Presidents Cup Tips & Predictions
Individual rivals from the PGA Tour are set to be put aside this week as a 12-man team from the USA take on a squad of non-European international players at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in a battle for the Presidents Cup.
A series of matches will take place to see who can get to the magic figure of 15.5 points, but history suggests the International team captained by home Canadian favourite Mike Weir have their work cut out as they have won the trophy just once in 13 attempts and claimed just one tie.
America captain Jim Furyk has a galaxy of top players under his charge, including world number one Scottie Scheffler, so expectations are high that we will witness another comfortable USA victory after they won 17.5-12.5 at Quail Hollow in Carolina two years ago.
Tip 1 - USA to win by 7+ points @ 15/8
Each player Furyk has at his disposal enjoys a ranking inside the world’s top 25 and on paper the USA team looks much stronger than their International opposition.
There looks a strong chance they will prove it too with Scheffler coming off another trophy-filled season and others such as Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa proving regular Major contenders.
Each of the 12 players will have to play their part for the team to be successful but it is hard to detect any real weaknesses, while several of the International team will be anxious to justify their inclusion in Weir’s team.
The strength in depth is the key for the Americans and Furyk should be able to match them up into strong foursome and fourball pairings before unleashing them on the Sunday singles.
They should be able to come through with plenty to spare and a win by seven points or more is entirely possible.
Tip 2 - Collin Morikawa top USA points scorer @ 6/1
Scheffler is understandably the favourite in the top USA points scorer market, but he has struggled in recent matchplay events, finishing with just one half point from four matches two years ago and two halves from his four outings at last year’s Ryder Cup.
So it could pay to look a little further down the list and Morikawa, who was second behind Scheffler at the Tour Championship, has great potential for a big week. The former Open and US PGA Champion is a master with his irons, which will be a vital ingredient for success this week.
He also took two points from three matches at Quail Hollow after a storming Ryder Cup debut when he dropped just half a point in four matches at Whistling Straits.
Tip 3 - Adam Scott top International points scorer @ 7/1
Adam Scott can top the International team standings for most career Presidents Cup points if he posts just one half this week and the Australian looks a strong bet to lead their quest.
Hideki Matsuyama could prove his main rival, but Scott has shown he is back to his best this season and heads to Montreal in strong form, having finished second at the BMW Championship and fourth at the Tour Championship.
He can get the better of a modest group, which includes home talents Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith, who both failed to register a point at Quail Hollow two years ago.