CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Once you reach the halfway point of a major championship season, you’re just four months away from this year’s Ryder Cup. Both teams are far from settling as captains Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley continue to investigate the landscape before making tough decisions.
While Bradley continues to play well and continues to climb US standings, Donald will cut at the PGA Championship on a scouting trip to Beth Page Black Course in Farmingdale, New York on Monday, and host the Ryder Cup on September 26-28.
“I’ll see soon,” Donald said.
The top six golfers in each team’s point ranking will automatically create a team. Bradley and Donald also make six captains choices.
It’s where things stand out for each team.
US Team
Lock to make a team
Scotty Scheffler
The world’s No. 1 golfer has returned to dominant form with his third major championship victory in the PGA Championship. Schaeffler looks for red after 2023 with a 16½-11½ defeat from the US team at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club on the outskirts of Rome, 0-2-2.
Schaeffler’s driving length and accuracy, along with his world-class iron play, must be a Beth Page Black weapon. He went 2-0-1 as a Ryder Cup rookie in 2021 with a 19-9 victory at Whisling Strait in Wisconsin.
Xander Schauffele
Schaufele won two major championships last year, but he’s playing well again after dealing with a painful rib injury earlier this season. His previous two Ryder Cup appearances were against. He went 1-3 and 3-1-0 in Rome two years later. Still, he is undoubtedly one of the best golfers in the world.
Bryson Deccanbeau
No one in professional golfers hits more balls off the tee than the Deccanbo, who has been in the mix over the weekend with five of the last six majors. He won his second US Open title in Pinehurst in North Carolina last year, playing in the final group with the Masters in April. Furthermore, he has not received enough credibility in his putting.
After 2018’s Ryder Cup debut in Paris went 0-3, Deccanbeau bounced back 2-0-1 in the Whisling Strait. It was probably a mistake to leave him from the team in 2023. He becomes a crowd favorite at Bethpage Black, bringing plenty of energy to the team room.
Justin Thomas
Thomas struggled vigorously with his form for two years, but he recovered to earn an RBC heritage on April 20th at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. JT didn’t play well for the Masters and missed a cut in the PGA Championship, which was surprising, but if his game doesn’t fall off the cliff again, he’ll make a team.
Thomas is one of the best players on the US team at the team event. He has a 7-4-2 record in three appearances. He was a controversial pick in Rome, with a 1-2-1 record. Not many other American golfers also played it well that weekend.
Collin Morikawa
Morikawa’s Ryder Cup career reflects what Schaufere did – he went 3-0-1 in the Mouth Whistling Strait and 1-3 in Marco Simone. The two-time major champion has not won since the Zozo Championship held in Japan in October 2023, but has played well enough to win (or twice) before the Ryder Cup. Morikawa is back at striping the ball like one of the best players in the world. He was ranked in the top five strokes last week. Morikawa’s game is complemented by everyone else on the roster.
You should be on the team
Patrick Cantray
Cantray has not won the tour since his first finish at the BMW Championship in August 2022. He finished in the top 25 in three of his four majors in 2024, but missed out on cuts at this year’s Masters and PGA Championship.
Cantrey is an experienced Ryder Cup player and has been one of the team’s outstanding performers in the past two events. He went 3-0-1, 2-2 in Rome in Whistle Strait, where he took heat due to the “Hatgate” controversy about American golfers hoping for compensation from European fans. To his achievement, Cantrey did not flash. He’s 5-2-1 in the Ryder Cup and 10-4 in the President’s Cup. Bradley has not passed on that experience and success.
Russell Henry
Henry is one of the best iron players in the world and is a great putter when he’s there. He doesn’t hit the ball far from the tee, but doesn’t everyone have to be a bomber? He won his fifth PGA Tour victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 9th, missing out on a cut at the Masters and PGA Championship.
Henry went 3-1 in the Presidential Cup in Montreal last year. He teamed up with Schaeffler to win two of the three matches, which could be the correct pairing for Bethpage Black as well.
In competition
Brooks Koepka
The five-time major champion hasn’t played well outside of the LIV Golf League in the past two seasons, finishing outside the top 25 in each of his past seven stats. Still, he is one of the experienced American golfers in the Ryder Cup with a 7-6-2 record. Ah, he won the 2019 PGA Championship at the Beth Page Black Course.
Harris English
English won his fifth PGA Tour victory at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, playing well in the last two majors, finishing 12th in the Masters and 2nd in the PGA Championship. The 35-year-old is long enough from the tee and he is one of the best putters on tour. He went 1-2-0 as a Ryder Cup rookie in 2021.
Jordan Spieth
Spieth will likely get a pass on his poor play last season due to his painful wrist injury that required surgery in August. There were signs he was approaching his return – he finished fourth at the WM Phoenix Open and 14th at the Masters. He missed a cut at the Cool Hollow Club and was about to complete a career grand slam there. He didn’t have a great performance in Rome, but he’s 8-9-5 in the event in his career. It’s hard to imagine Bradley leaving that experience home.
Brian Herman
Herman won his fourth tour at the Valero Texas Open on April 6th. Critics may argue that Beth Page Black is too big for him, but he was one of the best putters on the tour and an amateur match-place specialist. The Homa/Herman pairing was one of the few bright spots for Roman Americans.
Maverick McNerry
The former Stanford star won his first PGA Tour victory in the RSM Classic in November. He finished second in the Genesis Invitational and finished third this season at Valero Texas Open and RBC Heritage. The 29-year-old will become a Ryder Cup rookie, but he has past experience with the Arnold Palmer Cup and Walker Cup teams.
Keegan Bradley
Bradley says he must be one of six automatic qualifiers to become a play captain. If other American golfers don’t start stepping up, Bradley may be forced to choose himself on the captain’s pick. The 38-year-old has six top 25s in his first 11 starts and finished the T-8 in the PGA Championship. That would be ironic, as Bradley was a controversial snub by Captain Zach Johnson in 2023.
Daniel Burger
Berger hasn’t won more than four years after being sidelined with some weakened back injuries in two seasons. He has returned to many leaderboards this year, and was part of the 2021 Ryder Cup victory.
Max Homa
Homa has struggled strongly with his game for the majority of the past year, but it seems he’s finally thinking about some things. He tied to 12th place in the Masters and played better than the 60th tie suggested in the PGA Championship. He was the top performer of the US team in Rome, scoring 3½ points on a 3/1-1 record. He also has a 5-2 record in two Presidential Cups.
Other names to watch
Andrew Novak
Sam Burns
JJ Spaun
Wyndham Clark
Michael Kim
Tony’s discussion
Lucas Glover
Denny McCarthy
Ben Griffin
jt poston
Davis Riley
European team
Lock to make a team
Rory McIlroy
The Masters Champion did not track his Grand Slam victory at Augusta by running in the second consecutive major at Quazul Hollow last week. With McIlroy’s victory at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship, the Masters have him as the top player in European Ryder Cup standings with a healthy margin.
Without these victories, there is no doubt about who the leader and the best players of this European team are. With an event record of 16-13-4, McIlroy said winning the Away Rider Cup earlier this year was one of his remaining career goals. He will have the chance to do it in September in New York.
John Larm
It was a whopping week for Rahm at the PGA Championship. Despite his explosive finish, Rahm wasn’t just a competition. He held the lead share in the majors’ back nine for the first time since the Masters’ victory in 2023. As a result, despite his disappointment, Rahm once again came into the mix and felt like he had once again been energized, saying that it had been a while since it had been so much fun on the golf course.
Rahm asked Captain Luke Donald (currently Rahm is 24th in the Euro Ryder Cup standings) about the selection of the Ryder Cup, but there’s no doubt that Donald has been on this team three times when he has to make a captain choice.
You should be on the team
Ludvig Aberg
Abargu’s choice for the European team in Rome was a surprise due to the fact that at the time the 23-year-old had never been on the team. Looking back, it proved that Donald’s choice was a coincidence and foreshadowed what was going to happen. Aberg is currently one of the world’s top players and despite the disappointing week and tough results in the past month at Quail Hollow, there should be less interest in Aberg, who won once this year.
Cep Straca
This week’s surprise may have come when Straka, who won the Truist Championship (the second time on the PGA Tour), missed a cut at the PGA Championship. Perhaps it was fatigue – Straca has already played 15 events this season – which has affected his performance. This season, it’s two missed cuts in two majors this season, but Straca is outside of Rock considering his placement in the ranking (5th).
Shane Laurie
The top 15 players in the OWGR rankings, Raleigh isn’t lock-in just because Rahm and McIlroy are in their own layer. The Irishman competed in the Masters before a disappointing Sunday and missed a cut at this year’s PGA Championship. However, Raleigh’s overall play remains in good condition. He has scored four top-10 finishes this season and came second to his friend McIlroy at Pebble Beach Proam. If success as a Zurich Classic team is any indication, both could be paired on Beth Page.
Tyrrell Hutton
Hatton may have set out for Liv, but his play continues all the way to the fourth in the European Cup standings, making him relatively stable. In Marco Simone, Hutton was a war, going 3-0-1 in his match, defeating Brian Herman on Sunday’s single. He has to make a lot of mistakes before he can join this team.
Viktor Hovland
It’s an attractive 12 months for Hovland, and despite nearly winning last year’s PGA Championship and adding a PGA Tour victory at Valspar Championship this season, the swing appears to have kept him on the night. Hovland’s volatility is currently ranked 12th, but there is little doubt as in September he will see him in blue and gold.
Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood may not be the best player without the majors, but he is certainly the most stable. He has three top 10 since he hasn’t missed the cut all season and is still searching for first PGA Tour victory. He is the top 15 players in OWGR (7th in the Ryder Cup standings) and he has to do a lot of mistakes to prevent him from joining this team.
In competition
Justin Rose
Marco Simone thought it was probably Rose’s last Ryder Cup. Think about it again. Not only has Rose almost won the Masters, but he has also won three top 10 finishes this season, and still plays remarkable golf. Don’t count him.
Rasmus hojgaard
The 24-year-old Hojgaard has an advantage when he ran his team around the last time at a young age like Aberg, but he has only one top-10 finish this season alongside his brother Nikolai in the Zurich Classic. Still, the possibility of continuing to strengthen his career in the Ryder Cup is about going with an older, more experienced loom.
Robert McInteal
For McIntyre, who debuted the Last Ryder Cup, it’s the same kind of story. He was considered a weak link to the Roman European team, but he was very well acquitted 2-0-1 in the match. He is currently ranked 15th in the rankings.
Thomas Detley
After winning the WM Phoenix Open this year, Detry inserted into the conversation of the Ryder Cup, jumping to 9th place in the European team’s standings at this point. However, Detree’s play in the majors (two missed cuts) is not ideal. He will need to improve his play over the next few months to give Donald a reason to choose him.
Other names to watch
Aaron Rye
Stephen Jeger
Nikolai Whaugard
It’s Alex
