Ryder Cup 2025: Team Europe player-by-player guide including Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood – UK Times

The Ryder Cup is here with Luke Donald bringing 11 of the 12 players back that guided Team Europe to victory in Rome two years ago.

This time, at Bethpage Black in New York, Donald is targeting a rare away victory over Team USA.

It’s been a fine year for the Europeans, with Rory McIlroy’s Masters victory and career grand slam a standout moment and Tommy Fleetwood overcoming repeated heartache to triumph at the Tour Championship and secure the FedEx Cup in his first-ever PGA Tour victory.

Team USA’s Keegan Bradley resisted the chance to pick himself as a playing captain, adding Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Ben Griffin, Sam Burns and Cameron Young as wildcards to complete a formidable home side.

Donald’s side remains steady with a number of stalwarts from Rome set to return, including world class players in Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland. Here’s a look at the 12 players representing Europe at Bethpage Black:

Final Team Europe standings for 2025 Ryder Cup

Top six players qualify automatically for team. Standings accurate as of 25 August

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Team Europe for the 2025 Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy

Ryder Cup record: 16—13—4

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The Masters champion. The career grand slam. McIlroy has finally done it and looked set to enter this year’s Ryder Cup with a new aura surrounding him, although his year since fulfilling his Augusta dream has contained a loss of form, a non-conforming driver and continued bizarre bust-ups with the media. He’s on the up again now though, with a T6 at the Travelers Championship, a T2 at the Scottish Open and a T7 at a home Open at Royal Portrush. His Masters victory at Augusta followed another at the Players Championship in a three-hole play-off in an explosive start to the year and Europe will need him to be the beating heart of the team, and probably play all five sessions once again, to pull off a stunning away win. His emotions spilled over in Rome in 2023, though his record was impeccable, going 4-1 over the three days. A repeat is required.

Bob MacIntyre

Ryder Cup record: 2—0—1

Has consolidated himself as a genuinely world-class player since the last Ryder Cup and looks set to be a stalwart for the next decade. A near miss at the BMW Championship, as a four-shot lead slipped away, largely thanks to a rampant Scheffler, the Scot has now qualified after building on a sublime weekend performance at the US Open that saw him finish second behind JJ Spaun. He is now ninth in the world rankings, thanks to another major top 10 at the Open at Portrush and his runner-up finish at Caves Valley Golf Club. A stunning 2024 saw MacIntyre claim breakthrough victories on the PGA Tour (Canadian Open) and a home championship (Scottish Open), before partnering with one of his sporting heroes, Andy Murray, at the BMW Championships Pro-Am. A maiden Ryder Cup appearance, under the tutelage of Justin Rose, in a partnership that could be reformed at Bethpage Black, has proven a spark for the Scot, with fond memories in Rome after two-and-a-half points from three matches.

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Tommy Fleetwood

Ryder Cup record: 7—3—2

Has steadily improved year on year and is now a permanent fixture in the world’s top 10, finally has that pesky first PGA Tour win despite a series of devastating near-misses. Wonderful scenes at East Lake as Fleetwood clinched the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup showed the camaraderie between Team Europe players, with Justin Rose and Shane Lowry waiting by the green to congratulate their friend and teammate. It will now be mostly forgotten, but the heavy loss to Keegan Bradley at the Travelers Championship – when leading coming up the 18th on Sunday – could present a compelling Ryder Cup narrative. There was more heartache at the FedEx St Jude Championship when he led with a couple of holes to go, only to bogey 17 and miss out on a play-off against Rose and JJ Spaun by a stroke. Has also notched a T5 at February’s Genesis Open, although he did secure a seventh DP World Tour win at the Dubai Invitational in January 2024 and then brilliantly claimed a silver medal at the Paris Olympics that summer. Something of a Ryder Cup veteran now and will be on the team for a fourth time at Bethpage, having taken three points from four matches in Rome – two of which came from a formidable foursomes partnership with McIlroy – taking his overall Ryder Cup win rate to a remarkable 67 per cent. Will Fleetwood Mac reunite in New York?

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Justin Rose

Ryder Cup record: 14—9—3

A runner-up finish at Augusta probably locked him in for Bethpage but will be small consolation after play-off heartache for a second time in the Masters saw him edged out by McIlroy. His response to that agonising loss was typically classy as he genuinely congratulated his Ryder Cup teammate. He then showed he is still remarkable under pressure by producing a miraculous Sunday back nine before beating JJ Spaun in a captivating play-off to win the FedEx St Jude Championship – a 12th PGA Tour title of his illustrious career – just two weeks before the end of the Ryder Cup qualification period to nail down a seventh appearance at the competition. Selection for the last Ryder Cup, where he eventually notched 1.5 points in Rome, felt like a race against Father Time for Rose, so this one could have been a struggle yet he’s still at the top of his game and that experience will prove vital to Donald.

Rasmus Hojgaard

Ryder Cup record: Rookie

When the pressure was on, Rasmus Hojgaard delivered as he leapfrogged Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka to snatch the last automatic qualification spot at the final event – securing the top-20 finish he needed at the British Masters. Had he not, he would have found himself in a battle royale for the 12th and final spot in the team – against a number of players, including win brother Nicolai – with the 11 other slots appearing to be more or less decided. Two promising finishes on the PGA Tour early in 2025 (T12 at the Phoenix Open and T22 at Pebble Beach) to vault him up the Ryder Cup list were followed by a whole lot of nothing with a T16 at the Open about the best of it. The highlight before that was scintillating victory at the Irish Open in September 2024, where he outduelled Rory McIlroy with a Sunday 65 to win by a stroke, and a third place at the British Masters shortly after showed how competitive he can be in elite company. Look out for his distance off the tee (currently safely in the top 10 on the PGA Tour this season), which could be useful at Bethpage.

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Tyrrell Hatton

Ryder Cup record: 5—4—2

The one LIV player to defy the system; Hatton has flourished despite the barriers between the rebel tour and the OWGR-sanctioned events. In fact, the fiery Briton has proven efficient and ruthless at times in the select events he has played when world ranking points are on the line, collecting wins at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and Hero Dubai Desert Classic and he deservedly qualified automatically for Bethpage, although would have been selected regardless. Came close to pinching the US Open before ending T4 as JJ Spaun secured a surprise win. Another major top 20 followed at Portrush. Hatton appears to be entering his prime at the perfect time to thrive in the cauldron of Bethpage Black.

Shane Lowry

Ryder Cup record: 2—3—1

Just one solo win worldwide (the 2022 BMW PGA Championship) since his scintillating triumph at the 2019 Open at Portrush is a concern and even a return to the Northern Irish course this July only yielded a T40. Did combine with good friend Rory McIlroy to claim the Zurich Classic of New Orleans pairs event in April 2024 and was a runner-up to McIlroy at Pebble Beach in February. Top 15s since at the Cognizant Classic (T11), the Arnold Palmer Invitational (7th), the Valspar (T8), the Truist Championship (T2 having tied for the lead heading into the final day) and the Canadian Open (T13) show he isn’t far away but has dipped a little over the past couple of months and the form isn’t quite where you’d want it to be. Still, he is a foundational piece for Donald and able to match with multiple players on the team. A key cog when you factor in his experience and popularity among the team, though he only returned a 1-1-1 record in Rome.

Jon Rahm

Ryder Cup record: 6—3—3

Entering 2025, a concern for Team Europe and Luke Donald was that this was not the same Jon Rahm who was arguably the closest player to Scottie Scheffler at one point. Out of the top 50 in the world, the Spaniard desperately needed a reaction at the majors this year and he’s got it. A trio of top-15 finishes (T14, T8 and T7) in the first three majors of the season, plus a T34 at the Open, was impressive and he’s back up to third in the DataGolf rankings. Ryder Cup eligibility isn’t be an issue despite his presence on LIV Golf, so he’s a guaranteed captain’s pick, and a T2 at LIV Chicago, narrowly missing out to Dean Burmester in a play-off, combined with claiming the overall individual LIV Golf title despite not actually winning an event counts as good preparation ahead of Bethpage.

Sepp Straka

Ryder Cup record: 1—2—0

A captain’s pick in 2023, the Austrian forged a close bond with Shane Lowry, splitting foursomes before dropping a nailbiter in singles with Justin Thomas to post a 1-2-0 debut at the Ryder Cup. Respectable. Slightly ironic then perhaps that it was Lowry and Thomas he beat to win the Truist Championship in May. Entered 2025 as one of the most likely men in the 2023 cohort to miss out on a spot at Bethpage, especially after an underwhelming end to 2024, but has been a runaway freight train in the first half of the year to all but lock down his spot once more. The Truist was his fourth PGA Tour title and the third had come in January when he held off that man Thomas again to win The American Express in California. Has also racked up top-20 finishes for fun, doing so at the Players Championship, FedEx St Jude Championship, Scottish Open, the Memorial, RBC Heritage, Arnold Palmer Classic, Cognizant Classic, Phoenix Open, Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Sentry, demonstrating almost ludicrous consistency. The only blot is a dismal major record this year, which saw him miss the cut at each of the first three and post a nondescript T52 at the Open. Perhaps a slight weight on Donald’s mind ahead of Bethpage, as is the fact he withdrew from BMW Championship in mid-August because of a private family matter. It is unknown whether this could impact his Ryder Cup availability.

Viktor Hovland

Ryder Cup record: 3—4—3

Has dropped off slightly since his magical summer of 2023 when he triumphed at the Memorial, the BMW Championship and then the Tour Championship to become the third-youngest FedEx Cup winner in history before picking up 3.5 points while playing every session of Europe’s dominant victory Rome. Going down a swing mechanics rabbit hole meant 2024 was largely a lost season by the Norwegian’s high standards but he is on the right track once more. Triumphed at the Valspar in March an unexpected win, to continue a dominant year for Europe on the PGA Tour, and has looked solid since, including a T3 at the US Open. A neck injury caused a final-round withdrawal at the Travelers Championship but that has been no issue since. Europe will need him to be a talisman to triumph at Bethpage, so pencil him in for at least four sessions.

Ludvig Aberg

Ryder Cup record: 2—2—0

A second PGA Tour title at the Genesis Invitational in February confirmed Aberg’s aura as one of the greatest talents in a generation as he nailed down a first signature event win. His short putting aside, Aberg looked robotic from tee-to-green at Torrey Pines and outdid Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy by +0.62 and +0.71 strokes gained respectively over four rounds that week. Next? A major, of course. Although missing the cut at both the US PGA and US Open – the fourth time he has failed to make the weekend in the previous six majors – slightly undid an impressive second straight top 10 at the Masters and a solid T23 at the Open at Portrush. He may spark a rivalry with Scheffler if he can get back to his very best and that thumping 9&7 victory in Rome provides a compelling storyline should they meet again at Bethpage.

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Matt Fitzpatrick

Ryder Cup record: 1—7—0

The 2022 US Open champion’s pedigree should mean he’s not far off the ‘locks’ category but Fitzpatrick desperately needed to rectify his undeniable loss of form with a good summer of results and to his credit, he’s largely done that although a first tournament win since 2023 remains elusive.

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A T8 at the US PGA was the first flash of a green shoot of recovery before a top-20 at the Travelers Championship, T8s at the Rocket Classic and Wyndham Championship, T6 at the British Masters, 5th at the European Masters, a T4 at the Scottish Open and, most importantly, a T4 at the Open continued the trend. A dismal-looking Ryder Cup record (1–7–0) on paper does go against him, though. Narrowly missed a putt in singles against Max Homa in Rome to win the cup, which could have changed the narrative. His length off the tee should enable him to compete at Bethpage Black.