2025 Ryder Cup Best Betting Picks: Cameron Young, Rory McIlroy Among Best Value Bets

The tricky thing about betting on the Ryder Cup is that, as of this writing, we don’t know any of the actual matchups yet.

United States team captain Keegan Bradley and European captain Luke Donald won’t announce their foursomes pairings for Friday morning’s opening session at Bethpage Black until Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. From there, the flow of the competition -- who’s leading and trailing, who’s hot or not -- will dictate the matchups the rest of the way.

Still, there are plenty of props and futures bets we have enough information to consider right now. Let’s look at three of our best bets the day before the 45th Ryder Cup tees off.

Day 1 Foursomes Winner

When the U.S. team went to Rome, players were a month removed from the end of the PGA Tour season, and they were cold. It showed immediately, as Europe swept the U.S. 4-0 in the Friday foursomes (aka alternate shot) session.

In a way, the Cup was already decided. There was no way a road team was coming back from that humiliating start.

There’s better juju around the American team this year, from Bradley replacing Zach Johnson as captain to the terrific seasons of Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau. The U.S. is at home and most players tuned up at a PGA tournament two weeks ago.

Still, Europe historically has had an edge in foursomes, and the Americans’ best players don’t have a sterling record in the format -- both Scheffler and DeChambeau are 0-2-0 in Ryder Cup foursomes. This shouldn’t be a 4-0 beatdown, but the Euros likely take an early edge.

Pick: Europe to win Day 1 Foursomes, +170 (FanDuel)

Top Rookie

There are five rookies to choose from -- four on the American side and Rasmus Hojgaard on the European team -- and Russell Henley, the most accomplished of the lot, is listed as the favorite. But the correct play here is the one they call Young Cam.

If you haven’t heard by now, Young grew up in Westchester County and attended school in the Bronx. He once tied the course record at Bethpage Black (64 at the time) while playing in the New York State Open as an amateur. Other rookies might get nervy on Friday, but this is a home game for Young Cam.

Young’s last five finishes on tour: win, fifth, 11th, T4, T9. A long driver and an underrated putter, Young should be a great fit for Bethpage and a helpful partner for the Americans in either foursomes or fourball.

Pick: Cameron Young to be Top Rookie, +275 (BetMGM)

Top Point Scorer

Don’t overthink this one. Whether Europe wins or loses, why wouldn’t the top point scorer be Rory McIlroy?

He was in Rome, after all, earning four points in five matches. Speaking of that, you also need to consider who will play the most matches for their teams this weekend, as most players don’t feature in all five sessions. Barring something absolutely unforeseen, McIlroy will. He’s Europe’s best player and most experienced Ryder Cup stalwart all wrapped into one.

Check competing sportsbooks, but McIlroy -- who’s had one of his best seasons in recent memory and just won in Ireland three weeks ago -- is in a distant tie for second behind Scheffler on FanDuel’s list. That’s terrific value.

Pick: Rory McIlroy to be Top Point Scorer, +900 (FanDuel)