The Ryder Cup continues on Friday morning with four-ball (best ball) at 6:25 a.m. ET.
Team USA captain Zach Johnson and Team Europe captain Luke Donald each have announced their four two-man teams for the second session (two-way moneyline odds via bet365):
- Match 1 6:25 a.m. ET: Justin Thomas & Jordan Spieth (+110) vs. Viktor Hovland & Tyrrell Hatton (-138)
- Match 2 6:40 a.m. ET: Scottie Scheffler & Brooks Koepka (-110) vs. Jon Rahm & Nicolai Højgaard (-110)
- Match 3 6:55 a.m. ET: Max Homa & Wyndham Clark (-163) vs. Robert MacIntyre & Justin Rose (+130)
- Match 4 7:10 a.m. ET: Collin Morikawa & Xander Schauffele (+110) vs. Rory McIlroy & Matt Fitzpatrick (-138)
Our Action Network golf betting experts have analyzed the odds and made their best bets for Friday four-balls at the Ryder Cup. Find their betting picks and analysis along with best bets below.
Ryder Cup Best Bet: Friday Four-balls
Viktor Hovland & Tyrrell Hatton (-138) Over Justin Thomas & Jordan Spieth (Ties No Bet | bet365)
Tee Time: 6:25 a.m. ET
Spencer Aguiar: We didn't get the prices I was hoping for with any of these four-ball matches. It is worth noting that my model gave an edge to Homa/Clark over McIntyre/Rose, Scheffler/Koepka over Rahm/Hojgaard and McIlroy/Fitzpatrick over Morikawa/Schauffele if directly comparing all the battles ensuing.
Still, I will keep things simple for the afternoon and go with the fade I have been discussing all week in Spieth/Thomas.
My model has noticed this low-end Birdie or Better Rate and similar inconsistencies off the tee in 2023 for both that have lowered the usual ceiling the duo typically possesses in this best ball format.
Both Spieth and Thomas ranked among the bottom-five individually in projected four-ball performance because of those marks, and it gives us a chance to grab the talented tandem of Hovland/Hatton that will produce one of the higher Birder Rates of any unit.
Rory McIlroy & Matt Fitzpatrick (-138) Over Collin Morikawa & Xander Schauffele (Ties No Bet | bet365)
Tee Time: 7:10 a.m. ET
Jason Sobel: Silly me, I actually thought an American duo would win a foursomes match.
I’ll go with the completely reactionary selection of Rory and Fitz in four-balls. I’m already on McIlroy as top points scorer for Europe, but let’s not get things wrong: This is just as much of a U.S. fade.
I’m not so sure Schauffele played better than his now-benched partner Patrick Cantlay in the morning, and I’m similarly not sure Morikawa can make a putt outside of gimme range.
I’ll also use this space to defend Zach Johnson just a bit — perhaps the only defense he’ll get. I completely understand fans being upset that Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka weren’t in the foursomes session — I thought at least Spieth and JT would be — but I also always believed that foursomes was a better format for Brian Harman and Rickie Fowler.
It’s obviously easy to second-guess Johnson after a 4-0 drubbing, but Donald’s decision to start with the alternate-shot format forced his hand and possibly led to some ill-timed overthinking.
