Team USA favorites at Ryder Cup due to LIV defections?

Team USA Captain Steve Stricker holds the Ryder Cup after his team won over team Europe at Whistling Straits, Sunday, September 26, 2021, in Haven, Wis Gary C. Klein/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Why Team USA is already the heavy favorite ahead of 2023 Ryder Cup

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 9/26/22

The start of the 2022-23 PGA Tour and DP World Tour seasons are right around the corner, but golf fans and sportsbooks alike are already looking ahead to next fall and the 2023 Ryder Cup. And it is already very clear who the favorite is to win one of the most exciting golf events of the calendar year -- even though the event is roughly a year away.

Team Europe has won seven of the last 10 Ryder Cups dating back to 2002 and will play host in the latest event taking place at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome. However, it is Team USA that is the heavy favorite out the gate at DraftKings, coming at -190 odds to start off this week.

For those who believe this past week's American dominance will translate into breaking the 30-year foreign soil losing streak at next year's Ryder Cup, the current odds (DK):

USA: -190
Europe: +185
Tie: +1200
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) September 26, 2022

So why is Team USA so heavily favored at sportsbooks ahead of a big event that is a calendar year away?

This could be in part because the United States is fresh off of a Presidents Cup win last weekend -- an event which Scottie Scheffler and company were also favored to win.

But perhaps the biggest reason the U.S. team is considered the heavy favorite this far ahead of the game is due to the large number of European players who have defected to the LIV Golf series and therefore forfeited their qualifications to participate -- a topic that continues to be heavily debated on both sides of the aisle. (If you ask Rory McIlroy, he would probably have some very stern words for his former Ryder Cup teammates who left the European Tour for Greg Norman's Saudi-funded golf league.)

Those betting odds will of course change since the big event is so far out, but it is worth keeping an eye on. With the golf world being in such a transitional and volatile state right now, it's anyone's guess what those odds will look like when the 2023 Ryder Cup finally comes around.

Check out our FREE bets page for the best sportsbook offers anywhere

More must-reads: