The 2025 Ryder Cup is a mere four months away, as the 45th edition of this prestigious event between the United States and Europe is set for September 26-28 at Bethpage Black. And captains Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald will undoubtedly have some tough decisions to make.
The top six golfers in the points standings for each team, which we'll break down in just a moment, will automatically earn spots on their respective squads. The cutoff for U.S. players to gain points is the second event of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs, the BMW Championship, which concludes August 17, while the cutoff for European players is August 24 at the conclusion of the DP World Tour's Betfred British Masters.
Once the six automatic spots on each side are determined, Bradley and Donald will then each make six captain's selections.
As we're now at the midway point of the major championship season after Scottie Scheffler took a five-shot victory at the PGA Championship, let's have a look at how things are shaping up for each side.
United States Ryder Cup standings
Scheffler has long been a lock for the U.S. team and now has what's likely an insurmountable lead at the top spot of the standings. If the six automatic qualifiers were locked in today, joining the world No. 1 would be Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, and Russell Henley.
Here's a look at the top 25 in the U.S. standings coming out of the PGA Championship.
Position | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
1 | Scottie Scheffler | 21490.75 |
2 | Xander Schauffele | 11746.84 |
3 | Bryson DeChambeau | 10318.00 |
4 | Justin Thomas | 9342.83 |
5 | Collin Morikawa | 8917.11 |
6 | Russell Henley | 7877.80 |
7 | Harris English | 6282.30 |
8 | Maverick McNealy | 5921.49 |
9 | Andrew Novak | 5858.10 |
10 | Brian Harman | 5808.41 |
11 | J.J. Spaun | 5162.13 |
12 | Patrick Cantlay | 5155.83 |
13 | Daniel Berger | 4151.21 |
14 | Tony Finau | 3869.99 |
15 | Tom Hoge | 3734.61 |
16 | Lucas Glover | 3526.97 |
17 | Keegan Bradley | 3471.39 |
18 | Ben Griffin | 3433.86 |
19 | Wyndham Clark | 3378.07 |
20 | Billy Horschel | 3370.78 |
21 | Denny McCarthy | 3260.68 |
22 | Michael Kim | 3116.16 |
23 | Akshay Bhatia | 3049.76 |
24 | J.T. Poston | 2979.50 |
25 | Davis Riley | 2944.39 |
Outside the top six, one could reasonably assume that the only name who would be a lock for a captain's pick at this point is Patrick Cantlay. He hasn't played his best this season, but given how he kept the U.S. in the fight two years ago in Rome and his 5-2-1 career record at the Ryder Cup, he'll be at Bethpage.
Noticeably absent from the top 25 is Jordan Spieth, who currently sits in 32nd with 2559.98 points. His wrist injury hindered him last year, and even with a missed cut at the PGA, the three-time major champ is playing far better in 2025.
But given Spieth's Ryder Cup history and the fact that he and Justin Thomas are one of the most dynamic duos when it comes to team play at both the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup, Bradley will likely have no choice but to add him to the mix.
Brooks Koepka, who's all the way down at 91st with just 381.64 points, might be hard to ignore as well, seeing as how he won the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage.
As for Bradley himself, much has been made about him possibly being a playing captain. But he's consistently stated that unless he makes the team as an automatic qualifier, he won't add himself as a captain's pick. As Keegan currently sits in 17th in the U.S. standings, he'll need to make a big run over the next three months to get into the top six.
European Ryder Cup standings
Unsurprisingly, Masters champ and the new career Grand Slam club member Rory McIlroy leads the way for the European Ryder Cup team. And if the selection process ended today, joining him with automatic berths would be Shane Lowry, Rasmus Højgaard, Tyrrell Hatton, Sepp Straka, and Justin Rose.
Here's how the top 25 in the European Ryder Cup standings shake out after Quail Hollow.
Position | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
1 | Rory McIlroy | 2981.70 |
2 | Shane Lowry | 1124.18 |
3 | Rasmus Højgaard | 1034.03 |
4 | Tyrrell Hatton | 1004.05 |
5 | Sepp Straka | 942.73 |
6 | Justin Rose | 870.04 |
7 | Tommy Fleetwood | 844.83 |
8 | Ludvig Åberg | 819.15 |
9 | Thomas Detry | 650.29 |
10 | Matt Wallace | 637.52 |
11 | Niklas Nørgaard | 607.93 |
12 | Viktor Hovland | 541.06 |
13 | Thorbjørn Olesen | 540.55 |
14 | Laurie Canter | 520.62 |
15 | Robert MacIntyre | 519.25 |
16 | Aaron Rai | 511.08 |
17 | Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen | 502.20 |
18 | Jorge Campillo | 480.92 |
19 | Jordan Smith | 475.88 |
20 | Paul Waring | 465.13 |
21 | Antoine Rozner | 461.48 |
22 | John Parry | 460.55 |
23 | Julien Guerrier | 423.85 |
24 | Jon Rahm | 416.06 |
25 | Marco Penge | 372.93 |
Regardless of where they finish in the standings come August, seventh-ranked Tommy Fleetwood, eighth-ranked Ludvig Åberg, and 12th-ranked Viktor Hovland will be on this team. The same goes for Jon Rahm, who currently sits all the way down in 24th.
So, if the top six names on this board stay put and the other four are added, Donald will effectively only have two spots to fill.
One name you didn't see in the top 25 is Matt Fitzpatrick, who had a solid week at the PGA, so he'll undoubtedly receive some consideration. Now that he's healthy, Alex Noren, who played his way into the final group at Quail Hollow, has entered the conversation as well.
But that duo will have to contend with the likes of Thomas Detry, Robert MacIntyre, Nicolai Højgaard, Aaron Rai, and perhaps even someone like Stephan Jaeger, who's had a solid 2025 thus far and currently sits at No. 44 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The race to the Ryder Cup is on, folks, and we'll continue to monitor the standings as the season progresses.