2nd Oct 2013 | Golf
President’s Cup Tips: International Team
The pressure is on the USA and several of their team have mediocre records at Muirfield Village.
On paper the USA look very tough to beat. The have eight of the nine highest ranked players on their side, they have home advantage and they have only lost the Presidents Cup once in nine editions.
Given the weight of evidence in their favour, I still can’t bring myself to back them. If you compare the average points per player, (using an average of averages) there is little to split them. Team USA average 0.47 points, the Internationals average 0.48.
Secondly, the market expects the USA to benefit from home advantage but a lot of their players have poor records at Muirfield Village. Brandt Snedeker, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Bill Haas, Zach Johnson, Webb Simpson and Jordan Spieth have distinctly average records at the course.
In 23 starts between them, they have two top-10s, eleven missed cuts and ten finishes outside the top-40. Considering this is the cream of American talent, over half their team don’t play Muirfield Village particularly well.
The Internationals don’t have as much course experience but eight of their team have registered a top-30 finish at Muirfield Village.
After their collapse in the Ryder Cup, the pressure will be on the USA, a team that is never quite the sum of its constituent parts. With that in mind, I’m happy to snap up the 11/4 (Stan James) on a win for the International team.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 10:54 2nd Oct, 2013 but subject to change
