Ryder Cup 2025: College Careers of Team USA and Team Europe Golfers
This article details the impressive collegiate careers and accolades of the players competing in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York. The players, both from Team USA and Team Europe, were highly decorated student-athletes before turning professional.
Team USA: NCAA and National Award Winners
Team USA is captained by St. John’s alumnus Keegan Bradley. The team features numerous players who set scoring records and won top national awards:
| Player | College | Key Stats and Accolades |
| Sam Burns | LSU (2015-17) | Set LSU’s all-time and single-season scoring records. Won the 2017 Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year and SEC Player of the Year. |
| Patrick Cantlay | UCLA (2010-12) | Set a UCLA record for score at 30-under par. Won the Nicklaus Award and Phil Mickelson Award (top freshman) in the same year. |
| Bryson DeChambeau | SMU (2012-15) | Set the SMU career scoring record. Became the fifth golfer in history to win both the NCAA individual national championship (2015) and the U.S. Amateur in the same year (joining Nicklaus, Mickelson, Woods, and Moore). |
| Russell Henley | Georgia (2007-11) | Won the 2010 Haskins Award (nation’s top collegiate golfer). Three-time All-American and SEC Player of the Year in 2010. |
| Collin Morikawa | California (2015-19) | The only Cal player to be a four-time All-American. Holds the school’s career stroke average record (69.78). Named Pac-12 Men’s Golfer of the Year in his senior season. |
| Scottie Scheffler | Texas (2014-18) | Named the 2015 Phil Mickelson Freshman of the Year and was a three-time All-American. Helped Texas win three Big 12 titles. |
| Justin Thomas | Alabama (2011-12) | In his lone season, he became the first player in history to win the Haskins Award and the Jack Nicklaus Award in the same season (2012). Also won the Phil Mickelson Award and SEC Player of the Year. |
Other Notable U.S. Players:
- Xander Schauffele: Set an all-time career scoring average record at San Diego State.
- J.J. Spaun: Originally a walk-on at San Diego State, he earned All-America honors twice.
- Harris English and Russell Henley were both two-time All-Americans for the Georgia Bulldogs.
- Ben Griffin set the all-time scoring average record at North Carolina.
- Cameron Young was a two-time All-ACC selection for Wake Forest.
Team Europe: Global Amateurs and Hogan Award Winners
Team Europe is led by Northwestern alumnus Luke Donald. Their U.S.-college-educated players include several decorated international standouts:
| Player | College | Key Stats and Accolades |
| Jon Rahm | Arizona State (2012-16) | A two-time winner of the Ben Hogan Award (2015, 2016), the first player ever to do so. Also won the 2016 Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year. Finished his career as the top-ranked amateur in the world. |
| Ludvig Åberg | Texas Tech (2019-23) | Only the seventh player ever to win college golf’s “Big Three” awards (Ben Hogan, Fred Haskins, and Jack Nicklaus) in the same season. Became the first player to earn a PGA Tour card directly through the PGA Tour University program. |
| Viktor Hovland | Oklahoma State (2016-18) | Won the 2019 Ben Hogan Award. All-American in all three seasons and the first Norwegian to win the U.S. Amateur (2018). |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | Northwestern (2013) | Though his college career was brief (one academic quarter), he enrolled after becoming the first Englishman to win the U.S. Amateur since 1911. |
Other Notable European Players:
- Josef “Sepp” Straka was an All-Conference Second Team member for the Georgia Bulldogs.
- Robert MacIntyre played one season at McNeese State, setting a program record with a round of 63.
Players Who Did Not Play U.S. College Golf:
- Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)
- Tommy Fleetwood (England)
- Justin Rose (England)
- Tyrrell Hatton (England)
- Rasmus Højgaard (Denmark)
- Shane Lowry (Ireland)