How To Watch Golf’s 2025 Ryder Cup, And What To Expect

Bethpage Black on Long Island is the host of the 2025 Ryder Cup. (Photo by Gary Kellner/PGA of America via Getty Images)

PGA of America via Getty Images

The 45th Ryder Cup gets underway this week at Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York, where a Team USA squad featuring world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau faces a European team led by Rory McIlroy that’s looking to defend the title in golf’s most pressure-packed team event.

The return to American soil marks just the first time a municipally owned and operated golf course in the U.S. has hosted the Ryder Cup. Bethpage State Park’s vaunted Black Course on Long Island has been nicknamed “The People’s Country Club” and for New York’s passionate golf fans it represents a rare opportunity to witness the sport’s most intense and revered team competition at one of the country’s most challenging and democratically accessible venues.

Europe enters as the defending champion after a convincing 16.5 to 11.5 victory at Marco Simone in Rome two years ago, but the visitors have lost three of the last four away Ryder Cups by significant margins. The U.S. holds a 27-15 edge in the all-time series but has dropped eight of the past 11 meetings dating back to 2002.

As with every Ryder Cup, storylines abound heading into the September 26-28 showdown.

Captains Setting the Tone

Keegan Bradley leads Team USA as the youngest Ryder Cup captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963, having been named to the role at just 38 years old. The 2011 PGA Championship winner chose to focus solely on captaincy duties rather than attempt a playing-captain role, despite finishing 11th in the qualifying standings and winning twice on the PGA Tour since his appointment.

“I felt really comfortable with the guys, extremely comfortable and I feel like I could best serve the team this way,” Bradley said. “I don’t care if I play, don’t play – as long as we win on Sunday. That’s the only thing I care about.”

Luke Donald returns as European captain after guiding his team to victory in Rome, becoming the first European to repeat his captaincy since Bernard Gallacher in 1993. Donald has retained 11 of his 12-man roster from the winning team, betting on continuity and proven chemistry over fresh faces.

“That is going to be important going to Bethpage because we know the challenge that awaits us,” Donald said. “Although the team itself is similar to Rome, I have approached this captaincy from a very different angle. A different challenge requires different thinking and strategies.”

The Ryder Cup can be watched via comprehensive coverage across NBC, USA Network, and Peacock, with extensive programming spanning all three competition days plus extensive studio coverage throughout the week leading up to the event.

How To Watch The Ryder Cup

• TV: NBC, USA Network, GOLF Channel
• Streaming: Peacock, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app

Complete TV Schedule:

• Friday, September 26: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (USA Network)
• Saturday, September 27: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
• Sunday, September 28: Noon-6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)

NBC Sports will present more than 100 hours of coverage featuring the most cameras ever deployed at a Ryder Cup on U.S. soil, including a record three drones, multiple bunker cams, broadcast booth cameras, and Trackman technology at all 18 tee boxes. Peacock will offer live featured match coverage all three competition days.

Golf Central Live From the Ryder Cup has extensive studio programming throughout the week on GOLF Channel. The Opening Ceremony at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 25 will be hosted by Carson Daly and Kira Dixon.

Team Rosters and Key Players

Team USA – Captain: Keegan Bradley

Automatic Qualifiers:

• Scottie Scheffler
• J.J. Spaun
• Xander Schauffele
• Russell Henley
• Harris English
• Bryson DeChambeau

Captain’s Picks:

• Justin Thomas
• Collin Morikawa
• Ben Griffin
• Patrick Cantlay
• Cameron Young
• Sam Burns

Team Europe – Captain: Luke Donald

Automatic Qualifiers:

• Rory McIlroy
• Tommy Fleetwood
• Tyrrell Hatton
• Rasmus Højgaard
• Robert MacIntyre
• Justin Rose

Captain’s Picks:

• Jon Rahm
• Viktor Hovland
• Matt Fitzpatrick
• Shane Lowry
• Ludvig Åberg
• Sepp Straka

Seven members of Team USA were part of the record-setting victory at Whistling Straits in 2021, as Scheffler, DeChambeau, English, Schauffele, Thomas, Morikawa, and Cantlay were all part of the dominant 19-9 win.

Among the standout storylines: Cameron Young will make his Ryder Cup debut on familiar ground, having won the 2017 New York State Open at Bethpage Black as an amateur with a then course-record 64. Patrick Cantlay boasts the best Ryder Cup record of anyone on the U.S. team with a 5-2-1 mark (.687 winning percentage). Sam Burns leads the PGA Tour in strokes-gained putting by a wide margin this season and could prove decisive under pressure. Young, Henley, Griffin and Spaun are all first-time Ryder cuppers.

For Europe, Rory McIlroy anchors the team in his eighth Ryder Cup appearance, while Jon Rahm makes his fourth consecutive appearance. The European roster features significant experience, with eight players having previous away Ryder Cup experience. Only Rasmus Højgaard will be making his Ryder Cup debut.

What To Expect From Bethpage Black

One of golf’s most demanding public courses, Bethpage’s Black Course is hosting the Ryder Cup for the first time in a history that dates back to 1936.

Playing at approximately 7,400 yards as a par-71, Bethpage Black has earned its fearsome reputation through hosting major championships including U.S. Opens in 2002 and 2009 (where only Tiger Woods broke par in 2002 and just five players broke par in 2009) and the 2019 PGA Championship. The course – which famously has a sign behind the first tee that reads, “The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers” — features narrow fairways averaging just 26 yards wide during major championships, thick rough, strategically placed bunkers, and elevated greens that demand precision.

“It’s a really tough golf course,” said Schauffele. “There’s no sort of trick to play this golf course. A lot of people will hit it to the same spot. A lot of people will miss it to the same spot as well, and it’s about who can get up-and-down better when they’re out of position, and who can capitalize when they’re in a good position.”

The course’s challenge lies primarily in its demand for accuracy off the tee and precise approach shots to elevated, well-protected greens. Miss the fairway, and players find themselves in gnarly rough that makes advancing the ball toward the green nearly impossible. The layout rewards strategic thinking over raw power, though length certainly helps.

Format and Scoring

The Ryder Cup follows a traditional format across three days:

• Friday & Saturday: Four foursomes (alternate shot) matches each morning, four four-ball (best ball) matches each afternoon
• Sunday: 12 individual singles matches

Each match is worth one point, with 28 total points available. The United States needs 14½ points to win the Cup, while Europe needs 14 points to retain it as defending champions.

As captain of the host squad, Bradley elected to begin both Friday and Saturday with foursomes matches, followed by four-ball in the afternoons, marking the third consecutive Ryder Cup to use this format structure.

The Bethpage Factor

What sets this Ryder Cup apart is the venue’s unique character as a public course and the anticipated atmosphere in the nation’s biggest metro market. Known for passionate and sometimes raucous support, the New York crowds promise to create an electric atmosphere found few other places within the golf world, and particularly at this kind of stage.

The amphitheater-like first tee and nearby 18^th green, surrounded by grandstands and natural elevation, will likely produce some of the most memorable Ryder Cup moments in recent history.

The Long Island course’s municipal character – where New York residents can play for $75 or less – adds a “people’s championship” element to the proceedings, with the course regularly attracting a strikingly diverse customer base that will likely be similar to the Ryder Cup galleries.

Historic Significance

The home side has won the past five Ryder Cups, with Europe claiming the last victory on foreign soil in 2012 at Medinah Country Club in Illinois. The European squad won 14.5 to 13.5 that year.

The U.S., however, enjoyed convincing home wins in 2021 (19-9 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin), 2016 (17-11 at Hazeltine National in Minnesota), and 2008 (16.5 to 11.5 at Valhalla in Kentucky).

This will be the first Ryder Cup held in New York since 1995, when Europe won 14.5 to 13.5 at Oak Hill despite an undefeated showing by American Ryder Cup rookie Phil Mickelson.

As the latest Ryder Cup brings golf’s most intense team competition to one of its most accessible venues, the question looms: Can Europe’s experience and chemistry overcome the challenges of playing in front of a hostile crowd at one of golf’s most demanding stages, or will Team USA’s depth and home-crowd advantage put the Cup back in American hands?