Ryder Cup betting

“We proper hate ‘em.” “War on the shore.” The Ryder Cup is one of the highlights of any sporting season, and interest in Ryder Cup betting is growing as the countdown to one of the mostly keenly contested fixtures in the sporting calendar gathers pace.

The Ryder Cup is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The first competition took place in 1927.

That’s the bare bones of the competition. The details are it has become one of the titanic struggles of world sport, with bad manners and acts of incredible sporting chivalry merely adding to the drama and excitement of the competition and leading to a surge in popularity in betting on Ryder Cup results.

It used to be that Ryder Cup betting was more concerned with what margin the Americans would trounce the British and Irish team by. More of a social event, one of the highlights of a bygone age where the supermen from the States would hand out a routine thrashing to their cousins from across the pond – most of whom were significantly lower down to the standings in world golf.

In 1979 all that changed, and Ryder Cup betting was forever altered when the Europeans were invited to join the party. The bi-annual fixtures would never be the same again, and results would be considerably closer. History was being made, predictions had to be revised and the final outcome was entirely unpredictable. No longer did the UK and Ireland golfers take their beating.

Ryder Cup betting odds suddenly changed because of the emergence of a golden generation of Spanish golfing greats who were led by the incomparable Seve Ballesteros, a man who took losing to the Americans personally. He is one player who transformed golf betting.

No shot was impossible. No competitor unbeatable. Suddenly Ryder Cup bets had an edge and after 13 successive American triumphs, at the Belfry in 1985, Europe’s best put together a string of results which upset the odds, handed the Americans the mother of all beatings and added spark and passion to golf betting.

The Americans didn’t like it one bit. Ryder Cup betting odds, which had favoured them for so long, were no longer carved in stone. More history was made two years later when the Europeans went to America and won.

In 1991 the Americans fought back at Kiawah Island. The final outcome was in doubt until the singles competition on the last day and although the odds still favoured the home team, what followed was ‘not quite cricket’ as the home crowd, and some questionable tactics and antics from the home players, ensured a Ryder Cup bet on the home team would be rewarded.

The competition had lost some of its sparkle. But Ryder Cup betting has regained its place in the sporting calendar as the bar has been raised in each staging of the tournament. Ryder Cup bets mirror the intensity of the event.

Indeed, Ryder Cup betting offers three days of excitement. Online bookmakers will offer a multitude of free bets to internet customers forecasting the team standings at the end of each day. It is, of course, possible to put a Ryder Cup bet on margins of victory, the highest individual points scorer and the points spread between the teams.

As one golf journalist said: “golf betting is usually all about individual players being able to conquer the field and their emotions. Betting on Ryder Cup winners, however, allows a modest amount of tub thumping. Go with your heart as much as your head, men’s golf in Europe is on the rise, big time, and a Ryder Cup bet on ‘our lads’ to triumph should be rewarded at Celtic Manor.

“The Americans have traditionally been strongest in the singles events on the final day, which always causes palpitations to those who have put their Ryder Cup bets on the Europeans to build up a healthy lead during the opening two days of competition.”

Blanket television coverage has sparked an upsurge in live Ryder Cup betting, with the nature of the game meaning online Ryder Cup betting is often the fastest way to react to events unfolding on the course.

The tournament in 2010 will be staged at Celtic Manor in Wales. With a passionate European support, and Tiger Woods a mere shadow of the player he once was, bet on Ryder Cup success for Colin Montgomerie’s team.

But as the journalist warned: “If you have a free bet to place with your online bookmaker, it might be wise to consider Corey Pavin’s charges. The Americans like nothing better than upsetting the odds. And while a Ryder cup bet on a home win should be rewarded, it’s no foregone conclusion.”