From the 23rd to the 28th of September 2025, the Bethpage Black Course in New York will be home to the Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup is held biannually and features the talents of 24 brilliant golfers from the USA and Europe.
But who will those golfers be this year? Figuring out who will be playing at the Ryder Cup in 2025 is a bit more complicated than you might think. In this article, we’ll explain how players are chosen for the Ryder Cup, and who you can expect to see on the green this year.
How are players chosen for the Ryder Cup?
Players for the Ryder Cup are split into two teams, and selection for each team works slightly differently.
For the European Ryder Cup team in 2025, qualification uses points earned from a brand-new tournament banding structure. Essentially, significant tournaments each reward points, and players in those tournaments will earn points that go towards their overall qualifying score for the Ryder Cup.
As an example, Rory McIlroy currently has 3220.78 points, which he has earned from various championships he’s succeeded in. He secured these points through victories like the DP World Tour Championship and The Players Championship on the PGA Tour.
The US team uses a similar points system, with a point or more awarded per $1000 won at certain championships. For example, 1.5 points were earned per $1000 dollars won at the recent Open Championship.
6 players for each team will qualify this way. However, the points system isn’t the only way to play in the Ryder Cup. The team captains for Europe and the USA each get to pick 6 golfers to bring with them. This means that half of the team will earn their place through points, and half will be selected based on their skills.
How are Ryder Cup captains picked?
For the European team, captains are selected by vote through the European Tour’s tournament committee, and then confirmed by the European Ryder Cup players and stakeholder’s board. The US team captain is voted in by the PGA of America’s executive committee.
Ryder Cup captains don’t usually play but they are there to support the team. Generally, a captain is a golfer with a lot of skill and a history of success who can act as a sort of coach throughout the tournament.
2025 Ryder Cup captains and vice captains
So who will be leading and coaching the teams at Bethpage? All captains and vice captains for this historic game have already been decided and are listed below.
UK Team Captain: Luke Donald
The 2025 captain, Luke Donald, led his team to victory once before as captain in the 2023 Rome Ryder Cup. He’s the first repeat captain for the European team that we’ve seen since Bernard Gallacher in 1995.
US Team Captain: Keegan Bradley
Keegan Bradley will be the captain for Team USA this time around – and strangely, it looks like he might be playing at the same time. After an impeccable performance at The Open this year, Bradley is currently 10th in the Ryder Cup rankings. If he qualifies through points, or chooses himself, he will be the first playing captain since 1963.
UK Vice Captains:
- Edoardo Molinari
- Thomas Bjørn
- José María Olazábal
- Francesco Molinari
US Vice Captains:
- Jim Furyk
- Kevin Kisner
- Webb Simpson
- Brandt Snedeker
- Gary Woodland
Who will be playing in the Ryder Cup 2025?
As of the 27th of August, six players have qualified for each team. This is following the final BMW championship on 17th August and the Betfred British Masters on the 24th. We will update this list once the teams have been finalised with the additional players chosen by the team captains.
European Ryder Cup Team 2025
- Rory McIlroy
- Robert MacIntyre
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Justin Rose
- Rasmus Højgaard
- Tyrrel Hatton
USA Ryder Cup Team 2025
- Scottie Scheffler
- J. Spaun
- Xander Schauffele
- Russel Henley
- Harris English
- Bryson DeChambeau
There will be an additional 6 players on each team. These golfers will be chosen by the team captains after final points have been awarded.
Get practising!
Are you hoping to qualify for the Ryder Cup someday? Or maybe you just want to win your local golf tournament? Either way, you’d better get practising with some of the best golf balls that the pros are using. We offer plenty of golf balls used by the players who will be in this year’s Ryder Cup. Check them out below, then try them for yourself.
Shop Ryder Cup Golf Balls
