2015 Presidents Cup odds: Jordan Spieth leads heavily favored USA roster

It’s October so golf should really be off the radar until the calendar flips to 2016, but there’s one more main event before most of the top players pack up and go away for the rest of the year. The Presidents Cup tees off on the other side of the world Thursday morning (Wednesday night in the eastern United States) and as you might expect, the Americans are heavy favorites.

This team match play event features a 12-man USA team and a 12-man team of International stars that are not qualified for the Ryder Cup. So it’s all the non-European players, the stars from Australia, South Africa, Asia, and a few other countries. The problem with the Presidents Cup is that, for all their worldwide talent, the International side has been unable to make much of a game of this.

The 2015 edition in South Korea will be the 11th Presidents Cup. The International side has won once, tied once, and been blown away almost every other time. It really has not been much of a competition, and as such, the event has failed to gain the momentum, appeal, and publicity that the Ryder Cup now holds. Nick Price, the International captain this year, went so far as to say that another uncompetitive Cup this year may spell the end of the entire event.

The Internationals will be up against it again this time around, with Jay Haas’ USA side heavy favorites to win their sixth straight Presidents Cup. All 12 of the American players are ranked in the top 30 in the world, and five are inside the top 10. They hold three of the four majors and were responsible for 17 wins on the PGA Tour this year. The Internationals have just one player inside the top 10, and five inside the top 30.

On top of that current form, there’s also loads of American experience from a roster that’s owned this event. There are a combined 20 Presidents Cup titles on the USA roster.

All of this adds up to the USA side listed as -210 favorites to win on the road at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon. The Internationals are +210 to win, and a tie is +1400. That one tie, back in 2003 in South Africa, came about due to an on-the-fly gentleman’s agreement between captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. Darkness was quickly setting in and they decided to call it even -- the decision was derided by most at the time and in review years later.

In addition to the overall odds to win the Cup, there are odds for who will win the most points over the next four days in Korea. Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, as you might expect, are favored to be the leaders of their respective teams. Here are some of those different odds, via Bovada: