Your complete Team USA 2025 Ryder Cup preview is here! Golf expert Ben Coley breaks down every American heading to Bethpage Black, including form, stats, Ryder Cup records and possible pairings chosen by captain Keegan Bradley.
We profile all the stars of Team USA: Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns. Discover how they qualified, their season highlights, and who they might be paired with during the weekend.
Perfect for golf fans who want in-depth stats and strategy ahead of the 2025 Ryder Cup.
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Contents:
00:00 Introduction
00:20 Scottie Scheffler
01:40 JJ Spaun
02:45 Russell Henley
03:54 Xander Schauffele
05:06 Ben Griffin
06:19 Harris English
07:25 Bryson DeChambeau
08:53 Justin Thomas
10:05 Collin Morikawa
11:17 Cameron Young
12:28 Patrick Cantlay
13:30 Sam Burns
So they’re getting used to it now the United States faced the task of
winning back the Ryder Cup on home soil. They did it at Hazeltine. They did it at Whistling Straits. Can they do it again at Bethpage? A lot of people think, yes, but there has been plenty of controversy
around team selection. So let’s take you through the 12 players
representing Keegan Bradley and Team USA. So there’s no doubt
who the star man for the USA is. It’s the star men in golf
really the world number one. And by a long distance Scottie Scheffler. He’s had an extraordinary year
even by his standards winning the PGA Championship, winning the open
both of them by wide margins. And this after a 2024 season which
some felt he would do well to better. Well, he’s done
that in no uncertain terms. And with his short game
improved, his putter has come alive. He’s a fearsome opponent for anybody. The question mark would have to be that he went through Rome
without winning a single match. He suffered a record defeat against Ludwig Aberg and Viktor Hovland,
which had him in tears. And in the end, he signed off with a half point against
Jon Rahm in a renewal of their rivalry, having won the first battle
two years earlier back on home soil with another couple of majors
in the locker, I wouldn’t expect Scheffler to go through this week
without winning a match again. That would be an enormous shock. And what we know as well is that
he will pair with a new partner in Russell Henley, who’s probably better for him
than his friend Sam Burns. Also a chance he plays with JJ spawn
based on early indications, but whoever’s alongside
Scheffler has got the golden ticket. If you’ve got the world number one
with you, you’re in a good place. Whoever you’re against. And this is, a big week for Scheffler,
but one I’m sure he’ll rise to. If you went back to the start
of the qualifying process, even the start of summer, and we’re looking at potential candidates
to be a rookie on the US side. JJ Spaun would have been a long way down
that list. He’d been on the tour for 7
or 8 years, played consistently well, been known as a very solid ball striker
who perhaps doesn’t make enough parts. Perhaps isn’t ruthless enough to go and take his game to the next level,
doesn’t have that X factor. And then after losing a playoff
at the Players Championship to Rory McIlroy,
where he was just one role from winning in regulation time,
he went and hold that extraordinary putt across the 18th green Oakmont
to win the US open in style. It was a brilliant performance,
a coming of age performance from a very likable player who now goes to his first Ryder Cup
knowing that he belongs there. You know, he almost won again in August. And and he seems that
he has the faith of the captain who wants to include him in a little pod
with Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley and perhaps someone else as well.
So we’ll see how he’s used. I suspect the clues we’ve had so far
suggest that Spaun will make his entrance in the fourballs on Friday afternoon, but
when he does, he will certainly be ready. Like JJ Spaun, Russell
Henley is a sort of no frills golfer. He doesn’t hit the ball particularly far
in fact, he’s a short hitter. But he does hit it straight. He has really good iron shots,
but not in a flashy way. If you ask some people
who don’t follow the sport particularly closely,
they wouldn’t necessarily name him in the same breath
as someone like Collin Morikawa. And yet his stats say he belongs
even higher up the order at the moment. He’s improved his potting certainly
over the last few years, but really, he’s a no frills golfer who doesn’t do anything
particularly badly. But the cumulative sum of his is parts at
the moment is extraordinarily good. And he’ll be a key man because he’s
playing alongside Scottie Scheffler almost certainly in those foursomes they paired
together in the Presidents Cup. So while Henley is a rookie
he does have a US team golf experience. This is a different level. We’ll see how he responds to it. But he’s considered in that team room
to be pretty nails, pretty calm and ready to go and face
any challenge that comes his way. And while he hasn’t won tournaments
as often as he would like over the years, I suspect he’ll be a really solid player
for the USA. Not just here,
but in a couple more Ryder Cup second. Xander Schauffele is not a surprise name in the US side
at all, of course, a two time major champion, but he qualified really
on the strength of his form in 2024. And the story of 2025 is that he’s not been at his best and yes,
we could have made some excuses for that. At the start of the year. We had a bit of an injury, delayed his return
and took a while to shake off the rust. Really, he’s never kicked on. He’s never pieced it all together. And he was, you know,
among a very small group of the best players in the world who failed
to even make the Tour Championship. At the end of the PGA tour season. He also has taken time off
because he too, has become a father. So he didn’t play in the pro
Tour championship with his teammates. So his preparation is definitely
not been ideal against that. He’s a brilliant player. Until Rome,
he had a formidable record in team golf, particularly alongside friend and partner
Patrick Cantlay. And I do still think on balance
there will be asked to go out together in the foursomes
even on day one session one If Keegan Bradley does feel
that he’s rusty and he’s not quite ready, then a change of plan will be needed. But Schauffele will be eager
to end this year on a high because it’s been one of frustration
so far. I’m sure all of that will be forgotten. With a baby at home
and a Ryder Cup in the locker. Another name you would have done well
to imagine being on this Ryder Cup team. In fact,
if you’d have given me 100 guesses in January,
I don’t think I’d have got that far. Is that of Ben Griffin. And even into March in early April,
this was a player who was very, very solid on the PGA tour, had not yet won
and wasn’t considered of the sort of spectacular world class skill set
that you might need to force your way in among a roster of major champions
of proven Ryder Cup performers. And yet that’s what he’s managed to do. And he did it by adding speed and distance
to his game, by winning first the pairs tournament
and then an individual title at the expense of,
among others, Scottie Scheffler. By producing his first ever
major top ten by basically playing well week in, week out through
to the end of the Fedex Cup playoffs. So an extraordinary improvement in the game of someone
who actually stepped away from golf a couple of years ago to go and work
in real estate, real estate behind a desk. Thank goodness he came back to the sport
because he’s now a PGA tour winner, a Ryder Cup golfer,
and the only question he asked on. So we know the skill level is there. It’s can you cope
and can you reproduce that level of skill when you face the pressure
cooker of a Ryder Cup in Europe? Harris English has been a fantastic player
for a long time, although he did have to work his way back
from some serious problems 5 or 6 years ago. That could really have ended his career
at this kind of level. He did that and was first rewarded at Whistling Straits
with the Ryder Cup debut four years ago. It went okay, but he was by no means
the star performer for team USA. Well, now he gets another go. It’s again on home soil and I’d say he’s
probably a better player than he was then. And the reason for that
is that he’s improved off the tee. He’s become a very good driver
of the ball, and Harris English is a player who’s always had the other aspects
of the game covered. He’s a very likable player,
very popular in the team room. He’ll be he putts very, very well
and there’s been some talk and he might make a nice partner for Colin Morikawa, for whom potting
obviously is not a strength. I suspect English will find himself
used in Fourballs and he he’ll have to play very, very well
to get into the foursomes equation because he does
still have a bad drive in him. But he’s a player that could frustrate the opponent
because he can make putts from everywhere. He’s dogged, he’s determined. He’s a winner this year. He’s a two time major runner up
and he thoroughly deserves this. Return to the US Ryder Cup side Bryson DeChambeau in by some measures,
is the biggest star at the Ryder Cup and certainly on the USA side,
a phenomenal golfer as well. In terms of achievements in the game
on that team, only Scottie Scheffler outdoes him. Now we’ve seen the likes of Dustin Johnson
move on and left out the side. The question is what you do with Bryson,
because some people will feel that with his talent and at a golf course
that will suit him in Bethpage Black, he should be out there in day one,
session one, maybe even match one to get these crowds going
and to get red on the board. I wonder if it could be a genius move
from Keegan Bradley to coil him up and get him
ready for the afternoon, because Fourballs
is a better format for him. You know, he struggled at times
in foursomes, although not with Scheffler Whistling Straits, but he had before that
on his Ryder Cup debut in Paris. And obviously he’s
not the most accurate from the tee. And he’s not the best around the greens
either. So there are some weaknesses
that the foursomes can expose on the positive side as well,
leaving him for those fourballs. By this time
the crowd have been drinking all morning. They’re ready, the volume is going up
that is intensified by Bryson being on the tee, and a format
where he just has to go and play his ball. I think it could be a really good idea
for Keegan Bradley. I’m sure it’s one of the options
he’s considered. He’ll also be wondering who to partner him
with. That’s more of an unknown,
but I think we could see him go with that sort of more measured approach
of a Harris English or a Collin Morikawa. And for me, that reaffirms the idea
that Fourballs would be best for Bryson, an American with a winning individual Ryder Cup record in this day
and age is actually pretty rare. But that’s what Justin Thomas has. He’s played 13 matches, won seven of them
half two of them, only lost four. And that’s despite being a surprise
and perhaps unjust in some ways. Inclusion for the side in Rome, the knock on effect of which,
of course, was to keep Keegan Bradley out of the side,
which in turn has ended up Keegan Bradley being captain for this one
and Keegan Bradley missing another Ryder Cup as a player, which he certainly
is capable of taking part in. But that sub narrative aside,
Justin Thomas really did earn his way back into this side
this time. Victory in the RBC heritage in the spring, really the high point
of a very good season. And though he did suffer a little bit
during the middle of summer and didn’t play well in the majors, he did
end the season on the front foot again. A fabulous iron player. Brilliant around the greens. Improved with Potter. The driver can be his weakness. But his report in USA colors is presence. The achievements he has already,
including beating Rory McIlroy in Paris, for instance. He deserves to be considered
a key part of this side. And if they find the right partner
for him, he could be a devastating one as well. Some will have felt that column. Morikawa was lucky to be named
as part of Keegan Bradley side, and I think that’s a fair argument
that that’s true. He missed the cut in the Scottish
Open on the open and sort of towards the end of the qualification period,
and then didn’t do enough in the way that some of his, teammates
had, throughout August to really cement that place. He wasn’t
the end, given the benefit of the doubt. And I think there are two reasons
for that. One is that his long game remains
excellent. Two is that he’s actually got winning
records in both fourballs and foursomes. He is someone who can be part
not just of plan A, but of plan B. He could pair with just about anybody and
is certainly some talk of Harris, English and maybe Bryson
if I’ve judged that correctly. But whatever you do with Collin Morikawa,
you get an elite ball striker. And yes, Europe won’t be conceding
in parts from any distance. I would have thought, but
don’t be surprised if he steps up here. He was very good on debut
at Whistling Straits with Dustin Johnson and on his own,
and he played okay in Rome. He was he was hamstrung by a bad partner
early on. I think he’ll have a point
to prove more than anyone. Perhaps he’ll feel like he’s
lucky to be here. And he’s a world class player
with two majors to his name, so don’t be surprised
if he plays a key role. Heading into August, Cameron
Young hadn’t quite done enough to merit inclusion
for his Ryder Cup debut. He played
well at times, including in the US open. He has shown that his putting previously
a weakness, was becoming a strength, but he hadn’t done something to force
Keegan Bradley to included. Then he won the Wyndham
Championship alone. Maybe not enough, but from that
he went and played well in the final three events of the season
and really forced Bradley’s hand. Now, whether that forced Keegan
to not select himself or whether someone else
has been left out instead, we don’t know. But what we do know is that in Cam Young,
he has a player who’s shot very low numbers around Bethpage
who grew up in New York, who is long off the tee,
who has become fantastic with the potter and who does have some team experience
in the Presidents Cup. The question mark for me,
really well pairings would be one. But more to the point,
I think that the Ryder Cup is a different level from the Presidents
Cup, an entirely different atmosphere, and this is a character who doesn’t
necessarily covet the limelight. He doesn’t necessarily
embrace the raucous crowd. So we’ll say we might see a different side
to Cam Young. What we know we’re going to get is quality
ball striking and improved potting. The rest I think there are some questions
to answer. Patrick Cantlay has not had
the year he’d have hoped for. In fact, it’s two years now
since he last won on the PGA tour, and his frustrations in major championships
in particular have continued. There were some who therefore felt
he was not worth a place on this US side,
that he could be left out. But I don’t think that was ever
on the table. Let’s not forget that this is the man
who stood tall under intense pressure, and hold that part on the 18th hole
against Rory McIlroy, no less, in Rome. It was a part
that at the time gave the US hope. Before that, he’d been brilliant
in a couple of Presidents Cups. He was excellent on his previous Ryder
Cup star as well, and this is an all round quality
golfer who, yes, has struggled a little bit over short parts this year
but has a natural partner inside the show. Flight could really pair with anybody
and I think probably does care a good deal
more about this than sometimes he lets on. So never a doubt for me
he’d be in the side and there’s no doubt in my mind as well that he’ll feature
in the very first session. Those Friday foursomes, Sam Burns and Collin Morikawa,
would probably be the two players who are most at risk of losing
what had seemed likely places in this Ryder Cup side. And I think Sam Burns in particular, is
the one who can count himself fortunate. It’s been a couple of years
since he won the World Matchplay. He hasn’t performed particularly
well in United States colors, certainly at the last Ryder Cup. His partnership with Scottie
Scheffler seems to be in an end. They’re very good friends,
but it just didn’t work when they were playing together
and the results showed that. So there were reasons
I felt for leaving him out. Keegan Bradley has decided not to do that. He knows that in Burns, he’s getting arguably the best putter
in the world at the moment. A player who hits the ball a long way
as well, someone who could have won the Canadian Open and was perhaps
a little unfortunate not to back in June and whose form in August was very good. So there’s plenty of positives with Burns,
but he was really dominated by Rory McIlroy in their singles
match in Rome. I’d be a bit unconvinced by him to, and I think whoever does
draw him on Sunday in European colors should go into that game
sort of smelling blood and hoping that his putter
doesn’t get him out of jail.
