Best early bets for the 2025 Ryder Cup Matches at Bethpage Black

Ryder Cup week has arrived. This beautiful week, that we only get every other year, is my favorite golf event. The team element, the time of year, the hilarious pre-cup discourse, which this year features VR headsets, all make for what I believe is the perfect event.

It’s also a great event to wager on with three days of intense individual and two-person matches starting Friday and ending Sunday. The Americans head into the week as relatively small -150 favorites to reclaim the cup. We are a bit early as match pairings don’t get announced until after the opening ceremony on Thursday, but plenty of markets are available to give some picks! Here are a few of my favorite early week wagers for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.

To cash this bet the United States needs to outright win the opening session (2.5 to 1.5 at a minimum). With no matches announced yet or analytics to think about, I’m just going to rock with some trends. The first one being home team domination in the Friday foursomes matches the past 5 Ryder Cups. A quick look at the outcomes.

2023: 4-0 home (EU)
2021: 3-1 home (USA)
2018: 4-0 home (EU)
2016: 4-0 home (USA)
2014: 3.5-0.5 home (EU)

That’s right, in the past 5 cups the road team has only managed to squeak out 1.5 total points in the Friday foursomes matches. As long as the Europeans don’t exceed that number themselves, we are good! I’ll take those chances at +145 and hope the Americans come out of the gates sharp.

Tommy Fleetwood has the best total strokes gained on the European team over the past 3 months, according to data golf. His well-rounded game fits every format, so I expect him to play at least 4 sessions. Plus, his calm, positive disposition won’t be bothered by a potentially raucous American crowd. He would be my first pick in a draft to score the most points for Team Europe, but his odds are below Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm. I’ll take the value!

A handful of unknowns with this pick and I believe that’s why the odds are plus money. J.J. is a rookie and we don’t know how many sessions he will be a part of. We do know that his incredible approach play makes him a valuable match play asset and he has performed well in the biggest moments this year. I don’t expect the Ryder Cup to be too much for him. A win and a draw is all that’s needed to cash this ticket.

This will be Viktor’s third straight appearance in a Ryder Cup and although he only has a 3-4-3 record overall, I like his chances to put 2 points on the board for Europe this week. Hovland has played in all 5 matches in each of the past two Ryder Cups. If that’s a sign of things to come this week, the people who pick him will be in a great spot. He likely will be paired early and often with Ludvig Aberg this week in what team Europe hopes is their next great duo.