Some of the best in the world will make their way to Melbourne, Australia and the Kingston Heath Golf Club for the return of the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf this week. This will be the first edition of this tournament since 2013 and for the first time it will be contested at Kingston Heath. 28 countries will be represented with the tandems competing in two rounds of alternate shot foursomes on Thursday and Saturday and two rounds of better-ball fourball on Friday and Sunday. The structure of the tournament combined with a relatively strong field should make this an exciting event to watch with the spotlight in the golf world focused solely on the World Cup of Golf this week.
Event
Event Details: World Cup Of Golf
Category: European
Date: November 24-27
Location: Kingston Heath, Melbourne, Australia
The format appears to be designed to expose the weaker players since each team will only be as good as its weakest link. The star players might be able to carry their sides in stretches but ultimately this will be a team game with some countries appearing to have a decided advantage over others. For example, Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker will represent the United States with both golfers currently ranked in the top-20. Meanwhile, Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger ranks 49th in the world, which isn’t bad, but his playing partner Martin Wiegele isn’t even in the picture when it comes to the top-100 players in the world.
Past Five Winners
2013: Australia (Jason Day & Adam Scott)
2011: United States (Matt Kuchar & Gary Woodland)
2009: Italy (Edoardo Molinari & Francesco Molinari)
2008: Sweden (Robert Karlsson & Henrik Stenson)
2007: Scotland (Colin Montgomerie & Marc Warren)
What To Know About The Course
This will be the tournament’s first venture to Kingston Heath and familiarity will be scarce since most competitors in this week’s field will have never played her before. Wiesberger actually ranked 14th in the 2009 Aussie Masters at this course but that was some time ago so it’s not like we can take that result to the bank this week. Putting will be important as it always is but this course sets up to favor Driving Accuracy as well. Greens In Regulation is another important statistic to consider although the overall lack of starts for this week’s field at Kingston Heath could make predicting this field a little tougher.
The Field
The home side will be the favorite for this edition of the World Cup of Golf with Adam Scott and Marc Lieshman expected to have an edge based on some familiarity and the overall strength of their team. Australia is listed at +500 to win this event followed by Japan at +700 and the United States team at +850. Hideki Matsuyama has been outstanding this season and is joined by Ryo Ishikawa for Japan, while Fowler and Walker should be a formidable tandem for the United States. Spain, Sweden and Ireland round out the top selections according to the sports betting odds to win this event while Venezuela is the biggest longshot at +40000 odds at some sports betting sites.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Spain over Sweden
Alex Noren of Sweden has been on fire over the past month but while his strong play ahs Sweden among the top-five favorites, David Lingmerth’s presence should temper the overall expectations for this duo. It also presents an opportunity to take Spain in the head-to-head matchup with Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Jon Rahm set to do some serious work this week. Both Cabrera-Bello and Rahm have the potential to perform at an elite level this week so while Sweden should do well in its own right we like Spain in the head-to-head sports betting matchup this week.
Best Bet To Win Outright: Japan
While Australia and the United States should have formidable teams, we will stick with Japan as the best bet on the board to win outright at +700 odds. Matsuyama has been on fire with three wins and another runner-up finish over the last two months and his playing partner has really been hot of late as well in Ishikawa. This tandem should have no problem putting up excellent numbers at Kingston Heath from start to finish and they will be hard to beat at the World Cup of Golf this week.
Country To Win World Cup Of Golf
Australia +505
USA +705
Japan +750
Spain +805
England +1050
Sweden +1215
Ireland +1215
Belgium +1415
South Korea +1650
Denmark +1650
Thailand +2050
South Africa +2250
Italy +2250
New Zealand +2250
France +2550
Scotland +4050
Canada +6050
China +6550
Wales +10000
India +12000
Germany +12000
Netherlands +12000
Portugal +12000
Austria +12000
Chinese Taipei +12000
Philippines +20000
Malaysia +20000
Venezuela +25000
