With the Ryder cup starting today, here’s how the American team was chosen.
First some background. The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf event played between the best US golfers and the best European ones. Each side chooses 12 players to represent their nation(s) in a competition that is part team and part individual.
USA Team
The American side consists of the following players. Each listed also has their college team and hometown. Players with a * are the captain’s picks. The others are the top 6 in points earned. More on that below.
- Sam Burns (LSU, Shreveport, LA) *
- Patrick Cantlay (UCLA, Long Beach, CA) *
- Bryson DeChambeau (SMU, Modesto, CA)
- Harris English (UGA, Valdosta, GA)
- Ben Griffin (UNC, Chapel Hill, NC) *
- Russell Henley (UGA, Macon, GA)
- Collin Morikawa (UC-Berkeley, LA, CA) *
- Xander Schauffele (Long Beach and San Diego State, San Diego, CA)
- J.J. Spaun (San Diego State, LA, CA)
- Scottie Scheffler (Texas, Ridgewood, NJ)
- Justin Thomas (Alabama, Louisville, KY) *
- Cameron Young (Wake Forest, Scarborough, NY) *
The top 6 golfers for the past two years gained their spots by earning points from their finishes in majors, specific PGA Tour events, and The Players Championship. Certain events are weighted more like the major championships and other events that are closer to the Ryder Cup. This ensures golfers who are trending well can hop over those who were good last year but might be struggling closer to the day.
The Top 6!
It’s no surprise about Scottie Scheffler. He is the best golfer today on either side of the Atlantic! JJ Spaun has had an incredible year, though has cooled a bit. He won the US Open and finished second in the Players Championship.
Harris has also had an amazing year and is trending well. He has one victory this year (Farmers Insurance in January), but has four top 10 finishes including second in the PGA and Open Championship. Russell Henley, another UGA golfer like Harris, has had an odd year. He missed the cuts in the Master’s and PGA Championship. But he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and finished second in two other high point events. He ended 2025 with 10 top 10 finishes.
Xander has had an off year. He never missed a cut this year, but only has three top 10 finishes. Xander earned most of his points from 2024 when he won the PGA and Open Championships. He is another golfer that seems to be off his game late in the 2025 season.
Everybody has an opinion on Bryson!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8TDUb8NQAB/?img_index=1&igsh=MWh3N2o2YXd3M3YxMQ==
Finally there is Bryson. Love him or hate him, Bryson deserves to be in this tournament. Though the only player on the US side that plays on the LIV Tour, since the PGA of America, not the PGA Tour, chooses the squad, they allow LIV golfers in the mix.
Bryson plays in only the majors and his success in them is incredible. This year he was 5th in the Master’s, 2nd in the PGA, missed the cut at the US Open and was 10th in the Open Championship. In 2024 he was 6th in Augusta, 2nd at Valhalla for the PGA, won the US Open, and missed the cut at the Open Championship, formerly called the British Open.
So there’s the US team and how they are here.
Play will begin at 7 am today.
Broadcast options
You can watch much of the action on the Ryder Cup website or these options.
Friday 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. USA Network, Peacock, NBC Sports App, RyderCup.com
Saturday 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. NBC Peacock, NBC Sports App, RyderCup.com
Sunday 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. NBC Peacock, NBC Sports App, RyderCup.com
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