Presidents Cup: United States battling International side for glory in Melbourne

The Presidents Cup returns to The Royal Melbourne Golf Club for the third time this week. And the all-important action gets underway on Thursday.

The biennial event pits together some of the world’s best golfers in two separate teams, with The United States Team coming up against The International Team once again.

Rotating between a host venue in the US and one internationally, the event returns to Melbourne, Victoria, this time around, with Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina in the US hosting the 2021 tournament

But all eyes will be on The Royal Melbourne come Thursday.

It’s currently 2/5 for a win for strong favourites USA. The International side can be backed at 11/4, with a draw available at 14/1.

Captains Tiger Woods and Ernie Els have been provided with the top eight players in the Rolex AJGA and World Amateur Golf Rankings respectively. They also have four picks each themselves.

Woods has also brought assistants in the form of Fred Couples, Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker. Els meanwhile will have K.J. Choi, Geoff Ogilvy, Trevor Immelman and Mike Weir alongside him.

Both sides were finalised at the end of last month, with Korea’s Byeong Hun An replacing Jason Day for the International Team after the Australian pulled out with a back injury.

The US have brought a strong squad of players. The likes of Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele will all be involved. 

Johnson is currently 6/1 to be the top American overall, with Thomas currently 9/2. Cantlay has been given odds of 7/1 to be the top player in the US team, with Schauffele currently 13/2.

Adam Scott meanwhile has been given odds of 4/5 to be the top Australian involved.

His fellow countrymen Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman can be backed at 7/2 and 23/10 respectively.

Punters have also given odds for the top Asian points scorer throughout the tournament. Hideki Matsuyama is currently 13/10. Sungjae Im and Haotong Li can be backed at 5/2 and 5/1 respectively. And C.T. Pan is currently 10/1.

The tournament will consist of a range of Foursomes, Singles and a Fourball, while a Junior Presidents Cup is also at stake. The top 12 eligible juniors for each side will battle it out while their professional idols do the same.

On one of Australia’s most renowned golf courses, the Sandbelt will play host to what looks set to be an exciting and entertaining event for all involved.