Europe need just 2.5 points to retain the Ryder Cup after winning every session so far. Ben Coley previews the Sunday singles.
Golf betting tips: Ryder Cup singles
2pts double Rahm and MacIntyre to win their singles at 33/10 (Unibet, BetVictor)
1pt treble Cantlay, Spaun and Henley to win their singles at 15/2 (General)
0.5pt accumulator on the above selections at 33/1 (General)
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Cameron Young vs Justin Rose (1702 BST)
We hear a lot about sticking to plans but neither of these players would've been pencilled in for the top match at the start of the week. Young though has been the standout US player, and what can you say about Rose? His performance all week has been exceptional, but last night ventured into the extraordinary.
The worry you'd have for many of the Europeans is that they put so much into the first two days in a febrile atmosphere and while Rose has only played two sessions so far, they've been intense matches opposite Bryson DeChambeau. He has a losing singles record and it wouldn't surprise me were he to end a brilliant week in defeat to a New Yorker who has excelled himself in every way.
All that being said, the idea of betting against Rose seems utterly silly.
Verdict: USA 1up
Justin Thomas vs Tommy Fleetwood (1713)
Thomas deserves great credit for the way he both played and behaved on Saturday night, doing his best to rouse the crowds in the right way, while demanding that they respect the opponent. It was futile, but a worthy pursuit from a player who will have gone up in the estimations of many observers. He also more than justified his inclusion in a way that wasn't quite true two years ago.
Fleetwood meanwhile has been the best player of all 24 and now bids to emulate his friend, Francesco Molinari, by going 5-0-0. No player has done that on foreign soil to date and a more romantic captain might've sent him out later knowing there's an easier match to be won. But there is still a job to do, Europe know that, so Fleetwood gets the prominent slot he's wanted since sealing victory in Rome from match 11.
Thomas's 3-0-0 record in Ryder Cup singles merits respect and I'm a bit surprised he's as big as 13/8 in places, but just as there's little appeal in opposing Rose, I'm not going to take on the standout player of this Ryder Cup. Hopefully, Fleetwood makes more history.
Verdict: Europe 2&1
Bryson DeChambeau vs Matt Fitzpatrick (1724)
With a landslide win looking likely, Europe can probably afford to begin considering the nice extras that this Ryder Cup has provided. One of them has undoubtedly been the performance of Fitzpatrick, who like Fleetwood hasn't actually putted well. It's true that putting has been massively instrumental in European success, but two of their best four players are currently on negative numbers for the week.
Anyway, Fitzpatrick has answered all questions and that won't change if he loses this singles match, as many will assume. I wouldn't go quite that far myself, but DeChambeau out on his own, where he's most comfortable, should be extremely difficult to beat. His golf has largely been good, albeit his iron play remains a big area of weakness, and he'll probably feel like he was a victim on Saturday which could add to his desire to show what he can do.
DeChambeau has to be the pick, but the way Fitzpatrick has played, and the attitude he has, don't be surprised if he signs off this brilliant performance with a point. Remarkably, it could even be the winning one.
Verdict: USA 2&1
Scottie Scheffler vs Rory McIlroy (1735)
Some balance is needed regarding Scheffler's display this week. Yes, he has been far below the standards we've come to expect – but he ranks third among US players and eighth of 24 overall. Granted that says more about his teammates and, clearly, he should've performed better, but two of his four matches happened to be against the best European pairing that day. He has been badly drawn.
The key question here is whether or not Scheffler is badly drawn again. On the one hand, of course he is: McIlroy has been excellent, particularly his iron play, and is undefeated. He also boasts a 4-2-1 singles record and hasn't lost one since 2018. However, also true is that he's suffered the very worst of US crowd behaviour and admitted to being exhausted on Saturday evening. What has he got left?
Hopefully, the prospect of taking on Scheffler is suitably refreshing, and McIlroy will know that he could have a chance to seal victory for Europe. What a way to end the week that would be.
Verdict: Halved
Patrick Cantlay vs Ludvig Aberg (1746)
Statistically, Aberg has been the worst European player, every aspect of his game disappointing. He rode the coattails of Fitzpatrick in the first session but then let Rasmus Hojgaard down and, on Saturday morning, ranked 16th of 16 players who featured in the foursomes. It's not been the week many expected, not that it seems likely to matter.
He lost his first Ryder Cup singles match and unless he finds improvement from somewhere, I suspect he'll lose again. Cantlay is 2-0-0 so far and up there with the worst draw a European player could have landed for my money. He did suffer a body blow late on Saturday to lose a poor match, but as had been the case in the morning was unfortunate to be let down so badly by his partner.
On his own, Cantlay sets a good standard here and everything points to a pretty convincing win.
Verdict: USA 4&3
Xander Schauffele vs Jon Rahm (1757)
I maintain that for all my selections this week have been a disaster, Rahm should've been favourite to be first out in singles. Events have demanded a change of plan and I suspect Donald has him in this slot because he recognises that it's just about the most likely one for the winning point or half-point, and Rahm is an ideal man to have in that situation, especially if things are going badly further down the line.
He didn't have his best stuff on Saturday night but was far from alone in that. It felt like a lot of players were running on empty and, heading into the singles with such a lopsided scoreline, we could see a lack of quality in Sunday's matches. However, Rahm can be trusted to dig deep and produce the goods against an opponent who arrived poorly prepared and has largely played like it.
Schauffele was better in the fourth session but it was his partner who turned the tie around. It so happens that the same four players have been paired up but whereas Spaun is fancied to get the better of Straka (see below), I think Rahm will beat Schauffele just as McIlroy did at Whistling Straits.
Verdict: Europe 4&3
UNBELIEVABLE 🤯 |
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope)
JJ Spaun vs Sepp Straka (1808)
There's a strong case to be made that US Open champion Spaun has been underused by Keegan Bradley this week and it was highlighted by his excellent performance to beat Straka and Rahm on Saturday evening. Spaun was by far the best tee-to-green player among the 16 who featured in that session, the best of the week in that format in fact, and ended with two stunning approaches to steal a narrow win.
Straka meanwhile has been poor, somewhat predictably so given his absence since the middle of August. He ranks 11th of 12 Europeans in overall performance but when you consider he's putted extremely well, his long-game has been a mess. And while you'd have to have some concerns backing Spaun against someone more powerful around here, Straka isn't that someone.
Verdict: USA 3&2
Russell Henley vs Shane Lowry (1819)
It's been a disappointing week for Henley, who has gone 0-2-0 having only featured in foursomes alongside Scheffler. But he didn't do much wrong on day two, losing a tight match which went the distance, and this chance to play his own ball is one he'll relish. He bossed his singles match at the Presidents Cup last year under different circumstances and is a worthy favourite.
Lowry, like McIlroy, put so much into yesterday's fourball win that I worry he might not have a lot left. He's yet to win a full point in singles and while he rose to the occasion spectacularly alongside McIlroy, for much of the time his long-game has been below its usual levels.
Henley is a better player at the moment and as with Spaun, he's not facing a powerhouse. Lowry will also receive a lot of stick and I'd worry just how he reacts to that on his own, with the match as good as over now.
Verdict: USA 3&1
Ben Griffin vs Rasmus Hojgaard (1830)
Without wishing to sound condescending, it's maybe quite satisfying for both captains to know that one of the players they benched throughout Saturday will end this week with something. Griffin can feel a bit hard done by as first he was paired with DeChambeau for his Ryder Cup debut, then after a narrow defeat (in which he admittedly did not play well), he's now going to play in a likely meaningless singles match.
Considering how this season has gone and how highly he ranks among the American players over the past six months, he probably merited another try on Saturday. Perhaps that will help him to prove a point and he'll no doubt have his backers to beat Hojgaard, whose exclusion from day two was not only easier to understand, but actually paid off.
Hojgaard though did not play badly on Friday, not a bit of it. He was unfortunate that Aberg did. And this is a good golf course for a player who will be extra determined not to go home with a Ryder Cup win to his name, without having contributed. Given that the match will probably be over by the time this one finishes there's some risk involved, but I was tempted to include the Dane at 6/4.
Verdict: Europe 2&1
Collin Morikawa vs Tyrrell Hatton (1841)
Morikawa's performance this week has been his year in microcosm: plenty of good shots, no meaningful reward. Despite what some in the commentary box kept saying, he did play much better than his ill-fitting partner Harris English and ranks a somewhat respectable eighth of 12 US players in total, but he's long past being afforded any generosity from analysts. Things just aren't going well.
Hatton has struggled at times and will be disappointed to be so low down the order, but he hit a series of clutch shots late on Saturday and that will be Donald's logic. His final three players can all be trusted to deliver if things get tight. They almost certainly will not. He's a worthy favourite but a short enough price at odds-on.
Verdict: Europe 2&1
WHAT A SPECIAL FINISH ⭐️
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope)
Fitzpatrick & Hatton close out in style! |
Sam Burns vs Robert MacIntyre (1852)
I really don't like betting in games this far down in a one-sided Ryder Cup, but MacIntyre should be favourite. Burns has been atrocious this week, somehow earning half a point because of the luck of the draw, and his ball-striking in particular has been a sorry mess. He was flattened by McIlroy in Rome and while this is easier on paper, I reckon MacIntyre will be properly focused on taking his own singles record to 2-0-0.
MacIntyre hit some big shots in big moments on Saturday and should be one of the fresher European players. There's a slight nagging doubt surrounding his iron play but in Burns he faces the worst iron player on either side, so unless the American has one of his lights-out putting days he'll struggle to end another poor Ryder Cup with just his second win in what's his sixth match.
Verdict: Europe 4&3
Harris English vs Viktor Hovland (1903)
As touched upon earlier and in my incessant tweeting, this week has been a disaster from a tipping perspective. That's not a nice feeling and I'm sorry for anyone who followed the advice. Clearly, I got the US completely wrong and it's more than a tad embarrassing to choose this of all weeks to get stuck into Scheffler.
I do however think some of the analysis was good, and in this particular instance we've been very unfortunate. I am absolutely certain that MacIntyre (2pts at 17/2) was going to play last, as he did in Rome, before Hovland got injured on Saturday. We'll see if he can tee it up and if he can't, I would hope the bet is a winner given the wording ('last out in singles' or 'to tee off last in singles').
You know it's been a bad week when you're clutching at straws like this. As for the outcome, poor US performer versus injured, poor European one, in match 12, is the definition of no bet. Thank you, as ever, for reading.
Verdict: Halved
Posted at 0930 BST on 28/09/25
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