Ryder Cup Betting And Odds

The Ryder Cup dates back to 1927 and is named after Samuel Ryder, who sponsored the trophy and paid members of the winning team a fiver each. The first match, then between the British and the Americans, was held at the Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts.

In 1973 players from the Republic of Ireland were invited to join the Great Britain team and in 1979 the competition really started to take shape when players from other European countries were eligible to join the team. Stars like Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer bolstered "Team Europe", as they became known, and made the contest a lot less one-sided.

In fact, Team Europe pretty much owns the Ryder Cup in the past 25 years, being the winning team 8 of the last 12 times. The defending champions heading into the 2010 event in Wales are the Americans, however, after they crushed Europe in the 2008 event in Kentucky winning by 16.5 points - 11.5 points.

The format of the Ryder Cup with four-ball matches followed by a day of high-intensity match play games (the singles) lends itself to betting, as punters can bet on individual matches as well the overall winner and on how many points each player will earn for his team.

Going into the 2012 Ryder Cup which starts on Friday, September 28 at Medinah Coutry Club in Medinah Illinois, and runs until Sunday, September 30, many of America's and Europe's top players will be in attendance.

These include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyck and Steve Stricker for the home team, and Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood for the visitors.

However, most eyes will be on Woods and his Northern Irish nemisis McIlroy, who has a had a solid 2012, and appears to get better with every tournament he plays in. The Ryder Cup tournament is always a feast for golf betting, and this year's event will be no different, as the host of 2012 Ryder Cup betting lines attest to.

Click on our a Bookmaker logo on the right to compare the latest and most competitive 2012 Ryder Cup odds.