Last week, U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley ended months of speculation by officially leaving himself off the American team. Instead, Bradley selected Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns during an official announcement from PGA of America headquarters in Frisco, Texas.
Bradley’s captain’s picks join six team members who had already qualified automatically for the team: Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau.
On the surface, the European team selection process seemed far less fraught than the gut-wrenching decision facing Bradley. Captain Luke Donald — whose squad won the Ryder Cup by the commanding margin of 16.5-11.5 at the 2023 edition in Rome — was expected to field a nearly duplicate team this year. Donald’s auto-qualifiers for 2025 include Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Rasmus Hojgaard and Tyrrell Hatton. Of those names, Hojgaard is the only rookie.
Luke Donald’s captain’s picks
On Monday, Donald selected the rest of the players who will take on the Americans in the 45th Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black on Long Island: Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick.
With his picks, Donald didn’t stray too far from the points ranking. Shane Lowry was ranked 7th, Sepp Straka 8th, Ludvig Aberg 9th, Viktor Hovland 10th and Matt Fitzpatrick 11th.
Lowry has played in two Ryder Cups with a 2-3-1 record; Straka has played in one Cup with a 1-2-0 record; Aberg has played in one Cup with a 2-2-0 record; Hovland has played in two Cups with a 3-4-3 record; and Fitzpatrick has played in three Cups with a 1-7-0 record.
Jon Rahm, who joined LIV Golf ahead of the 2024 season, was 24th on the European Ryder Cup points list but has been a member of three Ryder Cup teams, with a 6-3-3 record. In Rome in 2023, Rahm was 2-0-2.
Matt Wallace, who was 12th on the European points ranking, made headlines over the weekend with an outpouring of emotion at the DP World Tour’s Omega European Masters. He finished two shots shy of defending his 2024 title, and had to compose himself for more than 30 seconds after being asked about his Ryder Cup chances.
“I’ll never give up on the Ryder Cup,” Wallace eventually said.
With both teams now set, Europe will arrive at the 2025 Ryder Cup with 11 of the 12 players who prevailed over the U.S. in Rome, while the U.S. will field a team that includes four first-timers.
The 2025 Ryder Cup begins on September 26.
