparisons with Woods, but is likely to be a better team player.

Recommendation:

3pts at 21/20 Europe to win Ryder Cup 2008

1pt at 15/2 Sergio Garcia to be Top Points Scorer

1pt at 13/2 Anthony Kim to be Top American

Check out all the Ryder Cup betting at bookies.com:

Ryder Cup winner betting

Top American player betting

Top European player betting

Top Points Scorer betting

The Open due to start on Thursday looks to have a pretty high chance of rain, the weather report says it should only last 24hrs after such we may well be blessed with some sunshine. Still, its enough to throw some confusion among the ranks of golfers lining up for the biggest event on Britain’s golfing calendar.

Sergio Garcia has a lot to prove here at Birkdale, with the absence of Tiger one of his main rivals will be Padraig Harrington who landed two balls in the drink and then came back to beat Garcia last year at Carnoustie by one stroke. Harrington has had a good week as he opted out of the Loch Lomond Scottish Open this year in order to compete in the European open which he subsequently won.

Garcia is favourite at 9/1 on 888sport, Bluesq and Coral while Harrington is ranked fifth favourite at 16/1 (general). Both players made critical mistakes at last year’s Scottish Open despite both starting off comfortably. It’ll be interesting to see which one prevails this year, if you like the look of Padraig’s form recently then the bookies have offered pretty good value for the defending champ, but Garcia has had some training with Stan Utley recently and his putting is seen to be shaping up as proved by his latest win at the Players Championship.

And then there’s Ernie Els close behind Garcia with a short 10/1 with Totesport who pulled off a late win at the Honda Classic in March, pulling back from Luke Donald’s lead. He’s been looking reasonably good of late, apart form his win in Florida Ernie has also had a joint sixth in the Players Championship.

With the unwelcoming weather waiting for the players in Birkdale both Els and Mickelson are looking to sharpen their short game in order to get an edge on those who’ll rely on their drive to steal a couple less shots. Birkdale will be a real challenge for players like Garcia as no two holes are facing the same direction. Mickelson is at 16/1 (General) with his best price of 18/1 at Betfred.

All these contenders priced so close together and then add in a Lee Westwood at a 16/1 (General) it seems we’re spoilt for choice. But im inclined to take Garcia out of the equation due to the weather conditions and the difficulty of readjusting his shot according to varying strong winds, not that this is beyond his skill merely that the Spaniard cannot handle the psychological pressure applied at this level of play. Instead I feel Ernie Els to be pretty good value.

For more British Open betting markets click here.