We have every player’s individual record, broken down by format, ahead of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage. Here’s Luke Donald’s team USA.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy plays his first Ryder Cup as a career grand slam champion and it follows arguably his best Ryder Cup, as he top-scored in Rome despite losing that infamous Saturday evening match which left USA with hopes renewed. Before then had won both foursomes matches with Tommy Fleetwood, the first time they’d been paired together, and given the lack of change among the European side we should expect them to play in the first session. After that, it remains to be seen whether a reprisal of his fourballs partnership with Matt Fitzpatrick is on the cards but one thing seems certain: come Sunday, he’ll be out early for Europe, defending an excellent singles record (only defeats in 2016 and 2018, both to standout US players). In winning Rome singles despite being last on the course on Saturday, he proved he can handle five matches.
Robert MacIntyre
Having gone to Rome as in effect the final qualifier, considered the potential weak link in the side, MacIntyre returns a two-time PGA Tour winner and genuine major contender who many feel will thrive playing away from home. That he went unbeaten two years ago owes much to the avuncular presence of Justin Rose, but he then stood tall as things got tight in the singles, winning his point. Whether that link-up with Rose is reprised depends on whether the logic for it extended beyond that idea of a guiding presence, and there would have to remain a bit of a doubt around his foursomes suitability. That might be Donald’s toughest decision ahead of the first session.
Tommy Fleetwood
The style icon of 2023 having produced that wonderful moment when he turned to celebrate just before his chip rolled into the hole, Fleetwood is a player of real substance too. He later completed another dream Ryder Cup by securing the winning point having been given a late slot in the singles, winning in that format for the first time (though admittedly well-drawn), and has lost just three of 12 Ryder Cup matches. Fleetwood boasts a flawless foursomes record, first alongside Francesco Molinari and then McIlroy, and it would seem madness to do anything but select those two for the opening session and go from there. They were out last on day one in Rome and took out the star US pairing of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, sealing a whitewash session for the hosts and setting them on the path to victory. Now, Fleetwood comes back to the US having won the FedEx Cup, and ready to play a key role again.
Justin Rose
After playing that guiding role in Rome, some would’ve expected Rose to progress quietly into vice-captaincy before taking the main gig himself at some point in the near future. That all changed when he was a brave runner-up to McIlroy at the Masters, and he would surely have been selected on the strength of that had he not then won a big PGA Tour event to qualify in style. As has been the case for a few years now, the gap between his floor and his ceiling is wide, but Europe have invested in the idea of continuity and experience and Rose, surely playing in his final away game, will be a huge part of plans both inside and outside of the team room. The question is whether that expands into foursomes, historically his best format but one he hasn’t played in a Ryder Cup since 2018.
Rasmus Hojgaard
Europe’s sole rookie, Hojgaard replaces his twin brother, Nicolai, in the only change from 2023. Whether he’d have been selected had he failed to qualify is now moot: returning to the DP World Tour with a job to do in August, he finished second in Denmark and stood tall under immense pressure at the Belfry, moving into the automatic places having built up a significant bank of points in the autumn of the previous year. His talents are similar to those of his brother, and so is his ball, but the latter only matters for foursomes and if Donald does roll out the Rome playbook again, he won’t feature in that. Nicolai did pair up with Jon Rahm, who also plays Callaway, but that was in fourballs it wouldn’t be a surprise if Rose was now asked to swap roles and link up with the only newcomer in blue. On that we’ll learn more during the week itself.
Tyrrell Hatton
Like Rahm, Hatton returns to the Ryder Cup as a LIV Golf player, but that doesn’t really seem to be an issue for Europe and the two have spent a lot of time together this year, making a reprisal of their Rome partnership all but certain. There, they went out in the very first match and delivered a crushing victory over Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, before swapping to the anchor role for a second foursomes win on Saturday, against star US duo Cantlay and Schauffele. As with McIlroy and Fleetwood, it seems a question of which match they play in on day one. Once we get to the singles, the question may be how Hatton holds up amid the raucous New York fans, although playing on the generally drunk and disorderly LIV Golf circuit may for once act as good preparation for the serious golf that lies ahead.
Shane Lowry
In the days leading up to Luke Donald’s wildcard announcement, some felt that Lowry had become vulnerable, only for such talk to be ended quickly when Donald named him as the first of six picks. In terms of his game and his ball, the partnership he made with Sepp Straka in Rome made perfect sense, although it’s possible to pick holes in it now given that their defeated opponents on day one were poor, and on day two they suffered a heavy defeat. Lowry went on to surrender the lead in a halved singles match so awaits his first full point there, and while there was no doubt in Donald’s mind, he probably does have one or two questions to answer. Expect that task to take place over a similar set of matches, foursomes and singles, with others better suited to fourballs.
Sepp Straka
Twice a winner on the PGA Tour this year (one of which didn’t earn him any Ryder Cup points), Straka had appeared a certainly for selection until withdrawing from the penultimate event of the season, then finishing last in the FedEx Cup finale. It has since transpired that he and his wife welcomed a baby into the world and with all well at home, it would’ve been exceptionally cruel to overlook a player with such strong 2025 form to his name. At the time of writing, he’s not entered to play prior to the Ryder Cup, which can’t be called ideal and could force Donald to consider an alternative approach to the opening foursomes. That said, Straka is much better suited to that format on paper and is the only other European who shares the same ball as Lowry. Providing he’s sharp in practice, he’ll be given the benefit of any doubt.
Ludvig Aberg
Some may feel that Aberg has been a bit of a disappointment this year, but that can only tell us that expectations are extraordinarily high. After all, he was bang in the mix for the Masters with two holes to go, having already won a Signature Event, and is firmly established among the second wave of golf’s elite, with plenty more to come. His first Ryder Cup ended in singles defeat to the vastly experienced Brooks Koepka, but before that he’d combined with Viktor Hovland for two wins, the first comfortable, the second record-breaking, both in foursomes. They were beaten in fourballs and it’s hard to say for certain what the plan will be this time, but four matches for Aberg feels like the minimum, at least half of them alongside his fellow Scandinavian. They are the third nailed-on foursomes pairing for day one.
Viktor Hovland
It’s been a curious year for Europe’s most fascinating golfer, who won the Valspar Championship in deeply impressive fashion, threatened for a long time to win the US Open, but generally remained displeased with the state of his game and could seldom put everything together at once. Largely, his remaining issues step from the tee, where he’s still well below his best, but there haven’t been many better iron players and that means the only questions ahead of his foursomes link-up with Aberg are who tees off on one, and what number match they play in. After that, who knows? Perhaps not Viktor himself, but he’s made for this stage in a way that wasn’t yet clear when he made his Ryder Cup debut on US soil, when he still played all five sessions. In fact he’s yet to sit one out.
Matt Fitzpatrick
One glance at Fitzpatrick’s record tells you that he more than any player on either side has something to prove as to his suitability to the formats and the event, and there were times during 2025 that he looked vulnerable to a surprise selection from Donald. It’s therefore a testament to his class that the former US Amateur and US Open champion found form when he needed to, which allows us to talk more about the reasons his record is so poor. On debut, when only 22 years old, he had to sit out day one and was only selected for the tough foursomes format; two years later, he again wasn’t given the chance to play his own ball and was not helped by Lee Westwood’s performance, before losing his dead-rubber singles on 18. Rome therefore feels like the fairest way to judge him and he was electric in a fourballs win with McIlroy, before the pair lost that tight and tense game on Saturday evening. More of the same might be enough to win some critics over and looks made for fourballs golf, before then attempting to win a singles point at the fourth attempt.
Jon Rahm
Rahm is the 12th man in terms of Ryder Cup points but he was key to their victory in Rome, despite having to partner with Europe’s weakest link and then left out of Saturday afternoon’s fourballs. Three points from four, without losing, despite drawing Scheffler in the singles was an exceptional return for the Spaniard, who led out those singles, and even on debut he was in the top third to the tee on Sunday. Before then you can be absolutely sure he’ll play with LIV Golf teammate Hatton, but less clear is whether he’ll switch to the other Hojgaard. He did play fourballs with Rose on debut (lost a tight match) and if Donald does lean more and more into experience, that wouldn’t be a big shock, nor would a link-up with MacIntyre. Again, more will be revealed when they arrive at Bethpage, but Rahm remains one of the key players for Europe.
