Ryder Cup 2025 Big Board: The United States and European teams, ranked 1-24

No two Ryder Cup teams are created equal.

There’s almost always a favorite. For much of last century, that was the Americans, their star power and depth overwhelming the Great Britain & Ireland side, so much so that in 1979 all of Europe was engaged in the battle.

Europe has won more than its fair share since, including long stretches where the European golfers easily beat American teams that were more hapless than ruthless. Two years ago, an upstart team of Euros beat the Americans soundly, shocking many who looked at the teams on paper and concluded the United States was simply better.

This year, 11 of the 12 Europeans from Marco Simone are back, but the United States is at home, at Bethpage Black in New York. No team has won a road Ryder Cup since 2014, and the oddsmakers are reflecting that — the U.S. is -150 to win, per BetMGM.

The depth of the United States is again very good, reflected in our final Big Board of the 2025 season. Our golf desk has ranked the 24 players, taking into account their seasons, current form and Ryder Cup history.

Age Range 20-24 25-29 30-35 36-40 40+

Country Europe United States

Team LIV PGA Tour

Try changing or resetting your filters to see more.

The best player in the world — and by the numbers, it isn’t close — enters the Ryder Cup with plenty of skeptical eyes on him. Nobody denies Scottie Scheffler’s dominance. But his relationship with cups has been complicated. From breaking out as a lesser-known 25-year-old with a 4&3 win over Jon Rahm in Sunday singles to going 0-2-2 at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, Scheffler represents cup glory and cup failure.
In the grand scheme of things, Scheffler is 2-2-3 at Ryder Cups and 3-4-1 in the Presidents Cup. This week presents an opportunity for him to reshape his team legacy. One interesting thing to follow? Scheffler went 2-0 at the Presidents Cup with partner Russell Henley last fall, once in fourball and once in foursomes. Team USA seems to be leaning into that success.
Most of all, Scheffler was still a weak putter in past cups. He’s now a top-10 putter in the world in strokes gained. That could be a massive difference in match play. — Brody Miller

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Scottie Scheffler’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

25-29

United States

PGA Tour

There was no doubt Rory McIlroy was nursing a Masters hangover this summer, rowing with the press, smashing tee boxes and playing mediocre golf. It’s a shame, because from November 2024 to April 2025 he may have been playing the best golf of his storied career. The good news, though, is McIlroy just won the Irish Open and his iron game is returning to normal form. It’s safe to call him No. 2 in the world again.
And McIlroy is as synonymous with the Ryder Cup as anyone, going from downplaying its significance as a youngin’ to breaking down in tears after a 2021 loss in Wisconsin. He’s also quite good in them, with a 16-13-4 record and winning totals in three of his last five cups. His performance two years ago in Rome may have been the most significant, going 4-1, feuding with Patrick Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava and hitting perhaps the shot of the week with a spinny chip to all but finish Sam Burns in Sunday singles.
He is Europe’s undisputed leader. — Miller

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Rory McIlroy’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

The big golfer is back. Bryson DeChambeau entered Whistling Straits four years ago as perhaps the least popular golfer in the world, kicking fans out of events and warring with other stars. But that week, he and the crowd united as his bombing drives reached greens and he lifted his clubs in the air like a sword. DeChambeau went 2-0-1 that week, and it may have been ground zero for his latest act as a popular YouTube sensation with two majors and millions of fans.
He’s also a more complete golfer than he’s ever been, winning the 2024 U.S. Open and hanging around the 2025 Masters thanks to some incredible short game play. Yes, he launches the longest drives in the world, but it’s taken the entire game to rack up five top-10 finishes in his last six majors.
The only question left is who plays with him. He and Scheffler went 1-0-1 together in fourball in 2021, but that was when Scheffler was the low rung on the totem pole. Does the U.S. create a super pairing, or does somebody new like Ben Griffin, Russell Henley or J.J. Spaun get a look? — Miller

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Bryson DeChambeau’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

If Rory McIlroy is Europe’s leader, Jon Rahm may be its heart and soul. He lives and breathes this event in the mold of his hero Seve Ballesteros, and since he’s become a world No. 1, he’s thrived in it too. He’s 5-1-2 in his past two cups, playing so well in Rome that McIlroy interrupted a press conference to shout out Rahm as the best player in the world.
The beauty of Rahm is he has no weakness. He’s one of the best off the tee in the competition, but he gains strokes in every facet of his game. He’s so complete that even in his weakest statistical season in seven years, he’s still gained 2.02 strokes on the field per round. For reference, just four golfers in the world gained more than two strokes, per DataGolf. Rahm has done it for seven years running.
He has his likely foursomes partner in Tyrrell Hatton (2-0 together in Rome), but fourball has been less steady. He’s 1-2-2 in his career in the best ball format, and captain Luke Donald even rested him for one session last time. If they stick with the plan from Rome, then it would mean Europe swaps in Nicolai Hojgaard’s twin, Rasmus, in to play with Rahm in foursomes. But does Donald have other ideas? — Miller

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Jon Rahm’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

If we’re going purely by form, Tommy Fleetwood is Europe’s best player at this very moment. Fleetwood’s dramatic, painful struggles with finishing off tournaments — until his Tour Championship win — overshadowed what was otherwise an unbelievable season. He rose as high as No. 2 on DataGolf and racked up seven top-5 finishes in 21 starts. Only Scottie Scheffler had better ball-striking numbers, and his accuracy off the tee meant consistency.
What got lost in the conversation about winning tournaments was that Fleetwood wins all the time in Ryder Cups. He’s won two of the three cups he’s played in. He secured the winning point in Rome against Rickie Fowler, and in those two European victories, Fleetwood went an absurd 7-2-0. He and McIlroy went 2-0 together in foursomes, a likely perfect, accurate partner for McIlroy’s distance. He’s been less valuable in fourball, but that was before Fleetwood’s game reached new heights. — Miller

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Tommy Fleetwood’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

He’s the winningest American on this year’s team, with a career 7-4-2 record. But this cup is going to feel very different for Justin Thomas. His partner in crime, Jordan Spieth, didn’t make the team. In all three Ryder Cups he’s played in, more than any other American, Thomas has played all but one team match with Spieth. That one resulted in a tie four years ago with Patrick Cantlay. So it goes without saying Thomas will be adjusting to new partners this year. At the warmup event in Napa, Thomas played practice rounds with Cameron Young, Sam Burns and Cantlay.
It’ll be crucial to watch Thomas’ form, though. When he won the RBC Heritage in April, he appeared fully back to elite status with eight top-10 finishes in 13 starts. Since then? Regression. He’s been outside the top 25 in seven of his last 10 events. Ironically, he had the best putting year of his career after years of struggle. The challenge has come with some erratic tee-to-green game.
Still, the U.S. wants a good version of Thomas involved down the stretch. He’s never lost in Sunday singles. — Miller

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Justin Thomas’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

30-35

United States

PGA Tour

Russell Henley may be the most valuable member on this U.S. team. He’s the third-best iron player, the third-best short game player, the most accurate off the tee and one of the 20 best putters in the world. He’s also one of the most even-keeled human beings you’ll ever meet. Point being, he can be the U.S. Swiss Army Knife. You can counter him with an erratic bomber as the steady, accurate option in fourball. In alternate shot, he can be both the iron player setting up birdies and the closer finishing off Scottie Scheffler’s elite shots.
But Henley is more than just steady. He has risen from “very good” to elite in 2025, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, finishing T10 at both the U.S. Open and Open Championship and racking up 13 top 20s in 19 starts. He hasn’t finished worse than 19th in nine starts. He’s been top 10 in four of his last six majors, the kind of territory only Scheffler and DeChambeau occupy. Don’t downplay Henley. He might be the third-best U.S. player right now. — Miller

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Russell Henley’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

36-40

United States

PGA Tour

Patrick Cantlay had a very bad year at the majors. Three missed cuts. A T36 at the Masters. It is not wrong to find that concerning. But the overall picture of Cantlay’s game is still in very good shape. Even if he’s down from his 2021-2023 peak, Cantlay was steady all season with top 20s at eight of 12 signature events and a T2 at the Tour Championship.
But aside from all that, Cantlay is the U.S. cup force. After going 3-0-1 at Whistling Straits, he was the man hitting every crucial shot to steal a crucial point against Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick as the entire Rome crowd honed in on him during the “hat controversy.” He’s also 7-2 in the past two Presidents Cups, with more dominance in the clutch against Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim last year in Montreal. He’s the kind of guy you want on your team.
The question may be how to use him. He was known for his success with friend Xander Schauffele, but the pair went 0-2 together in foursomes in Rome. How much of that was because Schauffele simply had a bad week? — Miller

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Patrick Cantlay’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

30-35

United States

PGA Tour

Cameron Young might be a rookie on the U.S. Ryder Cup team but he is no stranger to Bethpage Black. Born in Scarborough, New York, Young won a State Open at the Black Course as a college player, becoming the first amateur to do so. He’s ranked No. 21 in driving distance on the PGA Tour with one of the fastest average club head speeds in the game (122.54 mph). Young’s putter also heated up this season — he’s ranked fifth on tour in strokes gained putting. Following his long-awaited PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship, Young continued the streak with four consecutive top-11 finishes to finish his season, finding perfect form ahead of his first Ryder Cup. His game might be one of the best fit for this year’s venue out of any player on either team. — Gabby Herzig

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Cameron Young’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

25-29

United States

PGA Tour

The two-time major champion enters his third Ryder Cup as one of Team USA’s most seasoned players. Known for his cool, calm and collected demeanor, and effortless consistency, Xander Schauffele should thrive at Bethpage Black. But ever since the rib injury that delayed the start of his 2025 season, he’s been struggling to find the form that led him to a career year in 2024. His best finish this calendar year was a T7 at the Open Championship. Schauffele was the only man on the U.S. team to miss the team-bonding excursion to the PGA Tour’s Napa event, the Procore Championship, as he and his wife Maya recently welcomed their first child. It remains to be seen whether Schauffele can properly tune up ahead of the biennial event — he’ll be a key element for the team’s success, especially in tandem with his foursomes and fourball partner over the years, Patrick Cantlay. — Herzig

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Xander Schauffele’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

30-35

United States

PGA Tour

At 45, Justin Rose is the oldest player on either Ryder Cup team by seven years. The Englishman has previously characterized his last few seasons of golf as the “Indian summer” of his career, and so far, he’s lived up to the metaphor. Rose recently won his 12th PGA Tour title at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and came painfully close to grabbing his second major championship when he lost to Rory McIlroy in a playoff at the Masters in April. At the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, Rose emerged as a leading elder-statesman voice in the European team room. He might be one of the shortest hitters on either team roster, but Rose has proved that he still has his ballstriking chops and clutch putting down the stretch. — Herzig

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Justin Rose’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

The young Swede is back for his second Ryder Cup appearance after he debuted as a force in Rome in 2023, just three months removed from his senior year at Texas Tech. Marred by a few injuries and illnesses, Aberg has had a rollercoaster of a 2025 PGA Tour season. He won the Genesis Invitational one week after withdrawing from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Then he missed cuts at both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, but bounced back in the late summer with a trio of top-10 finishes in his last five starts of the 2025 season. If Aberg is on, his game should be lethal at Bethpage Black. The course demands length off the tee and rewards precision. Aberg, the tour’s resident robot, checks those boxes. — Herzig

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Ludvig Aberg’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

Hovland had a legitimate claim to being the best player in the world last time he teed it up in a Ryder Cup. In 2023 at Marco Simone, Hovland arguably hit the shot of the tournament when he sunk a chip on the first hole of his first match in competition. But the past two years have looked different for the Norwegian. He lost himself in swing changes and has been clawing his way back to peak form ever since. Hovland briefly emerged with a victory at the Valspar Championship and a solo third-place finish at the U.S. Open at Oakmont, but his other performances throughout the season have been inconsistent at best. But there is no doubt that Hovland could see his game round out just in time for Bethpage Black. At the BMW PGA Championship, which the entire European Team competed in to tune up for the Ryder Cup, Hovland was tied for 45th. — Herzig

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Viktor Hovland’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

The newest kid on the block in the U.S. team room is 29-year-old former mortgage loan officer Ben Griffin. Griffin broke out on the PGA Tour this season with a win at the Zurich Classic, an event that features two-man teams. He followed it up with a resume-solidifying victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge, a solo second place at the Memorial and a run at the U.S. Open at Oakmont, where he ultimately finished T10. At that point in the summer, Griffin proved himself to be a top-five American player, if not higher. Griffin was reportedly on the borderline of the captain’s pick choices, as he made a late surge in the two-year Ryder Cup qualification window. But Griffin ultimately secured a spot by continuing to play high-level golf through the Tour Championship — there has also been chatter that Griffin stepped up to be Bryson DeChambeau’s partner. — Herzig

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Ben Griffin’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

25-29

United States

PGA Tour

The fiery Brit is back again for a fourth Ryder Cup appearance — his first since joining LIV Golf. Tyrrell Hatton is a strong match-play competitor, especially when he’s playing for his country. He has an individual record of 5-4-2 in his past performances for Team Europe. Despite playing on the breakaway tour, Hatton has managed to keep his game alive in major championships and on the DP World Tour, which was ultimately integral to his chances of making the European team. It was extremely impressive that Hatton made the team on points, despite LIV Golf tournaments not counting. He won the Hero Dubai Desert Classic to start the year, posted a T4 finish at the U.S. Open, and a pair of top-20s at the Masters and The Open. Hatton did not have his strongest season on LIV — he failed to win individually and only posted two top-five finishes. — Herzig

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Tyrrell Hatton’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

Robert MacIntyre appeared to be the weakest link on the European squad at Marco Simone to start the week, a rookie who didn’t seem to gel with the rest of the team. But the Scotsman thrived in Rome and proved himself on an international stage. Perhaps that momentum helped spur his career year in 2024, where MacIntyre won both the RBC Canadian Open, for his first PGA Tour win, and the Genesis Scottish Open — his home national open. Things have remained steady for MacIntyre this season, although he did not grab a victory. He nearly entered a playoff with J.J. Spaun at the U.S. Open and he posted another solo second finish at the BMW Championship. MacIntyre’s strength is that he is a steady player all around — his driving, ballstriking, short game and putting have remained in the top percentiles all year. He’s currently ranked No. 15 on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained. — Herzig

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Robert MacIntyre’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

If the Ryder Cup team had been picked after the 2025 Masters, Sam Burns’ inclusion would have raised more than a few eyebrows. His game was not in a good place, and had not been for some time. So what happened? Burns continues to be one of, if not the, best putters in the world, but he found fixes in his iron play that took him from losing strokes on approach to gaining. Suddenly, he was in the final group at the U.S. Open, regularly contending on the PGA Tour and firming up his place on this team. He comes into the week with every part of his game working with the potential for the flat stick to sink long putts and win points. He played with Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa in the 2023 Ryder Cup, and had a fruitful partnership with Patrick Cantlay at last year’s Presidents Cup. — Hugh Kellenberger

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Sam Burns’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

25-29

United States

PGA Tour

A middle-career golfer who came out of just about nowhere to win his first major and make his first Ryder Cup on points? The U.S. had two of those two years ago in Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark, and it didn’t go great. So why is J.J. Spaun potentially different? For one thing, that 64-footer to win the U.S. Open took serious guts. And he also took the Players Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship to playoffs, so there’s a body of work beyond that one week. It looks like Spaun is in the mix to pair with Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley, which would make three guys who all hit their irons beautifully and delivered in big moments this year. The only worry for the U.S.? Spaun lost both those playoffs to members of the European Ryder Cup team, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose. — Kellenberger

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent JJ Spaun’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

30-35

United States

PGA Tour

Europe captain Luke Donald made it known to Matt Fitzpatrick that the best way to earn his fourth Ryder Cup pick was to play the final two DP World Tour events before roster selections. Fitzpatrick did, finishing T6 and solo fifth at the British Masters and European Masters, respectively. So here’s Fitzpatrick, coming off a strong summer that saw him finish in the top 10 in four straight events, most notably including the Open Championship. The challenge is whether or not Fitzpatrick will, for the first time, find success in this event. He’s 0-3 in foursomes and singles, and 1-1 in fourball, with his only successful pairing being with Rory McIlroy two years ago. Donald did not use Fitzpatrick in foursomes in Rome, and with 11 members back, it feels probable that he’ll do the same thing this time around. — Kellenberger

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Matt Fitzpatrick’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

Much of Harris English’s momentum coming off the 2021 season and his maiden Ryder Cup appearance was lost the next year, when he went through hip surgery. A 2024 back injury also cost English time and put him far outside the Ryder Cup discussion to begin the year. But then he won the Farmers Insurance Open and kept on collecting results, including second-place finishes at the PGA and Open Championships. All of it allowed English to make his second Ryder Cup team on points, a terrific accomplishment. So what now? His 2021 partner Tony Finau is off the team, so English will require a new partner. It could be struggling Collin Morikawa, who could use English’s steady hand. — Kellenberger

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Harris English’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

36-40

United States

PGA Tour

The affable, genial Shane Lowry was a Ryder Cup rookie four years ago when Europe absolutely got steamrolled by the Americans in Wisconsin, and still considered it the week of his life and a goal to do it over and over again. It’s a good thing he’s built up a steady body of work in the last few years to make his selection obvious, because his recent form has not been great. He’s barely top-40 in the world right now, per DataGolf.com, and has not had a top 10 since the middle of May. He’s lost strokes around the green in seven of his last 11 starts, dating back to the PGA Championship, and lost strokes putting six times in the same stretch. The iron play is keeping him afloat at the moment. This feels like a dangerous bet in alternate short formats, meaning Lowry may play three times, max, this week. — Kellenberger

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Shane Lowry’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

It’s been a wholly uninspiring majors season for Collin Morikawa. Getting chased down by Russell Henley due to uninspiring, boring golf at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. A long string of missed cuts and middle-table finishes during the summer. Things are not great at the moment for the two-time major champion and 2021 Ryder Cup revelation. Most figured if captain Keegan Bradley picked himself to play it would have meant Ben Griffin being cut, when it probably should have actually been Morikawa. As it is, Bradley has a serious task in front of him to best use Morikawa this week. The putter has always been streaky, but is ice cold with strokes lost eight of the last nine starts. Enter Sam Burns, owner of one of the best putters in the world. The two won a point together in Rome, so even so there is proof of concept. — Kellenberger

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Collin Morikawa’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

25-29

United States

PGA Tour

Sepp Straka, the Austrian who speaks with a Georgia (the state, not the country) accent, is making his second Ryder Cup appearance, and coming off what was mostly a very good 2025 season. He won twice, including the Truist Championship, and racked up a handful of other top 10s in those signature event fields. The majors were a different story — three missed cuts and a T52 (at the Open Championship). And Straka has been mostly out of action for the last six weeks following the birth of his and his wife’s second child. While congratulations are in order to the happy couple, the history of coming into Ryder Cups with newborns is not great, and so practically should be of some worry to European captain Luke Donald. — Kellenberger

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Sepp Straka’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.

When one Hojgaard won’t do, there’s always another one. Two years after one twin, Nicolai, made his Ryder Cup debut in Rome, here comes Rasmus to do the same in New York. The 24-year-old Rasmus earned his way onto the team by points, a significant accomplishment given some of the names who did not make the European top six. He pushed hard in the final few weeks on the DP World Tour to do that, nearly winning the Danish Golf Championship, a T13 at the Betfred British Masters and and a T2 at the Omega European Masters. Hojgaard launches the ball off the tee, an asset at this course, but a lackluster PGA Tour record — a second-place finish at the Zurich Classic, a team event, was his only top 10 of the year — is troubling. — Kellenberger

Strokes Gained

The bars below represent Rasmus Hojgaard’s percent rank when compared to all Ryder Cup competitors.