Vermont’s Keegan Bradley will captain the US, while Luke Donald again takes charge of Team Europe.
Here’s everything you need to know about this month’s Ryder Cup:
How to watch the 2025 Ryder Cup
When: Sept. 26-28
Where: The Black Course at Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale, N.Y.
TV: USA Network (Friday, Sept. 26), NBC and Peacock (Saturday, Sept. 27, and Sunday, Sept. 28), Rydercup.com and Ryder Cup app (all days)
Schedule
Day 1 (Sept. 26): 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (USA Network)
Day 2 (Sept. 27): 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (NBC, Peacock)
Day 3 (Sept. 28): 12 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC, Peacock)
Keegan Bradley (left) opted not to play as a captain in this year’s Ryder Cup, leaving the golf to stars such as Scottie Scheffler (right).Mike Mulholland/Getty
Each team is comprised of 12 players, six of whom were selected automatically based on points earned through performance on the PGA Tour or DP World Tour.
The other six were selected by each team’s captain, neither of whom are playing. Vermont native Keegan Bradley was long considered a possibility to become the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963, but he ultimately did not select himself.
Here are the rosters:
(*Asterisk denotes captain’s pick)
Europe
Captain: Luke Donald
Ludvig Aberg, Sweden*
Matt Fitzpatrick, England*
Tommy Fleetwood, England
Tyrrell Hatton, England
Rasmus Hojgaard, Denmark
Viktor Hovland, Norway*
Shane Lowry, Ireland*
Robert MacIntyre, Scotland
Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland
Jon Rahm, Spain*
Justin Rose, England
Sepp Straka, Austria*
United States
Captain: Keegan Bradley
Sam Burns*
Patrick Cantlay*
Bryson DeChambeau
Harris English
Ben Griffin*
Russell Henley
Collin Morikawa*
Xander Schauffele
Scottie Scheffler
J.J. Spaun
Justin Thomas*
Cameron Young*
Rory McIlroy and Team Europe were dominant in Italy in 2023.Richard Heathcote/Getty
The Ryder Cup traces its roots to Massachusetts, where the first competition was held between the United States and Great Britain at Worcester Country Club in 1927.
Named after English businessman Samuel Ryder, who donated the trophy, the competition has been contested on a biennial basis outside of a handful of cancellations or postponements. Four Ryder Cups were lost to World War II, a fifth was postponed after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, and a sixth was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The current rivalry between the United States and Europe began in 1979, when the British team was expanded to include continental European golfers in a bid to make the event more competitive after decades of American dominance.
The Europeans turned that dominance on its head starting in 1995, winning eight of the next 10 competitions. Europe’s victory in 2012 marks the most recent win by the visiting team — the venue alternates between the United States in Europe — with the last five Ryder Cups claimed by the hosts.
The Ryder Cup is contested through a series of match-play contests, with 28 points available to be won through 28 matches each played over 18 holes.
On both Friday and Saturday, the teams will send out pairs to contest eight matches, split between four each of four-balls and foursomes. In four-ball matches, each player plays his own ball and the player with the lowest score on each hole wins the hole for his team. In foursomes, players alternate shots, again with the lowest score on each hole winning.
Xander Schauffele (left) and Patrick Cantlay were a successful pairing when the United States won at Whistling Straits in 2021.Warren Little/Getty
Sunday is a series of 12 singles matches, with the teams sending each of their dozen players out for a head-to-head. Like in the foursomes and four-balls, the lowest score on each hole wins that hole.
Each match is an opportunity for either team to claim a point with a victory, with tied matches seeing each team earn half a point.
The team with the most points at the end of the weekend will claim the Ryder Cup, and with it, two years’ worth of bragging rights. Should the teams end the weekend in a 14-14 tie, Europe would retain the trophy as the defending champion.
Pairings and matchups for the first session will be announced on Thursday, Sept. 25, the day before play begins, during the opening ceremony.
All-time series: United States leads, 27-15-2.
US vs. Europe series (from 1979): Europe leads, 12-9-1.
Last time: Europe swept the opening session at Marco Simone in Italy and the Americans never caught up. Europe had a 5-point lead going into Sunday singles, and Tommy Fleetwood clinched it for a 16½-11½ victory. Rory McIlroy led Europe with a 4-1 record.
Captains: Keegan Bradley (United States), Luke Donald (Europe).
Elite company: Bethpage Black becomes the seventh course to host a Ryder Cup, PGA Championship, and US Open. The others are Scioto, Oakland Hills, Oak Hill, Hazeltine, Pinehurst No. 2, and Medinah.
Tale of the tape: The Americans have combined for 14 wins and three majors this year. Europe has combined for 12 wins and one major.
Play it back: Luke Donald will try to become the first captain to win consecutive Ryder Cups since Tony Jacklin in 1985 and ’87.
Key statistic: US captain Keegan Bradley has a better world ranking than five players on his team, but he did not choose himself as a playing captain. He would’ve been the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
Noteworthy: This is the first European team to return 11 of the 12 players from the previous Ryder Cup.
Quoteworthy: “We’ve got three days to see who’s the better team and it’s going to be a good battle.” — Scottie Scheffler.
The Black Course at Bethpage State Park has become one of the most revered public golf courses in the world in part because of its difficulty, with a sign posted at the first tee warning that “the Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers.”
Ranked seventh on Golf Digest’s 2025 list of top public courses in the US, Bethpage Black has become a popular course for golf’s major championships in recent decades, hosting the US Open in 2002 and 2009, and the PGA Championship in 2019.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the course’s most notable holes:
Bethpage Black’s fourth hole is one of its toughest.Seth Wenig/Associated Press
The signature hole on the course, the fourth at Bethpage Black might be a little short by par-5 standards, but it features a green some 50 feet above the landing zone for tee shots, double-dogleg design, and endless bunkers. The safe play for those going for the green in two will be to the right, setting up an easy pitch.
One of the longest par 5s around, this hole is made slightly easier because it is straight and reachable in two by long hitters on firm turf. A large bunker on the left is in play off the tee, while cross bunkers some 30 yards short of the green will be a problem for anything that comes up short. The green slopes slightly from back to front, with a bunker to the right among the deepest on the course. Any player hoping for an eagle chance on 13 will need to reach back for a little extra.
Nicknamed “the Beast,” the 15th hole at Bethpage Black can make or break a round with its steep elevation changes that require players to hit their second shots from the fairway to a green some 50 feet uphill. Anyone missing the fairway likely won’t reach the green from the rough, or be able to hold the green, which features two tiers that slope from the back left to the front right.
A par 3 that could decide matches at this year’s Ryder Cup, the 17th features a slightly elevated green that is 43 yards wide and is divided by a spine through the middle, effectively making two greens. Bunkers are protecting the green from all sides, making precision off the tee crucial for any player hoping to steal a birdie in the closing stages.
Among major championship venues in the US over the last two decades, only the Olympic Club has a shorter closing hole, giving players one final chance at a birdie. The tee shot is downhill to a narrow fairway that threads a large cluster of bunkers and fescue on both sides. Players can stay short of the bunkers and only have 160 yards to an elevated green that slopes severely to the front — staying below the hole is critical to avoid finishing with a tough downhill putt.
Bunkers are everywhere at Bethpage Black, including on the narrow 18th.Jason DeCrow/Associated Press
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com.
