FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — The Ryder Cup never lacks sporting drama of the highest degree. As a biennial event, players’ national pride is sky-high and tempers are spilling over by time it rolls around.
This year, the subplots include a captain who could have called his number but chose not to; a war of words between two of golf’s biggest personalities; and a course known for its brutal difficulty, flooded with New York sports fans ready to make some noise.
The United States team will try to seize the Ryder Cup back from Team Europe when the 45th playing of the competition begins Friday at Bethpage Black.
Europe has captured eight of the past 11 Cups, most recently in 2023 outside Rome, where the hosts sailed to a 16 1/2-11 1/2 victory. That marked the fifth straight Ryder Cup won by the home team, which tilts in the Americans’ favor this time.
“I think anytime you lose, you want to come back and win. But when you’re at home and you’re at a home Ryder Cup, there’s not much more motivation that you need,” U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said. “… This is a totally different team than it was in Rome. This team is 0-0, and we want to go out this week and represent the country and Bethpage and the fans in the best way we can.”
Snubbed by Zach Johnson in 2023, Bradley was named Johnson’s successor last year but also performed well enough to earn consideration as a player. A captain hasn’t played in 60 years, but it was still an excruciating decision for Bradley.
“I feel like I’ve been called for a bigger cause here, to help our guys get ready to play and play at the highest level,” said Bradley, 39. “But in the back of my mind, I’m always thinking, ‘I could have been out there.'”
The U.S. roster is still stacked. Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau qualified for the team on points. Bradley rounded out the group with Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns. Henley, English, Griffin and Young are Ryder Cup rookies.
Most of them played the Procore Championship, a PGA Tour fall event, as a tune-up after the Americans felt too out-of-practice in Rome. Naturally, Scheffler won his sixth event of the year.
“I don’t think it can be understated how difficult of a week Rome was for us. I think we could have done better for sure,” said Scheffler, who failed to win a point that week. “I think we learned from it, and we’re as prepared as ever this time.”
They’re up against a European team that returned captain Luke Donald and 11 of its 12 players from Rome. The only newcomer, Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard, is the twin brother of 2023 team member Nicolai Hojgaard.
“It’s a very similar team, which is unusual, never happened in the history of our Ryder Cup teams in Europe, to have 11 come back,” Donald said. “So we have a lot of cohesion.”
The rest of that roster: Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm.
They were adored in Rome but will be jeered relentlessly on Long Island. Team Europe has practiced with VR headsets that pipe in not just crowd noise, but specific verbal abuse.
“I think the scale of the Ryder Cup seems to have really kind of kicked on massively in the last decade, so I feel like each occasion is getting more and more intense,” said Rose, Europe’s elder statesman, who drew attention for saying New Yorkers can become “caricatures of themselves.”
As for the course itself, Bethpage Black (par-70, 7,352 yards) is among the most prestigious and most difficult public courses in the country. The fourth hole, a risk-reward par-5, is considered the easiest relative to par, yet approach shots will be severely uphill toward a protected green. It’s a similar story at the par-4 15th, where just landing it on the green is a difficult task.
And matches could be won or lost at the devilish par-3 17th, where the diagonally-angled green is surrounded by five monstrous bunkers.
On Friday and Saturday morning, the teams will send out four duos for foursomes (alternate shot), and the afternoon sessions will be four-ball (best ball). Sunday will see all 12 players from each side face off in singles matches.
Each match is worth one point, with 28 points up for grabs. The first to 14 1/2 wins the Cup. If the teams were to tie 14-14, Europe would retain possession of the Cup.
Fans are clamoring for a singles match between McIlroy and DeChambeau, who’ve feuded since they played in the final pairing at the Masters. DeChambeau was surprised that McIlroy didn’t speak to him that Sunday; McIlroy was surprised DeChambeau was surprised.
Most recently, the LIV Golf star promised to chirp at McIlroy during the Ryder Cup, and the five-time major winner from Northern Ireland said “the only way (DeChambeau) gets attention is by mentioning other people.”
