With Europe looking to secure a famous away win for the first time since 2012 and Team USA gunning for revenge after their rout in Rome, we're examining five key factors crucial to the Ryder Cup 2025 outcome.
Bethpage Black’s notoriously tough lay-out will be a brutal test for both sides and the one thing guaranteed is that there will be plenty of drama over three action-packed days.
The 5 Biggest Ryder Cup 2025 Storylines At Bethpage Black
McIlroy To Become Ryder Cup GOAT?
Is Rory McIlroy on Course to Become the Ryder Cup GOAT?
McIlroy's status as Europe's modern-day talisman is already assured and images of the Rome crowd chanting 'he's in your head, he's in your head, Rory, Rory' to the tune of Zombie by the Cranberries were simply iconic.
Having cemented his status among the golfing greats by completing the career grand slam earlier this year, his form understandably tailed off after that long-awaited Masters triumph in April.
However, last month's thrilling Irish Open success was a timely boost and he has rarely failed to spark in the Ryder Cup.
There is room for improvement on a record of 16 wins, 13 defeats and four halved matches across seven previous caps, which leaves him some way short of the 28.5 points scored by Sergio Garcia or the six singles victories of Colin Montgomerie.
Is Rory McIlroy on Track to Become the Ryder Cup GOAT?
But 2023 was the first time he had been Europe’s senior figure and top scorer, with four points from five matches, and the 36-year-old should be around for some time yet, so there will no doubt be many more milestones.
Perhaps most importantly, McIlroy has been on the winning team five times and he has become a lynchpin for Europe, leading from the front and inspiring those around him in a similar manner to his favourite footballer Roy Keane.
McIlroy’s Ryder Cup career has already been a rollercoaster ride of emotions featuring triumph, tears and tantrums, and how he fares in New York will play a major part in deciding Europe’s fate.
Scottie Scheffler An Average Ryder Cupper?
Scottie Scheffler – Great Golfer, Average Ryder Cupper?
The American is currently the world’s best golfer by some distance, producing a near-faultless consistency to regularly finish high up the leaderboard.
Scheffler has rattled off another six tournament wins this year, including the US PGA Championship and The Open, to take his tally of Major triumphs to four.
With a World Match Play title and an Olympics gold medal also on his CV, it would seem Scheffler’s talents can be translated to any format and there are no boundaries to success.
Will Scottie Scheffler Prove He's a True Team Player?
However, the 29-year-old has lost more matches than he has won when representing America in this event and the Presidents Cup.
And who knows what demons remain from the 9&7 hammering Scheffler and Brooks Koepka suffered at the hands of Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland in the Saturday foursomes two years ago.
Born just an hour away in Ridgewood, New Jersey, the pressure is on the now Dallas-based Scheffler to prove a homecoming king.
Keegan Bradley vs Luke Donald
Keegan Bradley vs Luke Donald – Who Will Be Captain Marvel?
That 2023 romp in Rome means Donald has the benefit of having been there and done it all before and he now bids to emulate Tony Jacklin as just the second European captain to win at home and away.
The 47-year-old, 17 times a tournament winner as a professional player, embodies the phrase cool, calm and collected, but don’t be fooled by that gentleman persona as there is definitely a gritty side to his nature and no shortage of killer instinct.
Bradley appears to be much more of a boom or bust choice as captain, as his leadership qualities remain very much an unknown quantity.
His personal record as a player was encouraging, registering four wins and three losses as he showed passion in a losing cause in 2012 and 2014.
Many have questioned whether coming close to qualifying automatically as a player again will have been a distraction to his preparations.
Team USA will hope the raucous crowd reaction to June’s Travelers Championship win, when reeling in Tommy Fleetwood, will prove a good omen.
Having studied at college in Queens, Bradley also knows this area well and any friendship with Donald will briefly disappear this week.
In the build-up, Bradley declared: “For me, there’s not many people I like more in the golf world than Luke. I really feel lucky to have Luke on the opposite side.
"We send each other texts, we joke around, but we know once the competition comes, we want to win.”
Who Will Be the Better Captain: Bradley or Donald?
Home Crowd – Advantage or Hindrance?
New York Crowd vs Team Europe – Ultimate Home Advantage or A Hindrance?
Playing in front of your own fans has been a huge boost in recent Ryder Cup contests.
Europe’s five-point win in Rome came five years after a seven-point demolition job in France but the last two trips to America have ended in one-sided defeats.
Team USA finished six points to the good in Minnesota and the 10-point mauling at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin was the biggest margin since 1975, when it was just Great Britain and Ireland put to the sword in Pennsylvania.
Donald has even exposed his players to crowd abuse via virtual reality ahead of the latest clash but how will the infamously hostile New York crowd react if this turns into a close encounter?
America just shaded the ‘War on the Shore’ at Kiawah Island in 1991 and the ‘Battle of Brookline’ in 1999 but the 2012 ‘Miracle at Medinah’ showed how home fans can turn nasty when things start to go awry, with that contest still tagged as the ‘Meltdown at Medinah’ across the Atlantic.
Do you like the loud USA Ryder Cup Crowds?
Justin Thomas commented: “I think it’s something that will be unique about New York maybe versus other home Ryder Cups, if you will, in they expect us to play well and they want us to play well and if we don’t, they’re going to be upset with us and disappointed with us and rightfully so.
“I think New York…they like their championships. They want to win. It’s no different for the Ryder Cup. That’s what we’re going to try to do for them and give them a reason to cheer even more.
“But I’ve said it all year and all along, I’m happy to have them on my side, that’s for sure.”
Patrick Cantlay: Does The Cap Fit?
Will the Cap Fit for Patrick Cantlay This Time?
Cantlay played the part of pantomime villain in Rome after rumours circulated he was not wearing a cap in a silent protest against players not being paid to play.
He was subsequently goaded by European fans and, as the atmosphere became highly charged, tempers later spilled over as his caddie Joe LaCava clashed with McIlroy.
There is no cash crisis this time, with the Americans all awarded $500,000, of which $300,000 must go to a charity of each player’s choice and $200,000 can be used as they see fit.
Cantlay is one of several Team USA members to have declared that all of his appearance fee will go to charity and he is sticking with the story told in Italy regarding the thorny subject of his headwear.
Is Patrick Cantlay the villain that the Ryder Cup Needs?
“Like I’ve said a million times, the hat didn’t fit last time,” he said. “This year we worked with them to make sure we had one and we got one, so we’re good.”
The 33-year-old insisted he was not bothered by the attention paid to him by European fans but is clearly relishing the chance to have the last laugh on home turf.
He added: “I think the fans being so passionate and tribal this week has become such an integral part of this event. It’s just to be expected at this point. I think it makes the event fun.
“I think it’s going to be great this week playing in front of the New York fans. They have a reputation for being fantastic, so I think everyone is really excited about playing their best golf in front of them and going out and winning as many points as possible.”
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