Despite falling to Englishman Justin Rose in a playoff, American golfer J.J. Spaun achieved a career first on Sunday, clinching a spot in the 2025 Ryder Cup by placing second at last weekend’s FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. Spaun, who made waves across North Carolina sports betting this summer by winning the U.S. Open, automatically qualified for the U.S. team. He joins Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele as early locks on Keegan Bradley’s squad this fall.
With that in mind, BetCarolina.com took a look at how Ryder Cup rookies for the U.S. and European teams have fared since 2016, with household names like Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa all serving as shining examples of what rookies can add in the sport’s eminent team format competition.
Also of interest: Ryder Cup 2025 Odds: Who’s In and Who’s Out for Team USA & Team Europe?
Rookie: | Record: |
Tommy Fleetwood (Europe, 2018) | 4 points, 5 matches, 4-1-0 record |
Justin Thomas (U.S., 2018) | 4 points, 5 matches, 4-1-0 record |
Thomas Pieters (Europe, 2016) | 4 points, 5 matches, 4-1-0 record |
Collin Morikawa (U.S., 2021) | 3.5 points, 4 matches, 3-0-1 record |
Patrick Cantlay (U.S., 2021) | 3.5 points, 4 matches, 3-0-1 record |
Max Homa (U.S., 2023) | 3.5 points, 5 matches, 3-1-1 record |
Xander Schauffele (U.S., 2021) | 3 points, 4 matches, 3-1-0 record |
Brooks Koepka (U.S., 2016) | 3 points, 4 matches, 3-1-0 record |
Robert MacIntyre (Europe, 2023) | 2.5 points, 3 matches, 2-0-1 record |
Scottie Scheffler (U.S., 2021) | 2.5 points, 3 matches, 2-0-1 record |
Rafa Cabrera-Bello (Europe, 2016) | 2.5 points, 3 matches, 2-0-1 record |
Since 2016, some of the best golfers in the world have shined in their Ryder Cup debuts, including Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, who starred in his 2018 debut, going 4-1 to guide the international squad to a 17.5-to-10.5 victory over the Yanks.
During that 2018 run, Fleetwood and Italian Francesco Molinari became the first pairing to win all four of their team Ryder Cup matches, beating Patrick Reed and Tiger Woods (3 & 1), Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth (5 & 4), Reed and Woods again (4 & 3) and Woods and Bryson DeChambeau (5 & 4). Fleetwood did fall to Tony Finau in singles play, 6 & 4, but the Englishman became one of three men to go 4-1 during their first Ryder Cup, joining Thomas in 2018 and European golfer Thomas Pieters in 2016.
Other highlight-worthy Ryder Cup debuts include Morikawa and U.S. teammate Patrick Cantlay in 2021, with both Americans posting 3.5 points in the country’s 19-9 victory over the Europeans, while Max Homa also had 3.5 points in 2023, despite the Yanks losing that year, 16.5 to 11.5.
While Homa will be at home next month, Fleetwood, Morikawa and Cantlay will all be worth a look for top points earner at the 2025 Ryder Cup on NC betting apps.
Rookie: | Record: |
Danny Willett (Europe, 2016) | 0 points, 3 matches, 0-3-0 record |
Bryson DeChambeau (U.S., 2018) | 0 points, 3 matches, 0-3-0 record |
Bernd Wiesberger (Europe, 2021) | 0 points, 3 matches, 0-3-0 record |
Andy Sullivan (Europe, 2016) | 0 points, 2 matches, 0-2-0 record |
Matt Fitzpatrick (Europe, 2016) | 0 points, 2 matches, 0-2-0 record |
On the flip side, five Ryder Cup rookies have been skunked since 2016, those being the quintet of American or European golfers that went winless and point-free in that year’s competition.
That quintet includes four Euros, in Danny Willett, Andy Sullivan and Matt Fitzpatrick of England, along with Austrian pro Bernd Wiesberger,. Two of the four (Willett and Wiesberger) went 0-3-0 in 2016 and 2021, while Fitzpatrick and Sullivan were both 0-2-0 in 2016. Throw in American Bryson DeChambeau and his 0-3-0 stinker of a debut in 2018 and you have the full rundown of the ‘worst’ debuts at the Ryder Cup in the last decade, setting a low bar for this year’s cast of rookies (Spaun included) to clear.
As of now, four of the top six Americans in the Ryder Cup standings are veterans of the event, with Spaun and Russell Henley being the lone potential rookies in the mix right now, with the reigning U.S. Open champ currently sitting second behind Scottie Scheffler with 14638.91 points, while Henley’s fourth overall with 11904.82 points.
The other men in the top six right now are Scheffler (qualified first with 33580.33 points), Schauffele (qualified third with 13570.02 points), DeChambeau (fifth with 10774.98 points) and Harris English (sixth with 10439.55 points).
While American captain Keegan Bradley will have carte blanche to choose his six captain’s picks in the coming weeks, the top suitors right now, points wise, are guys like Thomas (seventh with 10347.59 points), Morikawa (8th with 9929.77 points) and Bradley himself (10th with 8103.00 points).
Ahead of Bradley you’ll find a guy with two PGA Tour wins to his name in 2025, capturing the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (with Andrew Novak) and the Charles Schwab Challenge, along with a T8 finish at the PGA Championship and a T10 placement at the U.S. Open. Ben Griffin, who currently is 9th in the Ryder Cup standings with 9304.76 points, is the next closest rookie behind Spaun and Henley this year, as the 29-year-old Chapel Hill native looks to stamp his ticket to Bethpage. Also, keep an eye on Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup, though both have more ground to make up than Griffin.
While we know for now that the European and U.S. Ryder Cup teams will be announced at some point this month, with the event taking place on Bethpage Black from Sept. 26-28, we’re left to wonder which Yankees and Europeans will make the cut to compete in the biannual showdown on the outskirts of the Big Apple this fall.
USA Today photo by Charles LeClaire.
Author
Christopher Boan is a lead writer at BetCarolina.com specializing in covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
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