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Keegan Bradley is poised to confirm his Ryder Cup 2025 captain’s picks for Team USA.
The PGA Tour concluded on Sunday, with the Tour Championship going to Tommy Fleetwood in an unforgettable victory at East Lake, which also confirmed the FedEx Cup for the Englishman.Bradley himself featured prominently in the season-ending event at East Lake, finishing in a tie for seventh, while he finished 11th in the points standings, providing a compelling case to select himself as one of the six captain’s picks.
The winner of the Travelers Championship, denying Fleetwood amid raucous scenes, appeared to confirm his rightful place on the team, but speculation has surrounded his ultimate decision to pick himself.
Rory McIlroy recently rejected the notion that you can captain and play in the iconic competition, though Bradley’s decision may be influenced by his near miss for Rome two years ago when Zach Johnson famously let him down on the Netflix show Full Swing. Here’s everything we know about Bradley’s announcement:
When and where is the Ryder Cup 2025?
The 45th Ryder Cup takes place from Friday, 26 September to Sunday, 28 September. It will be hosted by Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.
The first session will likely start from 12-1pm BST (7-8am ET) on Friday, with the afternoon sessions likely to start from 5-6pm BST (12-1pm ET).
Independent Sport will bring you full coverage from Bethpage Black, with hole-by-hole updates, scores and results in our Ryder Cup live blogs.
When and where will Keegan Bradley announce his Ryder Cup 2025 captain’s picks?
Bradley will confirm six wildcard picks to complete Team USA’s 12 players at 11am ET ( 4pm BST) at the home of the PGA of America in Frisco, Texas.
How will Keegan Bradley decide to fill out his team?
Bradley already has six players confirmed from the points standings, listed below, meaning he can pick any six players and opt for form, course suitability or experience.
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Team USA members mimic the hat celebration in Rome (Reuters)
Ryder Cup 2025 schedule
Days 1-2: Friday 26 September and Saturday 27 September
There will be a morning and afternoon session both days, with foursomes in the former and fourballs in the latter. The morning is likely to get underway from 12-1pm (7-8am ET). For reference, Friday and Saturday sessions in Rome started at 7:35am CET, while the afternoon sessions started at 12:25pm CET.
Day 3: Sunday 28 September
Singles will be played on the final day of competition, Sunday. The final day in Rome got underway at 11:35am CET, so we can expect a similar plan for Bethpage Black and the action to begin from 4-5pm BST.
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Fans in New York will be given free tickets to the biennial clash between Europe and the United States (Getty)
Final Team USA standings for 2025 Ryder Cup
Top 6 eligible players following the conclusion of the BMW Championship, on 18 August, 2025, have made the team
- 1. Scottie Scheffler 37180.33 – QUALIFIED
- 2. JJ Spaun 14851.91 – QUALIFIED
- 3. Xander Schauffele 13733.52 – QUALIFIED
- 4. Russell Henley 12276.82 – QUALIFIED
- 5. Harris English 10880.55 – QUALIFIED
- 6. Bryson De Chambeau 10774.98 – QUALIFIED
——————————————————————–
- 7. Justin Thomas 10467.24
- 8. Collin Morikawa 1049.44
- 9. Ben Griffin 9745.76
- 10. Maverick McNealy 8913.65
- 11. Keegan Bradley 8435.00
- 12. Brian Harman 7466.91
- 13. Andrew Novak 7300.48
- 14. Cameron Young 7209.64
- 15. Patrick Cantlay 6716.39
- 16. Sam Burns 6688.29
- 17. Wyndham Clark 5216.87
- 18. Lucas Glover 4803.44
- 19. Akshay Bhatia 4647.13
- 20. Chris Gotterup 4570.10
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Europe’s Ryder Cup team, captained by Luke Donald, regained the trophy in Rome (PA Wire)
Predicted American team for the 2025 Ryder Cup
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Scottie Scheffler leads Team USA (AP)
Current Team Europe standings for 2025 Ryder Cup
Top six players qualify automatically for team. Standings accurate as of 25 August
——————————————————————–
- 7. Shane Lowry (IRE) 1275.51
- 8. Sepp Straka (AUT) 1264.27
- 9. Ludvig Aberg (SWE) 1140.44
- 10. Viktor Hovland (NOR) 1031.34
- 11. Matt Fitzpatrick (ENG) 899.53
- 12. Matt Wallace (ENG) 881.12
- 13. Thomas Detry (BEL) 817.19
- 14. Marco Penge (ENG) 810.38
- 15. Aaron Rai (ENG) 754.86
- 16. Jordan Smith (ENG) 738.84
- 17. Harry Hall (ENG) 703.38
- 18. Nicolai Højgaard (DEN) 681.26
- 19. Niklas Norgaard (DEN) 651.10
- 20. John Parry (ENG) 643.75
——————————————————————–
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Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm of Team Europe and Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns of Team United States walk from the first tee (Getty Images)
Predicted European team for the 2025 Ryder Cup
This would be almost identical to the side that vanquished the United States in Rome. Rasmus Hojgaard has removed any tension, to some extent, locking up an automatic spot, likely confirming the only change from Rome by swapping in for his brother Nicolai Hojgaard.
What’s the format?
There are 28 points up for grabs with the winners required to reach 14.5 points. The holders can defend the cup by reaching 14 points, with a draw ensuring they retain the cup.
The competition lasts three days and the first two days, Friday and Saturday, see the players battle it out over foursomes (alternate shot) and fourballs (better ball). The action concludes on Sunday with 12 singles matches.
Each match offers up one point, though the point can be halved if the match is tied after 18 holes, resulting in each team winning half a point.
The players involved in foursomes (alternate shot) and fourballs (better ball) will be announced shortly before each session, with every player tasked with competing in a singles match on Sunday.
The Course: Bethpage Black, New York
Bethpage Black is known as one of the most difficult golf courses in the world. It is a par 71 and stretches to a daunting 7,426 yards, favouring the long hitters on tour.
Players will be greeted by a sign on the first tee: “The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers”.
There have been three major championships held at the course, including most recently the 2019 PGA Championship, won by Brooks Koepka, who is competing to be on Team USA this time around.
The course set-up is in the hands of the hosts, meaning USA can adjust conditions to suit their players. That said, Team Europe’s talent and characteristics are largely similar to Team USA, meaning less advantage this time around.
Players can expect narrower fairways and deep rough though, favouring players who can carry the ball a long way. The 15th hole is notoriously difficult and known as ‘The Beast’.