We are a day away from the United States Ryder Cup team being revealed, and the signs of coming drama continue.
“There’s probably going to be a few guys that think they are going to be on the team that aren’t going to be,” captain Keegan Bradley told Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis after the Tour Championship.
What does that mean? Is Bradley ready to shock us all and leave a veteran American or two at home? Or is he going to pick himself as a playing captain — he’d be the first since Arnold Palmer in 1963 — and give the bad news call to someone we’re all expecting to be on the team?
Multiple Americans have told the media that they believe Bradley should pick himself, and there’s certainly public sentiment for that decision. But it’s a call fraught with risk.
The Europeans, as is often the case with the Ryder Cup, do not face the same dilemma and will spend the final weeks before Bethpage quietly preparing to go to work. Captain Luke Donald will announce the team next week, but it’d be a total shock for it to be anything other than 11 of the 12 from the 2023 winning side, plus automatic qualifier Rasmus Højgaard.
So for our final Ryder Cup projection of the 2025 season, we’re focusing on the U.S. team, and a simple “yes” or “no” on the eight leading candidates for the six captain’s picks. Remember, Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English and Russell Henley are already on the team.
Making the calls are staff writer Brody Miller and senior managing editor Hugh Kellenberger.
Justin Thomas
Brody: Yes. Even if you thought keeping him on in 2023 was a mistake, this is not that golfer. Maybe he’s not prime JT, but he is undeniably one of the 10 best Americans this year, with a signature win at Hilton Head and a dramatically improved putting stroke. But more than anything, Thomas is an all-time Ryder Cup performer on a team with quite a few new faces. He is essentially the experienced senior leader of the room, and he has the game to back it up.
Hugh: Yes. He’s a top-20 player in the world, and realistically has been on this team since he won the RBC Heritage back in April. Most of the last couple of months were pretty average, though a T7 at the Tour Championship is nice. The only real question is who he partners with — he’s played with Jordan Spieth in all but one Ryder Cup match in his career (Thomas and Patrick Cantlay earned a half-point in a 2021 four-ball match).
Collin Morikawa
Brody: Yes. Reluctantly. I would deeply admire Bradley’s conviction if he dared to drop off Morikawa, who, in a vacuum, is playing by far the worst golf of the current candidates. I just don’t think it’s that black and white. As of March, I’d argue Morikawa was playing the second-best golf in the world. Truly. But somewhere between his heartbreaking loss at Bay Hill and his constant media lectures, it went to hell. Still, even “bad” Morikawa remains one of the five best iron players on Earth and a golfer with two Ryder Cups under his belt. A year ago in Montreal, he was the U.S. team’s best player over four days. He’s just too good to leave at home.
The format is set. 🔒
Foursomes ➡️ Four-ball Friday & Saturday.
Singles Sunday.
Who’s ready for Bethpage Black? 🇺🇸#GoUSA pic.twitter.com/4look4hjCf
— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) August 25, 2025
Hugh: Yes. Like Thomas, Morikawa’s name is bigger than his game at this moment. But he’s been a steady contributor to multiple team rooms over the last five years, and his precision with the irons still makes him a real asset in alternate shot. If his putter is hot that week, he’ll be one of the best players on the roster.
Ben Griffin
Brody: Yes. If I’m ranking my captain’s picks, he’s third behind only Thomas and Cantlay. He’s the fourth-best American on the DataGolf rankings. He’s won two tournaments this year. He has two major top 10s and stared down Scottie Scheffler at the Memorial, showing he’s not afraid of bigger moments. Plus, next to Thomas, he may have the best personality for playing into this chaotic New York crowd. Griffin was made for Ryder Cups. And quite simply: He’s earned it.
Hugh: Yes. Griffin is one of the 12 best Americans this year, and if the guy with that resume does not make the team, why are we even doing a points system at all? There’s only one problem, which I’m curious to ask about on Wednesday: Does Griffin’s use of the Maxfli Tour X golf ball, the only PGA Tour player who does so, create a problem that restricts him to four balls and Sunday singles?
Maverick McNealy
Brody: No. His third-place run two weeks ago at the BMW made me think long and hard about it, but ultimately, there’s no direct sell. There are longer players. There are better iron players. He’s not a big-stage killer like some others. And he struggled at majors this year. He neither checks the nerd/analytics boxes or the intangible categories. He’s No. 13 for me as the first guy off.
Hugh: No. He just peaked too early, and too many other names emerged in the back half of the year. I’d like to see him sustain his current level for another year and get a shot on the Presidents Cup team.
Keegan Bradley
Brody: No. Is he one of the 12 best? Yes. Is he experienced and built for these moments? Yes. But he is not so good that it validates the insane level of distraction, pressure and drama that picking himself would create. It’s absolutely not worth it, and it would tell me a lot about Bradley the captain if he feels comfortable doing it. It would be one thing if the U.S. candidates all limped into the finish, but the U.S. has really good options being left off either way. It would be a mistake.
Hugh: No. I will be surprised at this point if Bradley does not pick himself, because everything since the Travelers Championship win has been signaling that as an eventuality. But the promise was made to the rest of the candidates upon accepting the candidacy that he would only play if he was in the top six. He was not. He is 11th and picking himself is telling someone just as worthy no. That’s not leadership.
Cameron Young is trying to make his first Ryder Cup team. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)Cameron Young
Brody: Yes. I do not think Young is one of the 12 best Americans. I just accept that his course fit, birdie potential and incredible August form makes it the right decision for this team.
Hugh: Yes. There were only two players who were better than Young, to par, over the last three weeks: Scottie Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood. He’s also a perfect fit for Bethpage Black, and it just generally feels like the American leadership has been waiting for him to earn his place on one of these teams for years. He’s done it.
Sam Burns
Brody: Yes. Spare me the “Scottie’s buddy” stuff. Burns went 3-0 last year at the Presidents Cup without playing with Scheffler. He nearly won the U.S. Open before the weather turned it into an entirely different tournament. And he’s — at this moment — the best putter in the world, something this team could use more of. There’s something people also forget about Rome. When the U.S. was down 9.5 to 2.5 and embarrassed, it was Burns (and Morikawa) who went out first on Saturday and dominated Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg to launch a 3-1 session.
Hugh: Yes. For the final couple of roster spots, I’m thinking about specific roles and players who understand how they fit into the larger ecosystem of the team. Burns will make putts, this I’m sure of. He will be a good dude. He can play with anyone from a temperament standpoint. It’s a yes from me.
Patrick Cantlay
Brody: Yes. Any notion he shouldn’t be on this team is an overthink. He is the best cup golfer of the 2020s, the kind of instigating, clutch performer who always hits the big shot or putt no matter how poor his form is. Honestly, he was a far worse golfer last season and still was the clear star of Montreal hitting one clutch putt after another. And he’s closer to his normal self this year with a T2 at the Tour Championship, a T9 at the St. Jude, T4 at the Truist and T5 at the Genesis. He’s Patty Ice. You need him.
Hugh: Yes. Sunday’s Tour Championship was a reminder of something about Cantlay: He’s annoying. He gets under your skin because he is unafraid to wear the black hat (when he’s wearing a hat at all, an entire other issue). Fleetwood was getting on a roll at East Lake, surging to the win, and Cantlay actively slowed down. He played preposterously slow, which had to frustrate Fleetwood. That’s the type of energy I want at Bethpage. Oh, you just made a big putt? Watch me waggle my driver for 30 seconds. Maybe 45. Deal with it.
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photos: Johnnie Izquierdo, Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
