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Team USA is on a mission to recapture the Ryder Cup in the 2025 edition of the event at Bethpage Black and their chances look promising with the world’s best player Scottie Scheffler leading their charge on the course.
A peculiar situation surrounding the team brought unwanted pressure and a distraction, with captain Keegan Bradley enjoying some of the best golf of his career, including a stunning win at the Travelers Championship, to raise the prospect of becoming the first playing captain at the event since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
Bradley has, however, elected not to play in New York, highlighting the strength and form of the six wildcards he has chosen ahead of himself as a positive sign for the US ahead of the biennial event.
The LIV Golf controversy has subsided, with Bryson DeChambeau qualifying automatically and returning to the team after missing out at Marco Simone in 2023. A hurtful defeat in Rome, which saw Scheffler brought to tears after a record-breaking nine and seven defeat to Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, should provide plenty of motivation for a raucous home crowd in New York this time around.
Here’s how the stars and stripes line up as they take on a confident Team Europe:
Final Team USA standings for 2025 Ryder Cup
Top 6 eligible players following the conclusion of the BMW Championship, on 18 August, 2025, have made the team
1. Scottie Scheffler 37180.33 – QUALIFIED2. JJ Spaun 14851.91 – QUALIFIED3. Xander Schauffele 13733.52 – QUALIFIED4. Russell Henley 12276.82 – QUALIFIED5. Harris English 10880.55 – QUALIFIED6. Bryson De Chambeau 10774.98 – QUALIFIED
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7. Justin Thomas 10467.24 WILDCARD8. Collin Morikawa 1049.44 WILDCARD9. Ben Griffin 9745.76 WILDCARD10. Maverick McNealy 8913.65 11. Keegan Bradley 8435.0012. Brian Harman 7466.9113. Andrew Novak 7300.4814. Cameron Young 7209.64 WILDCARD15. Patrick Cantlay 6716.39 WILDCARD16. Sam Burns 6688.29 WILDCARD17. Wyndham Clark 5216.8718. Lucas Glover 4803.4419. Akshay Bhatia 4647.1320. Chris Gotterup 4570.10
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Scottie Scheffler leads Team USA (AP)
Team USA for the 2025 Ryder Cup
Qualified
Scottie Scheffler
Qualified. The best player in the world, but he has demons to exorcise from Rome: 9 and 7 with Brooks Koepka against Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg should light a fire in him for Bethpage Black. A comprehensive win at the PGA Championship and The Open, pencil him in for four team sessions and his singles match.
JJ Spaun
Qualified. Clutch play at Oakmont, a maiden major and the revelation of men’s golf this year. A debut at Bethpage Black should provide a different examination, yet the Californian outdueled Bob MacIntyre, Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton, which should give him an edge. Another fierce battle with European stalwart Justin Rose saw him narrowly miss out at the St Jude Championship, but his composure down the stretch at TPC Southwind and in the playoff shows he can be trusted.
Xander Schauffele
Qualified. Holds a 7-6-1 record. Unable to capture the magic of 2024 after claiming two majors and has been hit with injuries. But a world class player with tremendous power and distance to marry with exquisite iron play and finesse around the greens. One of the few versatile players in terms of pairings for the USA, too.
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JJ Spaun won the US Open in dramatic fashion, fending off several strong European players (AP)
Russell Henley
Qualified. Will get in as an automatic selection through the rankings and Bradley got a close-up look at what he can do in the final group of the Travelers Championship, including his chip-in on 18. Henley, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational this year, is a wizard approaching the green (11th in strokes gained on tour this year) and third on tour for proximity with his approach. A great option in foursomes.
Harris English
Qualified. English’s first Ryder Cup match, in the Friday fourballs back in 2021, saw him and Tony Finau impressively down European big-hitters Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry 4&3, but losses in Saturday’s fourballs and Sunday’s singles left English and Finau as the US’s lowest scorers that week. Not selected two years ago, English looks a good bet to get the call in 2025 after a win at the Farmers Insurance Open in January (his first PGA Tour triumph in four years), a T12 at the Masters and a T2 at the US PGA behind the uncatchable Scottie Scheffler. A solo second at Royal Portrush, behind Scheffler again, put him eighth in the world. Even if he slips out of the automatic qualification, he’s very likely on the team.
Bryson DeChambeau
Qualified. Holds a 2-3-1 record. Sorely missed in Rome from an entertainment perspective, his bruising power of the tee should pose a real threat at this menace of a golf course. Still not striking his irons as he would like or how you’d expect given his scientific approach, and he continues to blame his golf ball, a daunting opponent but one the Europeans will fancy toppling if they can weather an early storm.
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Bryson DeChambeau will return after sitting out Rome (PA)
Wildcards
Justin Thomas
A stalwart of the team, Thomas only narrowly missed out on an automatic qualification place. In a much better spot after winning the RBC Heritage and T-2 at the Truist, but cut-cut at the PGA Championship and US Open provides a little concern over his ability to rise up on the tougher tracks.
Collin Morikawa
A masterful iron player. Despite near-misses at the Sentry and Players, finishing second in both, the 28-year-old hasn’t contended enough for a player who made such a stunning breakthrough as a youngster. Still with the potential to establish himself as a transcendent player of his generation, Morikawa plays again this year and will build on his experience from Rome.
Patrick Cantlay
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Patrick Cantlay returns to the Ryder Cup (Getty Images)
An absolute gun for the US in team events, most notably forming a formidable partnership alongside fellow ‘best current player not to win a major’ Xander Schauffele over multiple Ryder and Presidents Cups, it’s hard to envisage Cantlay not being at Bethpage. While partner in crime Schauffele ended his major drought by bagging two of them last year, the formerly prolific Cantlay doesn’t have a tournament win of any description since August 2022.
He had gone off the boil in majors this season, missing the cut at both the US Open and US PGA, and did become the villain du jour at the 2023 Ryder Cup when he refused to wear a hat, reportedly as a protest at not being paid to compete. The controversy ended up overshadowing the US team somewhat as they suffered a chastening defeat, while his caddy Joe LaCava first baited the European fans by waving a hat and celebrating wildly when his player made a crucial putt and then had a heated confrontation with Rory McIlroy in the car park. Bradley will be delighted to have seen Cantlay contend against Fleetwood at the Tour Championship, despite narrowly missing out, locking up a wildcard pick.
Ben Griffin
Griffin has a tidy game and won the Charles Schwab this year, and makes a first Ryder Cup. Two top-10 finishes at the PGA Championship and US Open show he belongs at the very top; he’s in the driver’s seat to grab one of the wildcard picks. The limited matchplay experience, beyond the Aruba Cup, representing the PGA Tour Canada in 2018, is one concern.
Cameron Young
Young narrowly missed out on a Ryder Cup debut in Rome two years ago, despite vice-captain Fred Couples running his mouth on the radio a month prior and declaring that “Cam Young will be in Italy”. That apparent wrong is righted at Bethpage and his prodigious driving, both in terms of length and shot shape, makes him a perfect fit for the course. A win at the Wyndham Championship broke his duck on the PGA Tour, to pair with an impressive T4 at the US Open – and the 28-year-old could be a smart pick given he is from the area and grew up playing Bethpage.
Sam Burns
A Sunday to forget at Oakmont as he frittered away a number of strokes to lose control of what was at one point a dominant US Open bid. Burns was aired with Scheffler, a good friend of his, in Rome, in a bid to bring the best out of the world No 1, but it didn’t work. The pairing might get another go on home soil with Burns’s ability on the green as an elite putter sure to be valuable.
Just missed out
Among those not selected who might have been in the frame beyond captain Bradley, Jordan Spieth’s lack of form has counted against him despite the multiple major winner’s experience and pedigree, while Brian Harman also misses out with a lack of length off the tee perhaps a factor at a Bethpage Black course that favours big hitters. Maverick McNealy’s high placing in the qualification standings and solid PGA Tour form have not been enough to earn him a debut.
American team for the 2025 Ryder Cup
Scottie SchefflerJJ Spaun Xander SchauffeleRussell HenleyHarris English Bryson DeChambeauJustin ThomasCollin MorikawaBen GriffinSam BurnsPatrick CantlayCameron Young
