Keegan Bradley’s victory – at the expense of Tommy Fleetwood – has a unique Ryder Cup vibe in last week’s Travelers Championship.
Bradley will be Captain America, who completes his victory in the wild cry of “America!” In TPC River Heights, Fleetwood will be part of the European team backbone.
Elsewhere in Golf365, Mark Townsend dealt with the tough problems of Bradley, who had to manage the possibility of becoming a captain.
But for now, we will stick to the research on how both teams line up in New York in September.
In short, two years ago, Europe will likely see Roma’s winning team at the heart of the team.
On the other hand, the American Six have strong people – but will then have to turn to the team’s golf experience as a player this year, without long-term quality proof.
Let’s go deeper.
2025 Ryder Cup: European Team
Already qualified – Rory McIlroy
Three wins at the beginning of the year followed by a Masters victory in April confirmed that McIlroy will play again. In Rome, he said winning the Ryder Cup is now one of the biggest tasks for golf, adding: “That’s what we’re going to do in two years.”
Lock – Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre, Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose
Two British people, Fleetwood and Hatton, are the highest in the rankings, with only the top six automatically qualifying, but it would be a huge surprise if all of these names were not figured out (and possibly also could be signed).
MacIntyre has won two championships on the PGA Tour since its debut in 2023, Lowry is still strong, Straka has won two wins in the U.S. this year, Aberg and Hovland have underperformed in 2023, but their best golf is still world-class, Rahm’s enthusiasm and quality won’t be overlooked, and it only takes a little bit of it to get his experience in September.
2025 Ryder Cup: Potential debutant
Shortlist: Rasmus Hojgaard, Thomas Detry, Matt Wallace, Aaron Rai, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Harry Hall
This means Captain Luke Donald needs to make a good judgment on the two additional players. He might go to Nicolai Hojgaard or Thorbjorn Olesen, they do have experience with the Ryder Cup, but they need to force his hands in good summer form.
Nicolai’s brother Rasmus is high in the rankings and is expected to make his debut. Detry and Rai will have supporters – both have won in the U.S. over the past 12 months.
what to do Matt Fitzpatrick?
Excellent, getting rid of the automatic qualifying position (29th place), he has a terrible Ryder Cup record anyway.
2025 Ryder Cup: Team USA
Already qualified – Scottie Scheffler
Of course he is qualified!
Possible debut – JJ Spaun
Player’s second place and US Open victory – the Ryder Cup debut will win a spectacular year for Spaun.
Lock – Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa
The quartet is currently sitting or close to the qualified position and may get a draft pick anyway. They have long-term quality, formed this year, and are proficient in the Ryder Cup.
and then – Keegan Bradley, Russell Henley, Ben Griffin, Maverick McNealy, Harris English, Andrew Novak, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns, Cameron Young
If Bradley automatically qualifies, will he play? Will he choose himself? Question, question. Beyond that, he has very few experience choices among those who need a draft pick. Patrick Cantlay can help him by performing well in the FedEx Cup playoffs. If the U.S. public failure did not hurt him, Sam would also burn.
Henry, Griffin, McNeley, English and Novak and others performed well this year. They are good golfers. But they won’t scare the Europeans.
what to do – Brooks Koepka?
He is as strong as teak, and performs well in the face of a raucous gallery, and in traditional courses such as Bethpage Black, he will be seen as a major threat by Europeans.
But he ranks 65th in the ranking! He may need to win the Open to force himself into the Formula. Ibid Patrick Reed.
Read more: Will Keegan Bradley be captained in the Ryder Cup after the Travelers Championship win?
