Ryder Cup: 7 big questions with one year to go

Sound the klaxon. There’s officially one year to go until the Ryder Cup.

It’s 365 days until Europe and the United States renew their rivalry over Bethpage’s infamous Black course – and there’s already so much to discuss.

Here are seven big Ryder Cup talking points as the countdown begins…

The appeals

Could Luke Donald’s European side seriously enter the Bethpage bearpit without ‘Team Angry’ Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton?

That scenario is still not completely unfeasible. The LIV Golf duo have preserved their hopes of making the team having appealed their DP World Tour sanctions. But Rahm in particular has been adamant that he will not pay his fines. So what happens when, and most likely if, he loses the appeal given a precedent has been set? Or will the hearing by an independent panel take place after the New York shootout?

Murky waters still lie ahead.

The playing captain

We haven’t had a Ryder Cup playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. For good reason, too. It’s why the dilemma facing Keegan Bradley is so intriguing. The left-field appointment was always going to be in with a shot of playing for the USA. He’s the world No.13 and one of the form Americans right now. Does the PGA of America have a contingency plan?

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Last month, I asked Luke Donald just how challenging it would be to juggle the all-encompassing captaincy role with the pressure of putting points on the board.

“It would be very difficult,” he admitted. “I think you would have to sort of give your responsibility to someone else, really. Obviously there’s time for him to make some decisions and team talks in the evenings, but while he’s playing on the golf course, he can’t be thinking about some of that stuff.”

But who would that someone be?

Rookie dreams

Aaron Rai, Matt Wallace, Matthieu Pavon, Matteo Manassero, Thomas Detry, Ramus Hojgaard, Niklas Norgaard. Expect some fresh European blood in 2025. Not all the aforementioned names will play of course, but they’re all in with a shot of becoming Ryder Cup rookies.

As far as the Americans are concerned, it would almost feel an injustice if Billy Horschel ends his career without a Ryder Cup appearance. This has to be his time. Making his Presidents Cup debut this week, Sahith Theegala looks a nailed on debutant, too.

The LIV Golf question

The PGA of America cleared up any confusion by clarifying that American LIV players can tee it up New York. But the body’s statement stopped short of announcing a direct pathway for players to qualify via the Saudi-backed league. LIV players will therefore need big seasons in the majors to lock positions on the team. With Bradley keen to pick his best dozen, however, its unconceivable that Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka won’t be teeing it up at Bethpage.

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Sergio Garcia, meanwhile, has made no secret of his desire to return to the European fold. For that to happen, he would first need to pay his outstanding fines and reapply for the DP World Tour membership that he resigned in 2023.

Asked about a possible Garcia comeback last month, captain Donald said: “The more people we have to choose from the better.”

The ‘Boys Club’

The Bradley captaincy pick flicked the narrative on the ‘Boys Club’ phenomenon that has enveloped US Ryder Cup teams. While Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler were all vying for wildcard picks ahead of the defeat at Marco Simone, they were dining with their captain Zach Johnson at The Open and joking about his picks with the Netflix cameras rolling. Bradley was the outsider and he will not be accused of any bias with his own choices.

Unusually, however, not one of Spieth, Fowler and Thomas are on the Presidents Cup team this year and the trio will be fired up to play a home Ryder Cup once more. Spieth is recovering from surgery, while Thomas and Fowler need big resurgences to make the team.

The Tiger Woods show

Will he or won’t he be there? That’s ultimately up to Keegan Bradley. But from a commercial point of view, the PGA of America would obviously love Tiger Woods at Bethpage. He’s a shoo-in for the 2027 captaincy in Ireland and it makes sense to have the man they all look up to the most in the locker room on Long Island before that blockbuster away match.

The New York crowds

Luke Donald is already preparing for the chaos that will doubtless ensue.

“We’re all talking about it. A lot of us have been there at Bethpage and experienced it, but there’s ways to handle that,” he explained. “It’s more about the individuals and their kind of protocols, how they react to stuff like that. I think that’s a process of working on it from now until New York, not waiting for the team to be finalised.”

Donald wants to make sure there are no surprises, but if a boisterous, partisan US crowd turns ugly like it did at Brookline in 1999, there’s very little he can do.

“Bethpage is New York’s home course and now it’s America’s home course. I want the fans to treat it as such and defend it accordingly,” Bradley said after being unveiled US captain. Lets hope those words aren’t lost in translation.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.