At the 2025 Ryder Cup, a third of Team USA’s 12-man roster will have no prior experience of competing under arguably the most intense pressure in the game.
Never before will they know what it is like to have not just a team of elite-level professionals relying on you, but also an entire country expecting you to win.
While those in this bracket might have played Presidents Cup or Walker Cup golf in their past, the other national team appearances simply pale in comparison to the golfing behemoth that is the Ryder Cup.
Fortunately for them, the result won’t sit squarely on their respective shoulders as they will have eight world-class peers as back up.
In Team USA’s case, the majority of their squad will feature Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns. Not bad.
Luke Donald (left) and Keegan Bradley with the Ryder Cup
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The hosts are favorite to win the Ryder Cup back at Bethpage Black, but the four rookie players will likely have to play some part in helping make that happen.
Below, we’ve listed the four freshmen on Team USA and included a little explainer on how they reached this point in their careers.
JJ Spaun
(Image credit: Getty Images)
To say JJ Spaun‘s career has gone stratospheric over the past year or so is possibly a little hyperbolic, but the American has quickly transformed his career from steady PGA Tour pro to Ryder Cup lock via a memorable US Open victory at Oakmont.
The 2022 Valero Texas Open winner could hardly have dreamed about being on Keegan Bradley’s Team USA this time last year after achieving no better than T23rd in any of his limited Major starts and having only made the cut once in five appearances at The Players Championship.
But 2025 was Spaun’s breakthrough year, with a playoff defeat at The Players Championship his way of serving notice to the rest of the tour that he was capable of contending at the very top level.
In the end, Spaun finished second in Team USA’s Ryder Cup standings ahead of other Major winners in Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau, proving that – although he lacks any previous team-event experience as either an amateur or a professional – Spaun has the golf game to secure points for Team…
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