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The Bryson DeChambeau dilemma: How will Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley utilize United States' X-factor? 

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Before the automatic qualifying window closed and all the bubbles popped, United States Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley made it clear that Bryson DeChambeau was going to be a member of his team at Bethpage Black -- no matter what transpired over the remainder of the summer. While the two-time U.S. Open champion was inside the top six that automatically qualify at that time, with some additional tournaments on the schedule for his PGA Tour counterparts, he was hardly guaranteed a spot purely on points.

Bradley ensured DeChambeau knew he was on steady ground with the American side.

"Bryson is going to be a very important piece to us winning the Ryder Cup," the captain said.

In his last chance to watch DeChambeau at The Open Championship, Bradley provided assurance that he would see the big-hitting right hander in a couple months' time. He left personal notes in lockers at Royal Portrush that aimed to light a fire in the bellies of those who would be donning the red, white and blue in New York.

"This year's no joke," DeChambeau said at The Open. "We're tired of it. We're tired of losing."

For DeChambeau, this year's Ryder Cup marks a return to the competition after failing to make the team in 2023. Consider his belly fired up as, that summer, he was passed over despite a significant run at the PGA Championship and a win at LIV Golf Greenbrier where he signed for a final-round 58. One week before the United States fell to Europe in Rome, DeChambeau won LIV Golf Chicago.

DeChambeau's omission by then-captain Zach Johnson came following a 2021 Ryder Cup in which he teamed with Scottie Scheffler, the latter of whom was a winless PGA Tour player making his event debut at the time. The two won 1.5 out of 2 possible points in their four-ball matches as DeChambeau served as a pseudo sherpa, tacking on another full point by himself in Sunday singles.

That version of Scheffler is long gone, of course. Now the world No. 1 and four times a major champion, Scheffler sticking a peg in the ground alongside DeChambeau no longer makes sense unless Bradley were to stack two of his best players together -- a risky choice that is unlikely to occur.

DeChambeu (5-1) sits only behind Schefler (2-1) as the projected top American points scorer, according to Caesars Sportsbook.

With DeChambeau out of frame, Scheffler has starred alongside Russell Henley in foursomes (1-1-0 in the Presidents Cup) and good friend Sam Burns in fourball where the strategy for pairings is not quite as complex. 

Bradley understands how to pair his best player, but the calculation gets much more difficult when factoring in DeChambeau. While it may sound hyperbolic, Bradley's determination how to best involve the 31-year-old may be one on which the result of the Ryder Cup rests.

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"I think foursomes is obviously the tougher format to pair because there's so many more factors," Bradley said at the Procore Championship. "There's the golf ball. You really want to match up the personalities with foursomes because it is a way tougher format. … But foursomes we have some history in some of the pairings."

As Bradley mentioned ahead of the United States' final tune-up, there are a handful of avenues down which he could send DeChambeau in foursomes -- based on equipment, personality or statistical fit. If he can put all three together, Bradley may well find a winner at the end of the road.

Making the DeChambeau decision even more important is that foursomes will be the opening session Friday and Saturday morning. Europe went 7-1 in foursomes in 2023, and the U.S. went 6-2 in foursomes at Whistling Straits two years prior. A fast start is required to win the Ryder Cup, and DeChambeau is likely to be featured in foursomes despite going 0-2-0 in his career with Mickelson and Woods as partners in 2018.

Based on equipment (i.e. the golf ball), DeChambeau would draw Cameron Young. Another adopter of a Titleist prototype dubbed the Pro V1x Double Dot, Young won the Wyndham Championship the first week he put the custom performance option in play. A partnership with Young would take out a massive variable and allow both players to feel at home standing over the ball. 

However, Young's statistical profile is not too dissimilar from that of DeChambeau. In the simplest form, both players are long drivers and quality putters. Iron play can come and go, while around-the-green struggles have been known to pop up. They could not be more different from a personality perspective, which may actually serve as beneficial for DeChambeau depending how amped up he gets.

That's where Justin Thomas could factor in. Among the 11 other players on Team USA, who is not only able to take on the circus that follows DeChambeau but thrive within it? Thomas may be the only man for the job. If you want to hit the nitrous and roar off the starting line, DeChambeau and Thomas begins to make some sense as a pairing.

Statistically, their long-term skillsets are complementary. Thomas is lethal with wedges in hand and a magician around the green, which pairs well with DeChambeau's strengths, and even more importantly, his weaknesses. The same goes for Thomas, who has not been at his best with the driver in 2025. 

The equipment would not be a perfect match, but Thomas does play the Pro V1x and needs of a foursomes partner given Jordan Spieth's absence from the competition.

Ultimately, Bradley's DeChambeau dilemma will not be settled until the announcement is made Wednesday evening. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are presumed partners, as are Scheffler and Henley, but when DeChambeau's name gets dropped, there will be a moment of uncertainty until the second is finally revealed.

With fourball, Bradley can give DeChambeau some more leash. Ben Griffin had expressed to CBS Sports this summer his desire to play with DeChambeau, which would likely occur in fourball if it were to at all. Griffin is someone who seems to enjoy the spotlight and would give DeChambeau another opportunity to shepherd around a rookie like he did back in 2021. The same rings true for another rookie in J.J. Spaun.

No matter the decision, it will hold substantial weight for the United States and its prospects of winning back the Ryder Cup. A proper partner could unlock DeChambeau's fullest capabilities in both playing formats, and in doing so, unleash the Americans' full potential.

"He's been incredible," Bradley said of DeChambeau in the lead up to the Ryder Cup. "He's been more than willing to go above and beyond for this team. I think it's a testament to what a good teammate Bryson is. I think it's actually really cool to see … it's easy for the guys to come play here and come to dinner. Bryson's got to get on a plane, he's got to come to these meetings, and I think it's a great thing, shows the commitment in that Bryson has for the team. 

"He's going to be a huge asset for us. Obviously, from the standpoint of how good of a player he is, but also he's fun to be around. He's great to the younger guys. It's fun for us to see Bryson in an atmosphere outside the golf course as well."

 

 

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Ryder Cup week hasn’t begun yet, but the heat is already rising for the highly anticipated battle at Bethpage Black. Two of the Ryder Cup’s biggest stars — Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau — are trading blows ahead of the event.

McIlroy, the European team veteran, was the latest to get in on the act. In a new Guardian interview conducted in August at East Lake, McIlroy hit back at American star DeChambeau’s plan to “chirp in the ear” of the reigning Masters champ at Bethpage.

Here’s what you need to know.

Rory dismisses Bryson’s Ryder Cup plan to ‘chirp’ him
With the 2025 Ryder Cup days away, the Guardian’s Ewen Murray published an exclusive interview with McIlroy. But the interview itself is not new. Murray sat down with McIlroy in the East Lake locker room during the 2025 Tour Championship to get his thoughts on his Masters win and, of course, the upcoming Ryder Cup.

Amid the interview, Murray brought up DeChambeau’s recent comments. At the “Happy Gilmore 2” premiere in New York City this July, People asked DeChambeau about McIlroy and the Ryder Cup.

His response could be considered one of the first shots fired of what is expected to be a tense Ryder Cup.

“I’ll be chirping in [McIlroy’s] ear this time. Now, if we go up against each other, I mean, you can be sure of it,” DeChambeau said.

When Murray asked McIlroy what he thought of DeChambeau’s plan for him at Bethpage, McIlroy dismissed it with his own jab at the two-time U.S. Open champion.

“I think the only way he gets attention is by mentioning other people. That is basically what I think of that. To get attention he will mention me or Scottie [Scheffler] or others,” McIlroy told the Guardian.

The two players’ existing rivalry likely influenced the tone of their comments. Off the course, McIlroy and DeChambeau have been on opposite ends of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf feud.

On the course, DeChambeau stole the 2024 U.S. Open from McIlroy’s grasp, and McIlroy returned the favor this April at Augusta with his historic Masters victory. Bryson played with Rory in the final round and finished T5. After the tournament, DeChambeau claimed McIlroy “didn’t talk to me all day.”

But their Ryder Cup histories have barely intersected. DeChambeau has played in two Ryder Cups, in 2018 and 2021. Though McIlroy also played in both of those events, they have never faced each other in a match.

At the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, DeChambeau didn’t make the U.S. team.

McIlroy: It’s ‘inevitable’ Ryder Cup fans will ‘get to us’
There has been much hand-wringing recently about how the New York fans will behave during the three days of Ryder Cup play at Bethpage Black.

While no one knows what will happen, both the American and European players seem to agree that it will be a loud, hostile environment for the away team. Add to that the fact that the last Ryder Cup featured a near-brawl between the players, and you have the makings of a volatile golf event.

In his Guardian interview, McIlroy revealed he thinks it’s “inevitable” that “something will happen” at this year’s Ryder Cup.

This New York Ryder Cup will be crazy. Question is, how crazy?
“I think it’s inevitable something is going to happen in New York. It might not involve me but it is inevitable that something will happen, whether like in Rome last time or something else,” McIlroy said.

He continued: “I just think when you go into that environment and you are there for five or six days and the crowd are on you for eight hours, so many days in a row… it is inevitable it will get to someone or get to us as a group at some point. We are just going to have to do a really good job of managing that, having each other’s backs and protecting each other.”

But McIlroy also sounded confident of his team’s chances of spoiling DeChambeau and the U.S. team’s party next week by winning an away Ryder Cup. That confidence comes from the “continuity” he sees on the European team from their victorious 2023 squad.

“If I compare it to the last two away Ryder Cups that I have played, I would say we are in a way better spot,” McIlroy said. “I still believe we are the underdogs but I feel more confident than I was in 2016 and 2021 that we can pull it off.”

The Ryder Cup action begins next Friday, September 26, at the Black Course on Long Island.

 

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Trying to increase pressure...      As Saban says -- "RAT POISON"

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Luke Donald has cranked up the heat on the United States Ryder Cup team by claiming the home crowd at Bethpage from Friday may be more likely to turn on Keegan Bradley and his players because they are being paid to take on Europe. In what is a highly controversial move, Bradley and his 12-man side will each collect $500,000 (£370,000) – $300,000 of which must be directed towards charity, with the rest labelled a stipend – while the European contingent continue to perform at the Ryder Cup for free. Added to the mix is the fact that tickets start at $750 per tournament day.

Much has been made of likely antipathy from the New York audience towards Donald and his players as Europe look to retain the trophy they won in Rome two years ago. However, the Englishman believes USA could find themselves under intense gallery pressure if Europe gain an upper hand. “That could happen,” said Donald. “We all know how high the ticket prices are, and it’s going to be an expensive trip out for a family of four. If the US players are getting paid a stipend, or whatever it is, and they aren’t performing, the New Yorkers could make them know about it.”

Donald, who also led Europe in 2023, seems comfortable that the visitors have avoided the cash element despite the Ryder Cup escalating as a commercial entity. “I wanted to get ahead of this when I first heard about it last year and looked like it was likely going to happen,” Donald said of the USA team being paid. “I reached out to all the 12 guys from Rome to see how they felt. Their voices are important. Everyone was like: ‘We haven’t even considered playing for money for that event.’

“We just don’t see that. We understand what it represents. We have a great purpose and that’s really enough for us. We understand that the money raised goes to help the European Tour Group and the grassroots. We talk a lot about this, we are here to inspire the next generation. So this money is going to good things. It will hopefully help future Ryder Cup players become great players. I think our purpose, why we play the Ryder Cup, is pretty strong and that’s enough for that week.

“It speaks to what the Ryder Cup means to these guys. A couple of hundred thousand dollars to these guys isn’t a lot of money in the grand scheme of things. Those weeks of the Ryder Cup, they are the best weeks. There’s so much more to them. We certainly don’t need any motivation or monetary rewards to get us up.”

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The victorious European team in Rome in 2023. Photograph: Marco Iacobucci/Shutterstock

Donald’s level of grit is often underplayed. The 47-year-old is softly spoken but lacks nothing in competitive steel. “There’s plenty of anger and a chip on my shoulder underneath,” he said. “I want to win. When I was No 1 in the world, I would look at any slight towards me and use that as motivation.

“I certainly could have easily walked away a couple years ago after a great job in Rome and people were pleased. This is a great challenge. To have this opportunity, to push yourself to try to do something that’s very difficult to do, that’s pretty motivating for me. Hopefully we can do it.”

By Sunday night Donald could become the first European captain since Tony Jacklin to win home and away Ryder Cups. Recent records suggest he faces an uphill task, with the Europeans without a win on US soil since 2012, but the captain is keen to accentuate positives. Donald’s 10 ½ points from 15 matches when a player stands out as an exceptional modern day return and was a key part of the Miracle of Medinah 13 years ago. Donald will be assisted in New York by Thomas Bjørn, José María Olazábal, Alex Norén and the Molinari brothers, Edoardo and Francesco.

“I think not even just me but you look at the vice-captains,” Donald said. “Between playing, vice-captains, captaining, we have been part of 35 Ryder Cups, the six of us, and we have won 29 of those, 83%. It’s pretty good. I think our team has a lot of confidence in those guys. We have a lot of history. That’s something to really feel confident about.

“We obviously have to make some changes from the last couple [in the US] because those weren’t very good. Between myself and the other vice captains that’s kind of been our thinking, how do we make it a little bit closer and that’s what we’ve been working on.”

 

 

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