16. J.J SPAUN. Spaun arrives at Bethpage Black in great form, finishing 6th at the Procore Championship in his most recent start. The reigning U.S. Open champion has never played in a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup and is one of the shorter players off the tee for the United States. In the case of Spaun, Bradley will need to decide on whether to ride the hot hand or opt to play players who could fit the course better with more match play experience.
17. XANDER SCHAUFFELE. Schauffele is one of the biggest question marks of the 2025 Ryder Cup. He won two major championships in 2024 but missed the beginning of 2025 with an injury and hasn’t looked quite the same since. He went 1-3 in Rome but has historically played well in foursomes alongside Cantlay. Schauffele hasn’t played since the BMW Championship in mid-August due to the birth of his first child.
18. COLLIN MORIKAWA. Morikawa is another question mark for USA Captain Keegan Bradley this week. He’s one of the most accomplished American players with two major championships but is arguably the player on the team with the most questionable current form. Morikawa has only one top-10 finish since the Players Championship in March and most recently finished T43 at the Procore Championship, the second-worst finish of any of the 10 U.S. Ryder Cup participants in Napa.
19. BEN GRIFFIN. Like Spaun, Griffin enters the Ryder Cup with no experience in either the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup. He’s had the best season of his career and has racked up seven top-10 finishes this season, including a win at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Griffin has an excellent short game but doesn’t have the firepower as some of the other Americans (although he’s added distance this season). It’s likely that he’ll only play two of the four team sessions this week.
20. JUSTIN ROSE. Rose’s value for Europe goes beyond what he can do on the golf course. The veteran is a leader in the team room and is a key cog in guiding the younger players on the team. With that said, Rose has shown this season that he can still keep up with the best players in the world when he has it going. He lost in a playoff to McIlroy at the Masters and won the FedEx St. Jude just a few months ago. Bethpage Black doesn’t feel like the right course for Rose to thrive this week, but a vintage performance wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
21. SHANE LOWRY. Lowry has a Ryder Cup record of 2-3-1 and has yet to carve out a definitive role or partnership with the current European team. In Rome, he played in four matches but was in better form entering the week. With many of the Europeans playing better than Lowry, I’d be a little surprised if he played more than two team sessions.
22. HARRIS ENGLISH. English has played in one Ryder Cup and was part of the 19-9 victory for the United States at Whistling Straits. He only managed to earn one point in his three matches, which was the lowest point total on the team. The former Georgia Bulldog certainly has the mentality for match play, but his potential teammates and course fit for Bethpage are both unclear.
23. RASMUS HØJGAARD. Højgaard is a Ryder Cup rookie and is the only player on the team who wasn’t in Rome in 2023 (his brother Nicolai was on the team). He missed the cut at his most recent start at Wentworth for the BMW Championship but was in good form prior to that, finishing T2 at the Omega European Masters. The Dane is long off the tee and plays a Callaway golf ball, making him a potential fourball partner for Rahm.
24. SEPP STRAKA. Straka started off the 2025 season hot and sustained his form for the first half of the season, winning the American Express in January and the Truist Championship, a Signature Event, in March. His results tailed off towards the end of the season, and he finished 30th at the Tour Championship in his most recent start. He didn’t make the trip to Wentworth with the rest of the European team due to personal reasons and his role on the team this week is up in the air.