World Cup Golf Betting

Played every two years, the World Cup of golf is a four round stroke play event. The first and third days are played as fourballs with the second and fourth as foursomes. There are 28 teams competing from around the world in this distinctive format.

For the fourth time in a row the tournament is played in China, but it’s the first time at Mission Hills Haikou in Hainan. The course hosted the Mission Hill Star Trophy, an exhibition event in October 2010, but otherwise there is precious little form to go on.

Team stroke play is an unusual event; with no obvious trends I have highlighted some statistics that could help the selection process.

Average team world ranking
I have taken the average world ranking between the two players in the team. If the rankings don’t lie this should highlight the strongest pairings. But beware, two brilliant individuals don’t necessarily make a strong team; just think back to the Woods/Mickelson pairing at the 2004 Ryder Cup as an example.

Top Five
Ireland (8.0) – 9/2 Victor Chandler
England (20.5) – 7/1 Skybet
South Africa (25.0) – 6/1 Betfred
United States (29.0) – 9/1 Paddy Power
Spain (43.5) – 16/1 Paddy Power

Actual Scoring Average
The last three World Cup winning scores have averaged 27-under-par. The format, especially fourballs, suits players with an ability to score well. I have taken the combined scoring average of each player and found the five lowest scoring pairs. Unfortunately, data was only available for those teams who qualified for the tournament through their official golf rankings. European Tour data has been used, apart from the US team, and Martin Laird who plays predominantly on the PGA Tour.

Top Five
United States (69.86) – 9/1 Paddy Power
South Africa (69.95) – 6/1 Betfred
Ireland (70.19) - 9/2 Victor Chandler
Scotland (70.53) – 33/1 William Hill
Netherlands (70.57) – 33/1 William Hill