The United States will vie for a seventh straight win over their international rivals when they welcome the world to Liberty National Golf Club this week as a heavy -330 favorite on the odds to win the Presidents Cup at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The American squad features three of the top four golfers on the World Golf Ranking, including FedExCup champion Justin Thomas, who has tallied two tournament wins in his past five tour appearances going into opening-round action on Thursday.
Pegged at No. 4 on the rankings, Thomas finished second at last week’s TOUR Championship as a +1200 bet to edge out heavily favored Jordan Spieth and claim the FedEx Cup crown. That capped a breakthrough campaign for the 24-year-old Louisville native, who also earned his first major tournament win at this year’s PGA Championship, paying out on attractive +2800 odds.
Spieth, the winner at this year’s Open Championship, is one of five major tournament champions on Team USA, along with top-ranked Dustin Johnson, current US Open champion Brooks Koepka, and veteran Phil Mickelson.
The Americans are undefeated in six previous occasions as the home team at this event, including a decisive 18.5-15.5 win at Muirfield Village as heavy -400 favorites in 2013.
The International entry at this year’s tournament is pegged as a +330 underdog on the golf odds to earn its first Presidents Cup win since recording a dominating 20.5-11.5 victory at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 1998.
While the Internationals may trail on the odds, they bring plenty of established talent to this year’s event including four major tournament winners. After a winless campaign in 2017, Australian Jason Day will try to rediscover the touch that earned him the victory at the 2015 PGA Championship, while 2013 Masters champion and fellow Australian Adam Scott looks to rebound after missing the cut at the Dell Technologies Championship as a +3300 wager.
South Africans Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzl return to the Presidents Cup for a third and fourth time, respectively.
Winner of the 2010 Open Championship, Oosthuizen finished second at this year’s PGA Championship as a long +1000 wager, before fading during the FedEx Cup playoffs. Schwartzl earned his green jacket at the 2011 Masters, but has cracked the Top 25 just once since missing the cut at the 2017 US Open.
Canada will be represented at this year’s event by Adam Hadwin. The Abbotsford, B.C., native earned his first PGA Tour victory at this year’s Valspar Championship while sporting +8000 odds, but has cracked the Top 10 just once since, and missed the cut in five of his past nine tour outings.
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