Eleven out of 12 victorious members of the 2023 Europe team will be gearing up for a vociferous reception when they take on Team USA at the Ryder Cup 2025 at Bethpage Black.
Leading the European challenge will be reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy, whose emotional play-off victory over Justin Rose at Augusta National completed a career Grand Slam.
Europe captain Luke Donald has put his trust in a star-studded group that includes England's sixth-ranked Tommy Fleetwood, who won last month's Tour Championship for his first PGA victory; Scotland's ninth-ranked US Open runner-up Robert MacIntyre, Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard, 14th-ranked Rose and England's Tyrrell Hatton from LIV Golf.
On the home side will be top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, two-time major winners Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau, US Open winner JJ Spaun and fellow Ryder Cup rookie Russell Henley and Harris English.
Captain Keegan Bradley made the “extremely difficult” decision to focus on his captain's duties and not play in the Ryder Cup.
Bradley's strong season – including a victory at the Traveller's Championship and six other top-10 finishes – sparked speculation he would choose himself and become the first US playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
Teams
USA: Keegan Bradley (captain), Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns,
Europe: Luke Donald (captain), Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Rasmus Hojgaard, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick.
Format
Two-man teams will play four matches of foursomes (alternate shot) and four matches of fourballs (better ball) on Friday and Saturday. For the final session on Sunday, there will be 12 singles matches.
All matches that end in a tie after 18 holes result in a half-point for each team.
Europe hold the Ryder Cup and needs only to win 14 points to retain the trophy. The Americans will need 14 1/2 points to win the Ryder Cup.
Venue
The Ryder Cup will be played at the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in Long Island, New York. It is a course that dates to 1936 and is regarded as the strongest taxpayer-owned golf course in the country.
It was refurbished to host the US Open in 2002 (won by Tiger Woods) and in 2009 (won by Lucas Glover). It has twice held a PGA Tour post-season event. And most recently it held the PGA Championship in 2019 (won by Brooks Koepka).
Schedule and how to watch in UAE
The Ryder Cup takes place from Friday, September 26 to Sunday. The tournament begins at 3.10pm UAE time. Sunday's matches begin at 8pm.
The tournament can be seen live on the Starzplay app in the UAE.
Record
The modern Ryder Cup dates to 1979 when continental Europe was added. Before that, golfers from Britain and later Ireland were included. Since then, Europe holds a 12-9-1 advantage.
The US has a 27-15-2 lead since the start of the Ryder Cup in 1927.
Special preparation
Captain Donald has said his European team will be prepared for the noise at Bethpage Black, the public course with the reputation for having among the rowdiest golf fans.
McIlroy said after the BMW PGA Championship that Donald handed players Virtual Reality equipment after a team gathering. It allows players to visualise the course while adjusting the noise – and insults – from outside the ropes.
