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2009 President’s Cup Championship Preview/Picks

Preview and free golf picks for the 2009 Presidents Cup championship. The Cup which is hosted by Harding Park Golf Club in San Francisco will see the defending champs Team USA take on a field of international superstars…

Golf Betting: The Presidents Cup Championship Predictions

The golf odds say the United States is still the best – as long as you take Europe out of the equation.

Who: Team USA vs. International Team
When: Tuesday Oct 6th – Sunday Oct 11th, 2009
Where: Harding Park GC | San Francisco, CA, USA
Course Yards: 7,137 (PDF Map of Course)

This week’s Presidents Cup is a special charity event organized by the PGA Tour, taking place every two years and closely resembling the format of the Ryder Cup. Two teams of 12 golfers – one representing the United States, and the “International” team representing the rest of the world minus Europe – will tee off in match play at the Harding Park Golf Club in beautiful San Francisco.

Presidents Cup Odds

The United States is –350 at press time; the International team is +250.

Team USA might be a little chalky, but this has been the correct golf bet five out of seven times since the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994. The International team has just one win to its name in 1998, and the 2003 event finished in a tie because of darkness. The rules have since been changed to prevent a tie from happening.

Each team has a captain (non-playing) responsible for choosing two of his Dirty Dozen; the rest are culled from the earnings list. This year’s captains are Fred Couples for the U.S. and Greg Norman for the Internationals.

Here are the rosters for this year’s event, including each golfer’s past Cup record:

United States

Stewart Cink 8-4-1
Jim Furyk 13-8-2
Lucas Glover 2-3-0 (captain’s pick)
Zach Johnson 2-2-0Sports Betting at the Sportsbook
Anthony Kim rookie
Justin Leonard 6-10-2
Hunter Mahan 2-3-0 (captain’s pick)
Phil Mickelson 11-13-9
Sean O’Hair rookie
Kenny Perry 7-6-0
Steve Stricker 5-5-0
Tiger Woods 13-11-1

International

Robert Allenby 6-11-2
Angel Cabrera 3-3-3
Tim Clark 4-5-1
Ernie Els 13-10-2
Retief Goosen 11-7-2
Ryo Ishikawa rookie (captain’s pick)
Geoff Ogilvy 2-3-0
Adam Scott 7-6-2 (captain’s pick)
Vijay Singh 14-15-6
Camilo Villegas rookie
Mike Weir 11-7-1
Y.E. Yang rookie

If you add up the numbers, you get a cumulative record of 69-65-15 for the U.S. and 71-67-19 for the Internationals – a virtual dead heat. But those numbers don’t mean much. Mickelson and Singh are the only two men who have appeared at every single Presidents Cup. Looking at the World Golf Rankings gives a better indication (although hardly scientific) of the relative strengths of the two teams. Woods, Mickelson, Stricker, Perry, and Furyk are all in the Top 10; Ogilvy at No. 10 is the only International golfer in that elite group.

Although the Cup winner will be decided on American soil, there isn’t much of an advantage gained by playing at Harding Park, a beautifully renovated municipal course at par-72 and 7,086 yards. Eleven of the 12 golfers on the International side play full-time on the PGA Tour. Nine have residences in the States. There isn’t nearly the same sense of competitiveness (and acrimony) that you’ll find in the Ryder Cup.

The weather in San Francisco is expected to be clear and sunny all weekend with temperatures in the 60s. There are some concerns about the condition of the greens after too much fertilizer was put in during the summer, but this shouldn’t be an advantage for either side. If you prefer to bet on the individual golfers, the futures market is open for business. Woods is the 7-2 favorite to score the most points for the United States. Els and Goosen are co-favorites at 7-1 for the Internationals.

Free Pick:

Make some $$$ – Bet on the international team!

For all the latest lines and up to date PREDICTIONS on the Presidents Cup, CLICK HERE NOW AND check out the Bodog Sportsbook!

By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"