The Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Guidonia Montcelio, near Rome, will become the centre of attention for golf lovers all over the world for three days this autumn. The golf club will host the 44th Ryder Cup, the biennial tournament featuring the best golfers from Europe and the USA from Friday 29 September to Sunday 1 October. 

Players who play against each other for 51 weeks of the year, team up together to get their hands on the best team trophy golf has to offer. Named after English businessman Samuel Ryder, the 17" tall trophy is contested between Europe and USA. Each team is made up of 12 players and led by a captain, who is named a couple of years in advance to give them the best chance to succeed. 

Zach Johnson will lead the USA into battle in Rome against Luke Donald's Europe side. Johnson's team are the holders after a resounding 19-9 win over Europe at Whistling Straits two years ago. Golf betting sites have installed the Americans as early favourites to retain the trophy. 

However, on home soil, Donald's Europe will be very well supported to win back the Ryder Cup for the eighth time in 12 competitions. Now might be the best time to use any free bet offers you might have if you fancy Europe to win back the coveted trophy. 

Ryder Cup Free Bets

The first Ryder Cup was played for in 1927 when Team USA won 9.5-2.5 against Great Britain as it was then. In 1979, following a sustained period of domination, America's opponent was changed to Europe, which has led to a more competitive rivalry. 

Players can earn their place on their respective teams in two ways. They can play their way onto the team by earning points from tournaments leading up to the competition. 

The other way is to earn a wild-card pick, which is at the discretion of the captain. Captains can pick in-form players who narrowly missed out on automatic selection, or they can be players who have a great history in the Ryder Cup. So who could earn captain's picks this year?

For 51 weeks of the year, golf is a solo sport, where it's a case of the golfer against the course. But over three days of matchplay golf, rivals become team-mates in the quest to beat their opponents from a different continent. 

Players who make the teams need to have the temperament to deal with the unique atmosphere generated by a Ryder Cup, which sometimes has the feel of a football match, rather than a golf tournament. That is a factor considered when captain's picks are made. Some UK betting sites have markets on which players will earn a captain's pick. 

Ryder Cup Captain's Picks Betting Odds

Time is running out for players to play their way onto their respective team and, like most Ryder Cups, a lot of star players will or have missed out. It helps to have a good record in previous competitions, but it's down to the captains to decide who makes each team. 

For this year's Ryder Cup, both the USA and Europe teams will be made up of six players who earned automatic selection and six captain's picks. For Johnson and the USA, Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele have qualified automatically. 

Luke Donald knows Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton have all secured automatic selection for the European team. The final two automatic places will be secured by the finale of the Omega European Masters at Crans Montana in Switzerland on 3 September. After that, Donald will announce his captain's picks, while Johnson will name the US team on Tuesday August 29. Here are the latest odds from Unibet:

Ryder Cup Odds

8/11 - USA ⛳️

6/4 - Europe ⛳️ 

12/1 - Draw ❎

Enhanced Odds

bet365 Enhanced Odds

The automatic qualification process for Team USA is now over and done with, so it all comes down to who Zach Johnson picks as his wild cards. Justin Thomas finished 15th in the Ryder Cup points table this year, but he has a great record in previous tournaments. 

Thomas is the most successful American to feature in the Ryder Cup with a tremendous record of 16-5-3. Lucas Glover is in red-hot form, and he is the only American to win back-to-back tournaments this year. Tony Finau is looking to feature in his third Ryder Cup, and that might put him ahead of others when it comes to Johnson's wild cards. bet365 is offering 22.48/1 from 19.57/1 on Justin Thomas, Lucas Glover and Tony Finau to each earn a captain's pick.

888Sport

Keegan Bradley is enjoying a renaissance in his career and finished 11th in the USA Ryder Cup points list. If selected, this would be his third competition, and his first since 2014. Could Bradley receive a call from the USA captain? 888sport has odds of 15/8 for Bradley to make the USA Ryder Cup team.

bet365 Enhanced Odds

Another boosted offer from bet365 relates to the European team selection. Robert McIntyre is almost certain to be named onto the European team after a superb season. A second-place finish at the Scottish Open propelled him up the Ryder Cup rankings, and it would be a shock if he was not on the plane to Rome.

Could we see twins compete in this year's Ryder Cup? They say partnerships are key to winning the Ryder Cup, and surely the Hojgaard brothers can form a formidable partnership. Rasmus and Nicolai are well placed on the points standings, and they might just get called up by Luke Donald. bet365 is offering 7.33/1 from 6.35/1 on Robert MacIntyre, Rasmus Hojgaard and Nicolai Hojgaard to each make the European Ryder Cup team.