8/27/25
The United States will host the Ryder Cup next month at Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York. The Americans have won the last two Ryder Cups held in the States, but have struggled for three decades to win one in Europe. In 2023, the team had some controversy over who should or shouldn’t have been a captain’s pick. The six players Ryder Cup captains choose can win or lose the famed team competition.
Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Ben Griffin, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and Cameron Young are the six captain’s picks for next month’s Ryder Cup. Cameron Young and Ben Griffin will be making their first Ryder Cup appearance, while the other four were on the 2023 squad. The six picks aren’t much of a surprise, with the only possible shocker being Keegan Bradley not picking himself. Bradley would’ve been the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer did so in 1963.
Justin Thomas almost made the team on points, finishing seventh, and has had a good two years of golf. Thomas will be playing in his fourth Ryder Cup and has the most experience in the event of all the Americans on the team. Thomas is a fan favorite and will play to the crowd to fire them up. Collin Morikawa also nearly made the team on points, finishing eighth in the standings. It’s the third consecutive Ryder Cup for the two-time major champ, but this year has been a struggle for Morikawa. He had no top 10’s in the majors, only one top 10 on the PGA Tour since April, and a winless 2025 season. However, he’s one of the more accurate players off the tee and is known for precise iron play, and the experience of playing in the last two Ryder Cups could help the U.S. win back the Ryder Cup.
Patrick Cantlay also has had a rough 2025 PGA Tour season. He missed three straight cuts at majors, hasn’t won since 2022, but did finish strong with two top 10s in his last three starts. Cantlay was a thorn in the side of the European’s last Ryder Cup, with him and his caddie, Joe LaCava, causing a stir in their match, which caused a scene in the parking lot later that evening. Despite a disappointing 2025 season, Cantlay can be valuable by slowing things down against faster European players and rising to the moment. Sam Burns will be on his second straight Ryder Cup team, after finishing the year with back-to-back top 10s, and had a great shot at winning the U.S. Open earlier this year. Burns had a tough 2023 Ryder Cup, going 1-2-0, but was great at last fall’s Presidents Cup, going 3-0-1. Burns typically putts well, and if he can putt great under pressure this fall, he could prove to be a valuable captain’s pick.
Cameron Young has had a great 2025 season. Earlier this month, Young won his first PGA Tour event at the Wyndham Championship and finished in the top five in three of his last four starts, including that win. Young finished T-4 at the U.S. Open and has been playing great golf. He grew up not that far from Bethpage Black and could be a fan/local favorite to further rile up the crowds. The other Ryder Cup rookie, Ben Griffin, wasn’t on anyone’s radar for the Ryder Cup team 12 months ago. Griffin has had a career year, with wins at the Zurich Classic and the Charles Schwab Challenge. He also finished T-8 at the PGA Championship and T-10 at the U.S. Open. He’s finished T-12 or better in his last four starts and has constantly been on either the first or second page of leaderboards all year long. Griffin will be on a new platform competing at the Ryder Cup, and if he can handle the pressure, he could be a consistent face at future events.
The six players who automatically qualified for the team after the BMW Championship two weeks ago are Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, and Bryson DeChambeau. They accrued enough points throughout the last two years to secure the top six spots in points. The rest of the team was filled out by Bradley and his vice captains, Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, and Gary Woodland.
Team Europe will announce their six captain’s picks on Monday.
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