Tour Championship putting stats point to US Ryder Cup win

Brandt Snedeker’s victory in the Tour Championship may not be single-handedly responsible for the US team being cut from 5/6 to 4/6 to take the bragging rights at the Ryder Cup.

Snedeker rightly stole the headlines at East Lake by winning the tournament to also become the FedEx Cup champion, but it was advantage team US on the whole in the final warm-up before the Ryder Cup.

All of the 12 US representatives for the Ryder Cup made the final 30 of the Tour Championship, with seven of these securing top-ten finishes.

Meanwhile, only five of the European team were in the field, with mixed results.

Justin Rose led all the way until the end of round three, but had to settle for second, while Luke Donald continually improved over each round to take third.

However, Lee Westwood’s performance is a cause of concern as he was stone last, 15-over after four rounds.

Putting is going to be especially pivotal in the Ryder Cup and it is in these statistics where the US were particularly on form.

Snedeker and Matt Kuchar filled the top two spots in the strokes they gained through putting, while Keegan Bradley was fourth, despite only finishing 23rd overall.

Alongside Westwood’s troubles, Rory McIlroy had some issues with his driver in his final round, only managing to find two fairways.

The one positive that Jose Maria Olazabal may take is that McIlroy did birdie both holes when on the fairway off the tee and if he is paired with an accurate driver, this partnership could reap dividends.

Europe are 6/4 to win the Ryder Cup and the pressure will certainly be on McIlroy to live up to his billing as world number one after two recent PGA Tour successes.

In terms of McIlroy’s points from a possible five, the favourite is that he collects three at a price at 4/1, but Europe may need him to get at least four if they want a serious chance of victory, which can be backed at 11/2.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing