Before the 45th Ryder Cup gets underway Friday morning at Bethpage Black, Golf Channel writers Rex Hoggard, Ryan Lavner and Brentley Romine offer up their predictions:
Man of the match
REX HOGGARD: Scottie Scheffler. Fueled by his disappointing performance two years ago in Rome, the world No. 1 has not hidden his motivation for this year’s matches. His putting is also in a much better place than it was two years ago when he had just started working with putting guru Phil Kenyon. Since than he has turned his lone weakness into a true strength.
RYAN LAVNER: Scottie Scheffler. This just comes down to sheer numbers. Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are the best bets to go all five matches, and thus they have the best opportunities to accrue the most points. For the past few years, the U.S. team has been trying to find the partners who best accentuate Scheffler’s immense gifts, and the steadiness of Russell Henley and perhaps J.J. Spaun can help elevate Scheffler in ways that we haven’t seen in previous cups.
BRENTLEY ROMINE: Jon Rahm. When you combine experience (6-3-3) and course fit with current form (sixth on Data Golf’s trend table) and the motivation to prove himself alongside Euro legends Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose, it all comes together perfectly for the Spaniard.
Breakout star
HOGGARD: Russell Henley. U.S. captain Keegan Bradley is putting a lot on the rookie’s shoulders pairing him early Friday in foursomes play with Scheffler, but he’s proven himself up for the moment and will emerge from the biggest stage in golf with a new celebrity to match his resume.
LAVNER: Bob MacIntyre. When describing why he wouldn’t just reheat his highly successful partnerships from Rome, European captain Luke Donald was quick to point out that players evolve over a two-year span. No one epitomizes that more than MacIntyre, who has become a multiple-time winner on Tour, a major-championship challenger and a well-rounded force. His early-week partnership with Viktor Hovland, one of the game’s best iron players, could unlock a fiery player who wants all of the smoke from the partisan crowd.
ROMINE: Scottie Scheffler. Hear me out. Europe will ride its stalwarts to victory, while Scheffler, just 2-2-3 in past Ryder Cups, will triple his win total, going 4-1 and doing everything he can to keep the home team in it.
Here are the pairings and starting times for Friday morning foursomes at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
Biggest disappointment
HOGGARD: Luke Donald. Although the European captain proved himself a brilliant leader in Rome and will still be remembered as one of the Continent’s best captains, his inability to win the Ryder Cup for just the fifth time on American soil with this team will also be a part of that legacy.
LAVNER: Justin Thomas. No doubt about it, U.S. captain Keegan Bradley is taking a risk not only by putting Bryson DeChambeau in the foursomes format (which he hasn’t played in a Ryder Cup since 2018) but also alongside Thomas, whose game has trended downward over the past few months and whose erratic driving has also plagued him at times this year. Neither scenario is ideal in what should be a birdie-fest at a soft, slow and soggy Bethpage that will significantly favor the big boppers. If the Bryson-JT duo flames out early Friday, Bradley may rue not putting an in-form Cam Young in that spot instead.
ROMINE: Justin Thomas. It will start with Friday’s foursomes pairing with Bryson DeChambeau and lead to the veteran playing just three times. Thomas looked out of sorts at the Procore, where he finished solo 69th, and he hasn’t notched a top-10 finish in a full-field event since the Travelers. All this talk about Collin Morikawa; Thomas should be Keegan Bradley’s biggest concern.
Here’s how you can watch all of the action and get all the updates for the 45th Ryder Cup matches at Bethpage Black.
Winner/final score
HOGGARD: United States, 14.5-13.5. Eight of the last nine matches have been won by the home team, most of those victories in commanding fashion, and even with a stacked European team and an inspired leader in Donald, the U.S. side rides the emotional wave the New York fans will provide to a narrow victory.
LAVNER: 14-14 tie. This isn’t a cop-out! Europe has the stronger and deeper team, 1-12, and Donald’s detailed captaincy has been remarkable to watch. But the Americans have the best player on the planet, two of the biggest X-factors in the big-hitting DeChambeau and the rusty Schauffele, and an immense advantage with 50,000 raucous fans making life hell for the visitors. This should be an instant classic – even if the final score, with Europe retaining the cup, may ultimately feel like a letdown.
ROMINE: Europe, 15-13. We finally get a close one again, but it’s the visitors getting it done. The Americans have set up a gettable golf course with soft greens and little rough, and it backfires against the firepower of Rory, Rahm and Co. The U.S. has the best player, but Europe leans on experience and takes advantage of a home side that isn’t all trending (i.e. Thomas, Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, even DeChambeau).