Rory McIlroy will be the star player of Europe’s Ryder Cup team but the Northern Irishman could do with a couple of decent results in the lead up to the event, and he is 18/1 with Betfred for this week’s Dell Technologies Championship.
With the USA team looking incredibly strong and the likes of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods probably joining the eight qualifiers after Jim Furyk makes his picks, Europe will need their big guns to be firing on all cylinders to match the opposition at Le Golf National (Outright Betting – Europe Evens, USA 10/11, tie 11/1).
McIlroy certainly comes into that category and will be the one member of Thomas Bjorn’s side that the Americans fear as he has the ability to destroy opponents when on top of his game.
The 29-year-old has enjoyed an up-and-down year by his high standards, with victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and seven other top-10 finishes but problems on the putting surface have prevented him from challenging on a more regular basis.
Following a share of second at the Open and a tied-sixth result in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, the former world number one ended up 50th in the US PGA Championship and opted to skip the Northern Trust to work on his game, with one eye on the Ryder Cup.
A decent result in this week’s Boston showpiece will both see him both gain confidence and show the Americans that he means business and he could do with some of his prospective team-mates to follow suit in Massachusetts.
Tommy Fleetwood (33/1) is now a world star and expected to shine in Paris while Paul Casey (60/1) could do with a strong outing in New England after just coming off the boil in recent weeks.
Fleetwood will be on the team by right but Casey looks like needing a captain’s pick and so a nudge in the right direction this week would not go amiss.
Odds subject to change.
