The 2025 Ryder Cup tees off on Friday at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, with Team U.S.A. favored to reclaim the trophy from Team Europe.
The American squad, anchored by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and led by captain Keegan Bradley, seeks to extend its strong record while playing on home soil.
Meanwhile, Team Europe, captained by Luke Donald and led by golf legend Rory McIlroy, aims to continue its recent run of success despite playing on enemy turf.
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition that pits the United States against Europe in a unique match play format that emphasizes team competition and national pride.
This year’s tournament marks the 45th edition of the event, which has become one of the most prestigious and passionately contested tournaments in all of sports.
Team U.S.A. holds the all-time record against Team Europe, with the Americans claiming 27 victories compared to just 15 for the Europeans.
Each team fields a total of 12 players, consisting of six automatic bids and an additional six captains’ selections.
For this year’s tournament, Team U.S.A. features automatic bids provided to Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Harris English, and Bryson DeChambeau.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Bradley announced the six captain’s selections during an event at PGA Frisco, selecting Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay, and Sam Burns as the final members.
While discussing the members of Team U.S.A., Bradley said that the extent of the relationships between players stood out to him the most during his time as captain.
“These guys care about each other. They want to beat them inside the ropes bad, but when they get outside the ropes, they’re friends, the wives are friends. It’s a much happier way to go about this life,” he said, per The PGA Tour.
On the other side, Team Europe consists of McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Justin Rose, Rasmus Hojgaard, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Aberg, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, and Tommy Fleetwood.
Donald said Team Europe is prepared to take on a difficult crowd, adding that the team is ready to earn the applause and respect of every fan who will be cheering for Team U.S.A.
“You the fans here respect effort over ego. You show up for those who grind, for those who fight, and for those who rise to the big occasions. And you make us earn every cheer,” he explained, according to The Ryder Cup.
The first match is set to tee off on Friday at 7 a.m., though no announcement has been made about which golfers will be taking part in the first portion of the tournament.
Currently, Team U.S.A. is a heavy favorite to claim victory in the tournament, with odds set at -150, while Team Europe currently has odds of +150, according to ESPN.
However, nothing is guaranteed in one of the biggest tournaments of the year, and every golfer must perform their best to claim this highly regarded trophy.