The conclusion of the Open Championship marks the end of another major season. Now it’s time to turn our attention to the next big event on the golf calendar: the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Sure, the FedEx Cup Playoffs will consume August, but results from those tournaments will only stir up more conversation about the biannual event set for Bethpage Black at the end of September.
With plenty of golf still to be played, we’ll try to predict how the rosters will look when they’re announced days after the Tour Championship.
Team USA
Current points standings
Rank
Player
Points
1
Scottie Scheffler
32430.33
2
Xander Schauffele
13383.85
3
J.J. Spaun
12478.91
4
Russell Henley
11623.82
5
Bryson DeChambeau
10774.98
6
Harris English
10385.65
7
Justin Thomas
10208.09
8
Collin Morikawa
9743.61
9
Ben Griffin
8604.91
10
Keegan Bradley
8038.50
11
Maverick McNealy
7414.15
12
Brian Harman
7007.99
13
Andrew Novak
6560.15
14
Patrick Cantlay
6069.39
15
Sam Burns
5620.39
The top of the American roster is very easy to predict, especially since Scottie Scheffler has already qualified. Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau are locks (captain Keegan Bradley confirmed DeChambeau will be on the team), and it’s nearly impossible for either J.J. Spaun or Russell Henley to fall out of the top six. Even if they do, Bradley won’t leave them off the team.
The top six on the points list qualify automatically, leaving the remaining six spots up to the captain and his assistants. Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa are having solid seasons, and combined with their history in team competitions, they’ll be very hard to keep off the roster. This American side needs all the experience it can get, and both major champions bring that.
Harris English has also played his way onto the team. He was a runner-up to Scheffler at the PGA Championship and Open Championship, and he won at Torrey Pines early in the year. English played on the winning Ryder Cup team in 2021 and will have no trouble pairing with anyone on the USA roster, making him an ideal teammate.
That leaves four spots up for grabs, one of which Bradley will take. A playing captain was a possible outcome when Bradley was surprisingly announced as captain, and it’ll become a reality. Whether Bradley gives up his captaincy or slides into a vice-captain role remains to be seen, but he’s undoubtedly one of the 12 best American golfers.
Bradley has mentioned he doesn’t want a lot of rookies in the Americans’ quest to defeat the Europeans at home. That considerably reduces the options for the remaining three spots, two of which will likely go to Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns. Cantlay is a stalwart in these team competitions, and his pairing with Schauffele has been very successful over the years. Outside of three missed cuts in majors, Cantlay is having a very consistent year, and his 5-2-1 Ryder Cup record is tough to ignore.
Burns nearly won the Canadian Open and played in the final pairing at the U.S. Open. His form has taken a turn for the better, and he’s trending toward finishing inside the top 12 in points with a strong postseason. He played on two Presidents Cup teams and was on the losing Ryder Cup team in Rome. Burns’ experience in team events carries a lot of weight.
Bradley could go anywhere with the final spot, but he should go with Chris Gotterup. That would bypass Ben Griffin, who’s having a fabulous season, but injecting Gotterup into this lineup could be far more rewarding.
Perhaps recency bias after Gotterup’s Scottish Open win and T3 at the Open Championship is playing a role, but it’s hard to ignore his potential upside. Gotterup is a perfect fit for Bethpage Black as one of the PGA TOUR’s longest hitters while also leading the TOUR in greens-in-regulation percentage. He might bring his elite form stateside and go on a run through the FedEx Cup Playoffs too.
Griffin may be the safer selection, but Gotterup is far more likely to be on future Ryder Cup teams. Giving him some experience at home could be beneficial when Team USA goes on the road in 2027.
Team USA prediction:
Scottie Scheffler
Xander Schauffele
Bryson DeChambeau
Russell Henley
J.J. Spaun
Collin Morikawa
Justin Thomas
Harris English
Keegan Bradley
Patrick Cantlay
Sam Burns
Chris Gotterup
Just missed – Griffin, Maverick McNealy, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark, and Cam Young
Team Europe
Current points standings
Rank
Player
Points
1
Rory McIlroy
3440.78
2
Robert MacIntyre
1345.44
3
Tommy Fleetwood
1314.61
4
Tyrrell Hatton
1279.33
5
Shane Lowry
1234.11
6
Sepp Straka
1226.83
7
Rasmus Hojgaard
1135.11
8
Justin Rose
1019.62
9
Ludvig Aberg
1006.83
10
Viktor Hovland
930.31
11
Thomas Detry
780.29
12
Matt Wallace
752.77
13
Matt Fitzpatrick
736.02
21
Jon Rahm
582.39
Potential members of the European Ryder Cup team are making captain Luke Donald’s job extremely easy.
Let’s start with the locks: Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, and Jon Rahm will all be on the team.
Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka can be considered locks even though they may slip out of the top six in points, which would give Donald an opportunity to make a shocking decision. But the European captain is sharp, and both the Irishman and Austrian will suit up for the Europeans for the second straight Ryder Cup.
There’s also no world where Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland are left at home (unless they get injured). The young Scandinavians are the future of the team and played a big role in Europe’s victory in Rome two years ago.
Matt Fitzpatrick is playing his way onto the team thanks to his complete turnaround of form. He has three straight top-10 finishes and came T8 at the PGA Championship. He is flying up the European points standings and should be inside the top 12 by the end of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Expect Fitzpatrick to represent Europe in front of the rowdy New York crowd.
This will likely be Justin Rose’s last Ryder Cup, and he’s playing well enough to deserve the nod from Donald. Rose’s playoff loss to McIlroy at the Masters still holds value, even though it was a few months ago, and he performed well in both events across the pond. As long as his game doesn’t completely collapse in August, he’ll make an astonishing seventh Ryder Cup appearance.
The 11 golfers listed above were all members of the winning European team in Rome, and that cohesion will be a huge advantage for Donald’s side.
The final spot comes down to the likes of Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard, Thomas Detry, and Aaron Rai, and Rasmus Hojgaard’s position on the points list gives him the advantage.
His twin brother was a member of the 2023 team, so it’s fitting that the only turnover between the rosters would be swapping out identical twins. Rasmus has the skill set to succeed at Bethpage Black and is a high-upside selection, much like Gotterup, who can be valuable to the team’s success in future Ryder Cups.
Team Europe prediction:
Rory McIlroy
Jon Rahm
Tommy Fleetwood
Tyrrell Hatton
Robert MacIntyre
Shane Lowry
Sepp Straka
Ludvig Aberg
Viktor Hovland
Justin Rose
Matt Fitzpatrick
Rasmus Hojgaard
Just missed – Detry, N. Hojgaard, Rai, Matt Wallace
