Presidents Cup: USA enters as heavy favorites

Since the event's inception in 1994, the United States has dominated the Presidents Cup.

The Americans hold a 10-1-1 record at the competition and once again are the clear-cut favorite to claim victory.

The odds on the USA have been dropping for weeks now. After opening in the low -200 range, they've been bet to a -375 favorite. The International squad is sitting at +350 with a tie at 12/1.

This year's event will take place at Liberty National in New Jersey. The course lays out more toward the longer hitters with a par 71 playing at a little over 7,400 yards.

The Americans are stacked once again with six of the top 12 players in the world rankings representing their country. The Internationals have just two in the top 15, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama.

As good as they are at the top, they also have a stronger bottom of the team with Kevin Chappell and Kevin Kisner picking up wins this year, while guys like Anirban Lahiri and Emiliano Grillo are anchoring the Internationals.

For the past month or so, I've been tacking a US win on with all my top five bets to juice those odds. I just don't see a way for the International team to overcome the depth the Americans possess.

I do think the International team can keep it competitive, though. I haven't seen a spread posted on any site yet, but I'd look hard at the Internationals +3.5 or +4.5 in the -110 range if it becomes available.

I have one prop bet down for the competition. I took Marc Leishman 10/1 to be the top International scorer for the event. This is Leishman's third Presidents Cup, and I think we may see him join up with fellow Aussie Jason Day to form the squad's top pairing. Given the form he showed in the playoffs, I think he's playing better than guys like Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace, all of whom have better odds.

Joshua has spent the last five years writing about sports and the last 10 years betting them, mostly on golf. He's one of approximately five people who will watch the PGA over the NFL in November. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaPerry22

Photo: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

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