When a Ryder Cup year begins all the American and European players have that extra motivation to perform to be one of the 12 selected on either side. It's truly an event unlike any other in golf and there is tremendous pride on both sides. Golf is an individual sport for the entire year, but it's the most rewarding thing to be able to come together with your teammates, represent your country and try to win this amazing event. Winning PGA Tour events and even majors are very special, but ask most of the guys on Tour and they will tell you that nothing compares to winning the Ryder Cup.
Lately the Ryder Cup has been dominated by the home team, and when I say dominated, I mean it hasn't been close at all. Europe won last time in Rome 16.5-11.5, while the U.S. won in 2021 at Whistling Straits with a record margin of 19-9. In 2018 in France, Europe waxed the U.S. by a score of 17.5-10.5, but prior to that the U.S. side notched a 17-11 victory at Hazeltine. 2014 was much the same when Europe had a 16.5-11.5 win at Gleneagles. The last real competitive Ryder Cup was in 2012 at Medinah when Team Europe had an incredible comeback to shock the Americans.
2025 at Bethpage does feel like it could be one of the best Ryder Cup's ever. For one the energy is going to be on another level playing in front of hundreds of thousands vocal New York fans ready to cheer on the American squad, and also surely chirp the European side quite a bit. It will also be the first time that either side has had the same captain in consecutive Ryder Cups since 1995, as the European Team quickly appointed Luke Donald as captain again following the tremendous job he did in Rome. The American side could also potentially feature a playing captain for the first time since Arnold Palmer in 1963 after Keegan Bradley put together a strong 2025 season. Both teams look to be be shaping up very evenly and I would be surprised if we didn't see it come down to the wire this year.
With all that said and a lot of data to look at, let's delve into both the automatic qualifiers and my predictions for the six captain's picks on both sides.
2025 Ryder Cup: U.S. Team Qualifiers
1. Scottie Scheffler (2-2-3 career Ryder Cup record)
Scheffler locked up his spot on the team moons ago, and after his win at the BMW Championship, he ended the qualifying process with over 37,000 Ryder Cup points, easily doubling up second on the list in J.J. Spaun at just under 15,000 points. While Scheffler is the undisputed best player in golf, his record in team competitions does leave something to be desired at a combined 5-7-4 between two previous trips to the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup each. That certainly has to be a big source of motivation for the four-time major winner.
2. J.J. Spaun (Rookie)
2025 was certainly a breakout year for Spaun who won the U.S. Open at Oakmont with a very gritty performance down the stretch. He had chances to win multiple other tournaments throughout the year as well with four other top-3 finishes, including playoff losses at THE PLAYERS and the FedEx St. Jude Championship. This will be Spaun's first foray into team golf, but his consistent ball-striking and experience this year playing in high-pressure situations should help a lot.
3. Xander Schauffele (4-4-0)
Schauffele put together a monster 2024 season that included two major victories and 10 total top-5 finishes, but 2025 has definitely been quite trying. Schauffele was forced to miss roughly two months early in the season due to a rib injury that affected his ability to practice. He's shown flashes at times throughout the year of getting back to his old form, but did not once crack the top five at the end of 72 holes and failed to make the TOUR Championship for the first time in his career. Schauffele will be itching to make up for it by helping the U.S. Team to a Ryder Cup victory where he has a 4-4-0 record in two previous appearances. Schauffele is an impressive 10-4-0 in three career appearances at the Presidents Cup, however.
4. Russell Henley (Rookie)
Henley may very well be the most underrated golfer in the world. He's never mentioned amongst golf's elite, but he finds himself inside the top five of the OWGR and DataGolf rankings. Henley impressed down the stretch of the Arnold Palmer Invitational when he took down Collin Morikawa for his fifth career PGA Tour victory. That was one of 10 top-10 finishes for him in 2025. Henley will be making his Ryder Cup debut, but showed a lot of promise last fall at the Presidents Cup as a rookie where he went 3-1-0. He paired well with world No. 1 Scheffler in the partner matches, and there's a good chance we see both of them play together again at some point at Bethpage.
5. Harris English (1-2-0)
English won the Farmers Insurance Open early in 2025, but it was really his performance in some of the majors that was the reason he was an automatic qualifier for this team. The five-time PGA Tour winner finished T2 at the PGA Championship in May and then solo second at The Open in July. English also a T4 at the Travelers. He will be making his second Ryder Cup appearance after he went 1-2-0 in 2021 at Whistling Straits following a two-win campaign. English is gaining strokes across the board this season, but his elite putting makes him a good fit for this type of competition.
6. Bryson DeChambeau (2-3-1)
The fact that DeChambeau was able to automatically qualify for this team was quite impressive given the fact that the only places he can earn points is at the majors due to playing on LIV. He's been one of the best in the biggest events over the last two years with six top-10 finishes in majors, including claiming his second career U.S. Open title in 2024 at Pinehurst. DeChambeau will be making his third career Ryder Cup appearance. His last was in 2021 at Whistling Straits where he and Scheffler formed one of the most dynamic partnerships of the week. DeChambeau should thrive in the expected bomb and gouge fest at Bethpage Black.
2025 Ryder Cup: U.S. Team Captain's Picks Predictions
Players listed in order of confidence
1. Justin Thomas (7-4-2)
Thomas racked up four top-2 finishes earlier this year, including a win at the RBC Heritage. He was in one of the automatic qualifier spots for much of 2025 before fading out with a cool summer stretch. Nevertheless, you'd be hard pressed to find a much better team event golfer than Thomas who has a combined 17-7-4 record across the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup over his career. The iron play, short game and putting have all been very strong this year.
2. Ben Griffin (Rookie)
Griffin was another player who was very close to making it on points this year. It was a true breakout campaign for the 29-year-old who racked up 13 top-15 finishes, including victories at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Andrew Novak and at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Griffin also nearly took down Scheffler at the Memorial before fading late. There's not a hole to be found in Griffin's game, as he ranks top-60 in all strokes gained categories. This will be his first time making either one of the American teams, but he's got the type of game to make a few more over the years.
3. Patrick Cantlay (5-2-1)
If you asked Cantlay I'm sure he would be pretty disappointed in his 2025 season, but it's actually been pretty solid. He has finished top-5 on three different occasions and top-15 nine total times. That said, I don't really remember a Sunday where he had an legit shot to win on the back-nine. Nevertheless, the ball-striking has been quite strong this year, with the iron play being among the best of his career. Cantlay has been great in five previous team events with a combined 15-6-1 record. He and Schauffele are likely to play together again at some point.
4. Collin Morikawa (4-3-1)
Morikawa is certainly not playing his best golf right now, but I just don't really see how he's going to get left off this team. The ball striking has still been excellent, as he ranks top-15 in SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach, SG: Tee-to-Green, driving accuracy and proximity. The issue of late comes down mostly down to a lot of struggles on the greens. That's certainly a concern, but there's enough time for him to try to find something there and rely on the elite ball-striking. You can also pair him up with one of the better putters on the American side to try and get something jump started. Morikawa has a solid 4-3-1 career record in two previous Ryder Cup appearances, and a 6-2-0 record at the Presidents Cup.
5. Keegan Bradley (4-3-0)
I should start by saying that personally I would prefer the U.S. Captain to focus solely on the job that he was hired to do. I think so much pressure and work goes into that job that having to also focus on playing your best golf to get a point is asking quite a lot. That said, I just can't see Bradley not picking himself, especially considering how he was snubbed from the last team in Rome. At age 39, he's had a lot better season than anyone would have expected from him. Bradley racked up six top-10 finishes -- including a win at the Travelers Championship -- and he was in the mix on Sunday at the TOUR Championship before fading late. He's been the fifth best American player by true strokes gained over the last 12 months and would be a deserving pick had he not been a captain. If Bradley doesn't perform as a player at Bethpage and the U.S. Team falls on home soil, the blowback is going to be significant.
6. Cameron Young (Rookie)
Young has been the fourth-best American in terms of strokes gained over the last three months. That includes top-5 finishes at the RBC Canadian Open, U.S. Open, FedEx St. Jude Championship, TOUR Championship -- and of course that long-awaited first win at the Wyndham Championship. Young would be a great fit for Bethpage given how strong he's been in SG: Off-the-Tee for the last few months, and a putter that's been exceptionally hot over the summer. This would be his first Ryder Cup appearance, but he was on the 2022 Presidents Cup squad going 1-2-1.
Missing The Cut
There's been a ton of different names we've thrown over the year as potential Captain's picks, but at this stage I think these are the only three options who could replace any of the names above. Gotterup has kind of come back to reality after a big two-week stretch in the U.K. that included a win at the Genesis Scottish Open and a third place finish at The Open. He followed that up with a T10 at the 3M Open, but the playoffs were a little bit more of a struggle. I like Gotterup's fit for Bethpage as a bomber, but having just two top-10 finishes in the U.S. this year is hard to justify a pick on a very competitive team.
McNealy is a hard guy for me to leave off the team because I think he would be a great match play golfer, and he has plenty of experience with that in his amateur days. McNealy has racked up five top-5 finishes this season, but was not able to close one out for a victory. I think had he turned any of those into a win, then he might get the nod over a guy like Young. Nevertheless, I expect McNealy to make a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup team very soon, just not this year.
Whether you sort by three, six, 12 or 24 months, Burns ranks as one of the best 12 American players by strokes gained. He has racked up six top-10s and 12 top-25s this season, while also leading the PGA Tour in SG: Putting. Burns also has the ideal length for a place like Bethpage along with a rapidly ascending approach game. Burns has played in two previous Presidents Cup's and one Ryder Cup with a combined 4-5-3 record. It's incredibly close between him and Young for the final spot, but I think the fact that Young has a win this year and Burns doesn't will be the tiebreaker. Personally I think Burns and Young should be on the team over having a playing captain, but again there's just no way that Bradley isn't going to pick himself.
2025 Ryder Cup: European Team Automatic Qualifiers
1. Rory McIlroy (16-13-4 career Ryder Cup record)
McIlroy once again easily led the European Ryder Cup points list after putting together an incredible start to the 2025 campaign. He won a Signature Event at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, won THE PLAYERS Championship in a playoff and then became the sixth man to complete the career grand slam at The Masters in April. McIlroy wasn't really the same player after that, however, as he self-admittedly said he struggled to find motivation after completing that dream of winning The Masters. Nonetheless, nothing gets the juices flowing for McIlroy like the Ryder Cup and he more than likely will be out for five matches at Bethpage.
2. Robert MacIntyre (2-0-1)
MacIntyre was an automatic qualifier for the second consecutive Ryder Cup. He was one of the impressive rookies on the 2023 European team in Rome going 2-0-1. MacIntyre has played on the PGA Tour for the last two seasons and gone to the TOUR Championship each time. In 2024 he scored wins at the RBC Canadian Open and the Genesis Scottish Open. In 2025 his season was highlighted by a runner-up at the U.S. Open and a runner-up at the BMW Championship. MacIntyre has the distance, short-game and putting to do damage in this type of format at Bethpage.
3. Tommy Fleetwood (7-3-2)
Fleetwood finally got the monkey off his back winning his first PGA Tour event at the TOUR Championship and also taking home the FedExCup title. He had so many close calls over the years, most notably recently at the Travelers Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship when he had the lead very late in the tournament. Fleetwood ranks top-45 in every strokes gained category on the PGA Tour and boasts an eye-popping 7-3-2 record in three previous Ryder Cup appearances. With the weight off his shoulders, Fleetwood could be in for a big 2026 season.
4. Justin Rose (14-9-3)
Rose will play in his seventh Ryder Cup at age 45 after putting together a 2025 campaign with a few standout results. Rose begain the year with a pair of top-8 finishes in Signature Events before coming to The Masters and nearly stealing the show away from McIlroy. Rose was defeated in a playoff at Augusta for the second time, but certainly put himself on Donald's radar for a possible captain's pick. It was a very tough stretch after that which included six straight finishes outside the top 40, but Rose found magic again late in the year scoring his 12th career PGA Tour win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship to lock up his place at Bethpage. The Englishman has a strong 14-9-3 Ryder Cup record and his experience will certainly help on the road.
5. Rasmus Hojgaard (Rookie)
Most people expect Donald to basically run it back with the same squad he won with in Rome. I think the only change comes by swapping twins. Nicolai went 0-2-1 last time around, but Rasmus was part of the team room. This year Rasmus will get the nod after earning his spot on points at the British Masters, while I expect Nicolai to be close to the team at Bethpage. Team Europe think of both Hojgaard twins as part of the future, so getting each some experience early in their careers in a Ryder Cup setting could help them down the road as they are just 24 years old. Both should be able to play together at some point in the Ryder Cup like they did earlier this year at the Zurich Classic and scored a runner-up finish. Rasmus is also coming off a recent runner-up finish at the Danish Golf Championship and his power will be a big advantage around the expected setup at Bethpage.
6. Tyrrell Hatton (5-4-2)
Hatton started off 2025 with a bang winning the Hero Dubai Desert Classic for his fifth career Rolex Series victory. He didn't really build off of that win, however, as he ended the 2025 season on LIV Golf just 26th in the individual standings with a best finish of T5. Three top-20 finishes at the majors, including a T4 at the U.S. Open, certainly helped him make the Ryder Cup team on points again, however. This will be his fourth consecutive appearance for Team Europe where he holds a 5-4-2 record. Hatton is a very emotional player who formed a great partnership with another high emotion player in Jon Rahm in Rome.
2025 Ryder Cup: European Team Captain's Picks Predictions
Players listed in order of confidence
1. Jon Rahm (6-3-3)
This will be the first time Rahm will need a pick to make the Ryder Cup team, but he will certainly be one of the players Team Europe is relying on to lead them in this hostile environment. Much of the story in 2024 was how Rahm struggled in the majors after moving to LIV Golf. It was a much better showing for him in 2025 where he made all four cuts, including a trio of top-15 finishes. The Spaniard also won his second consecutive LIV Golf Individual Title, barely edging out Joaquin Niemann again, despite not winning a single event. Nevertheless, Rahm will likely be out for five matches at Bethpage.
2. Ludvig Aberg (2-2-0)
Aberg is going to be a core member of the European Ryder Cup Team for decades. He's just such a strong player from tee to green, and the rest of his game is only going to get more refined over the years. Aberg scored an early win at The Genesis Invitational, but struggled to find a lot of consistency after that. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, but late in the year has seen a revival of his game that included three top-10s. Aberg has also been a lot better both around the greens and with the putter. He went 2-2-0 as a Ryder Cup rookie in 2023.
3. Viktor Hovland (3-4-3)
The man Aberg partnered with in Rome was Hovland. The duo went 2-1-0 in three matches together, including sweeping both foursomes sessions. Hovland has had a very hard season to put into words. He began the year missing four of his first six cuts before picking up a win out of nowhere at the Valspar Championship. Hovland has always been a big tinkerer of his swing, and he even said after his win that he didn't feel all that comfortable. He was only able to add two more top-10s after that, but one of them was a solo third at the U.S. Open. Comfortable or not with his swing, only Scheffler was better than him this season in terms of SG: Approach and the putter has gotten more consistent of late. The question of what Hovland Team Europe gets will be a big one in terms of deciding who wins at Bethpage.
4. Sepp Straka (1-2-0)
Straka was very close to making the team on points, but he was always going to be back on this team again for Bethpage. Straka had his best season on the PGA Tour, winning twice, including the Truist Championship -- a Signature Event. The one issue he had was at the majors where he missed the cut in the first three of the year and could only muster a T52 at The Open. Whatever the case, Straka's numbers are very impressive as he sits top-10 in both SG: Total and scoring average this season. He's going to put it in the fairway, hit really quality iron shots and has shown the ability to pop with the putter. That's a great partner for anyone on this European squad to have.
5. Shane Lowry (2-3-1)
Lowry fell out of the final automatic qualifier spot in the last event, but he should have no issues getting a pick. Lowry had a very strong early part of the 2025 season, but definitely cooled off down the stretch. Nevertheless, he's too talented and fits too well into the team room to leave him off this roster, especially going into hostile territory. Lowry played only the foursomes matches in Rome alongside Straka going 1-1-0 before getting a tie his singles match against Jordan Spieth on Sunday.
6. Matt Fitzpatrick (1-7-0)
Fitzpatrick was certainly in danger of missing this team with how he started the year. It took him 12 starts to pick up his first top-20, but with how he performed over the summer I'm not sure how you leave him off the team. The Englishman ripped off five top-10s in an eight-start stretch, including at two majors. Fitzpatrick has been consistently gaining strokes across the board and has been the third-best European player over the last three months by true strokes gained. The only concern for Captain Donald is the fact that Fitzpatrick has a horrid 1-7-0 record in three previous Ryder Cup appearances.
Missing The Cut
There's a number of other candidates that Donald has to look at. Two who nobody thought would be an option at the start of the year were Penge and Reitan. Both players sit second and third in the Race to Dubai standings, respectively. Penge has racked up two wins on the DP World Tour since mid-April, while Reitan has collected eight top-15s including a victory over the same time span. Both are great drivers of the golf ball and would be good fits for Bethpage, however, that would be a big risk to bring those potential rookies on foreign soil after the previous team was so dominant.
I think Hojgaard, as mentioned above, will just miss out this time around after being on the team in Rome. He was actually starting to just play some really good golf with a T2 at the British Masters and top-15s at the Scottish Open and Open Championship last month, but just needed to put it more together earlier in the year. He'll be on plenty more Ryder Cup teams in the future. Rai I think was also in the mix and has been one of the top 12 European players by true strokes gained over the last six months. Rai just lacks a real standout performance this year. The Englishman had a torrid summer in 2024 and likely would have been on the team had they played the Ryder Cup last season. Nevertheless, Rai is still only 30 years old and has a good chance to find himself on a team in the future. His game is probably more suited for a European setup than and American one.
The man I feel the most hurt for is Hall. He quite honestly deserves to be on the European Team, but I just don't know who Donald could take off to put him on it. Hall has finished T28-or-better in his last 12 starts and has surged into the top 10 of the DataGolf rankings. While that consistency has certainly been impressive, Hall is in a similar situation as Rai in that he did not have a real standout performance in 2025. Had he collected a win at some point, or let alone a single top-5 finish this year, maybe the conversation is a little different. The writing was kind of on the wall at the BMW Championship when Hall admitted he hadn't had any Ryder Cup discussions with members of the team. The 28-year-old is one of the best putters in the world and hopefully he will get another shot in 2027.
For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, tournament participation and overall golfer performance, head to RotoWire's latest golf news or follow @RotoWireGolf on X.
