Are you looking for a good bet? Oddsmakers currently have the European Team as approximately a 2.5 to 1 favorite over the Americans in the upcoming Ryder Cup. Odds are set with an eye towards finding where the middle is on public perception. And the strong feeling is that since the Euros have dominated this event in the last 20 years, that will continue to be the case on Irish soil. I say that the home field advantage only evens up the match.

Way too little attention is being paid to current form heading into these matches. Since the European side will not be finalized until the end of next week, I’m considering the team standings as they are right now. And I’ll presume that Captain Woosnam’s picks will be Lee Westwood who is currently in good form and Johan Edfors who is a 2-time winner on the Euro PGA Tour this year. That should be close enough. So let’s take a look at the PGA Championship. Seven of the USA team members finished in the top 30, compared to 4 from the Euro side. Hmmm. After the first round of the WGC event this week, again it’s 7 of the Americans in the top 30 and only 4 of the Europeans. Double hmmmm.

I believe that performances in these 2 events are very telling as everyone from both sides is playing the same course under the same conditions. If you are going to risk a wager, you’d do well to watch for the final results at Firestone this weekend.

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