Ryder Cup Day 1 Picks & Predictions: Cash in by Shopping for the Best Odds

Our Ryder Cup picks for Day 1 based on the odds from our best golf betting sites are focused on the morning foursome matches between Team USA and Team Europe. The Europeans are looking to win for the seventh consecutive time on their side of the Atlantic and are a slight favorite in the 2023 Ryder Cup odds.

All eyes will be on the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy, as Team USA looks to follow up its 10-point victory in 2021 with its first win on European soil since 1993.

Surely, Team Europe will be motivated to rebound from their poor team play at Whistling Straits in 2021. The Europeans trailed 11-5 before Sunday’s singles matches, and realistically were all but finished when trailing 9-3 after Saturday’s morning session.

With the Ryder Cup odds moving in Europe’s direction over the past month, will the Euros jump out to a hot start in Rome on Friday?

Here are our top Ryder Cup picks for Day 1 based on the odds from our best sports betting apps (pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Ryder Cup picks: Strategy

This is an incredibly difficult event to handicap, and as a result, I’m leaning on finding the best available odds from across our best sports betting sites in a top-down-betting strategy for the Day 1 matchups.

Sure, we can look at recent form, past Ryder Cup results, and all the available statistics. But, all bets are off once you tee it on the first hole at Marco Simone.

I have identified a handful of players to target and fade for the morning foursomes matchups, and then I looked for where there were advantages to be found from landing the longest available odds from our best sportsbooks.

Ryder Cup picks: Day 1 matchups

McIlroy and Fleetwood vs. Cantlay and Schauffele (+110 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐

Considering the European duo are trading as low as -105 to beat Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele through Caesars, I’ve dialed into the +110 FanDuel odds for Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood.

The difference in the two highlighted prices is a positive expected value of 8%, and I had identified Fleetwood’s well-rounded game as a solid fit for foursome play. Additionally, Fleetwood’s recent form on approaches should gel perfectly with McIlroy’s elite off-the-tee game.

Fowler and Morikawa vs. Lowry and Straka (+100 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐

This is a questionable pairing from Europe captain Luke Donald. Sepp Straka is a Ryder Cup rookie, and Shane Lowry’s recent tee-to-green game hasn’t been sharp.

Additionally, while I don’t love Rickie Fowler’s form, either, he’s been in this position before. Plus, Collin Morikawa is elite with an iron in hand.

Still, the driving force for this recommendation is the gap in the available odds. With FanDuel listing Fowler and Morikawa at -125 to win this match, we’re gaining a positive expected value of 11% with the +100 bet365 odds.

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