The countdown to the 2025 Ryder Cup has officially begun as Team Europe plot their route to upsetting the United States at Bethpage Black in New York and becoming the first away side to win a Ryder Cup since ‘the miracle at Medinah’ in 2012.

The US entered the 2023 competition as big favourites to defend the trophy they claimed with a dominant victory at Whistling Straits in 2021 but captaincy brilliance from Luke Donald and stunning performances from the likes of Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton led Europe to a sublime 16.5-11.5 triumph in Rome.

Popular skipper Donald has already been confirmed as captain once again for the 2025 edition and will try to secure that most elusive of Ryder Cup accomplishments – an away win – having been a player in the European triumphs on the road in both 2004 and 2012.

The European selection process has been tweaked for 2025, with six players qualifying automatically via one overarching Ryder Cup points list as opposed to three via the world rankings and three via the European points list. Donald will still then have six captain’s picks to make up the team of 12 and faces a number of tough calls, including complications around the eligibility of talismen Jon Rahm and Hatton, who both play in the LIV Golf breakaway league.

Here, The Independent sports team examines who is a lock to make the European side and where Donald might turn to find an inspirational wildcard:

Team Europe for the 2025 Ryder Cup

The locks

Rory McIlroy

Europe’s beating heart, Rory McIlroy’s emotion spilled over in Rome, but his record was impeccable, going 4-1 over the three days. The Irishman has expressed concern about the uncertainty surrounding Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton’s involvement and his stance may well sway any potential shift in policy. The major drought continues, yet McIlroy is in fine form to close out the year, finishing as runner-up at the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship in agonising finishes. Donald will count on McIlroy going five matches again if Europe can defend the trophy.

Viktor Hovland

Has dropped off slightly since his magical summer of 2023 when he triumphed at the Memorial, the BMW Championship and then the Tour Championship to become the third-youngest FedEx Cup winner in history before picking up 3.5 points while playing every session of Europe’s dominant victory Rome. Going down a swing mechanics rabbit hole meant 2024 was largely a lost season by the Norwegian’s high standards, although results began to pick up late in the campaign with a T2 at the FedEx St Jude Championship and a T8 at the Tour Championship. Even when struggling he was a top-10 player in the world and is too good not to regain his full form. Europe will need him to be a talisman to triumph at Bethpage, so pencil him in for at least four sessions.

Ludvig Aberg

A superstar was born in Rome, Ludvig Aberg became the first golfer to play in the Ryder Cup before making his major championship debut. He went 2-2-0 in Italy, yet Aberg and Hovland looks to be a powerful pairing for many Ryder Cups to come, with thumping 9&7 victory bringing Scottie Scheffler to tears. A quieter end to his summer following the Olympics, Aberg will be a major contender for years to come.

Tommy Fleetwood

Has steadily improved year after year and is now a permanent fixture in the world’s top 20, even as that pesky first PGA Tour win still agonisingly eludes him. Secured a seventh DP World Tour win at the Dubai Invitational in January 2024 and then brilliantly claimed a silver medal at the Paris Olympics over the summer. Something of a Ryder Cup veteran now and will be on the team for a fourth time at Bethpage, having taken three points from four matches in Rome – two of which came from a formidable foursomes partnership with McIlroy – taking his overall Ryder Cup win percentage to a remarkable 67 per cent. Will Fleetwood Mac reunite in New York?

Likely in the team

Jon Rahm

Back on the DP World Tour and cramming in events while his appeal over fines relating to his switch to LIV Golf is heard to ensure he retains the memership neded to be eligible for the Ryder Cup. Rahm lost out to Angel Hidalgo in a play-off at the Spanish Open and has now officially entered Ryder Cup qualifying at this early stage. The individual champion for LIV Golf, following wins at JCB, Chicago and then Greenbrier, the Spaniard put a rocky start behind him to impressively end his debut season, despite skipping the team final due to flu. A tied-seventh finish at The Open is perhaps more noteworthy as Rahm bids to muscle his way back into contention as the best player in the world after falling well behind Scottie Scheffler. It feels crucial for Europe to find a way to integrate Rahm back into the fold.

Matt Fitzpatrick

Could have been in the ‘locks’ category and will perhaps move up there in time but an undeniable loss of form over the past year, combined with a dismal Ryder Cup record, means there is a world where he misses out on the trip to New York. In reality, Europe don’t have the depth of talent to be omitting recent(ish) major winners but a return of the brilliant Matt Fitzpatrick who won the US Open in 2022 and the RBC Heritage and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2023 rather than the more workaday 2024 version would be a welcome tonic for Donald and co. He may need to recapture that world-class form to improve a harrowing 1-7 record in Ryder Cup matches.

Bob MacIntyre

A stunning year with breakthrough victories on the PGA Tour (Canadian Open) and a home championship (Scottish Open), Bob MacIntyre then partnered up with one of his heroes, Andy Murray, at the BMW Championships Pro-Am. Quite how significant his maiden Ryder Cup, under the tutelage of Justin Rose, was in this breakthrough is unclear, yet there is a swagger to the Scot and he is seemingly closer to that “lock” category than anybody else. Depending on Rose’s selection, Donald may need to find a new partner for what should be a European stalwart over the next decade, having take two-and-a-half points from three matches last year.

Tyrrell Hatton

Much like Rahm, Hatton would be all but a lock if not for the complications that come with him plying his trade in LIV Golf. Turned a middling Ryder Cup record around in Rome by going unbeaten with a superb 3.5 points from four matches, including forming an unbeatable foursomes pairing with fellow future LIV rebel Rahm. Has the fire and self-belief to thrive away from home in a Ryder Cup and his golfing quality is undeniable, as shown by the six DP World Tour titles and an Arnold Palmer Invitational triumph on the PGA Tour. Hopefully golf politics can’t stop him from being at Bethpage.

Shane Lowry

Another player likely to be close to that “lock” category, given his experience, with his form simmering a year out from the event. An impressive ninth at the Tour Championship was followed by three consecutive appearances on the DP World Tour, with finishes of 12th, 12th and 13th, show his game is in a good spot to close out the season. A 1-1-1 record last year, splitting matches alongside Sepp Straka, justified his captain’s pick, though his partner at Bethpage, given the uncertainty surrounding the Austrian’s involvement, could prove a fascinating decision for Donald.

In contention

Justin Rose

Selection for the 2023 Ryder Cup felt like a race against Father Time for Justin Rose, so will another two years prove a bridge too far? His experience, including from Europe’s most recent away victory in Medinah in 2012, would be invaluable and he produced big moments in Rome en route to notching 1.5 points but he’ll be 45 years old when the latest edition starts. 2024 saw him largely hold his own both in terms of world ranking and results – with a T-6 at the PGA Championship and a T-2 behind Xander Schauffele at The Open particular highlights. As long as his form gets him into the selection conversation next summer, Donald will surely prioritise him for a captain’s pick and a seventh Ryder Cup appearance.

Sepp Straka

A captain’s pick last year, the Austrian forged a close bond with Shane Lowry, splitting foursomes before dropping a nailbiter in singles with Justin Thomas to post a 1-2-0 debut at the Ryder Cup. Respectable. He’ll hope to rekindle that partnership at Bethpage, yet underwhelming performances in recent weeks leave him with work to do heading into next year to retain his place on the team.

Nicolai Hojgaard

Europe’s less-heralded Scandinavian rookie from 2023, Hojgaard picked up half a point from his three matches in Rome which he secured alongside Rahm against the power pairing of Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka in Friday’s fourballs. He showed flashes of his undoubted quality, as well as his youth, across the weekend and the experience will stand him in good stead for future Ryder Cup appearances. His DP World Tour performances earned him a PGA Tour card for 2024 and is still adapting to golf on the other side of the pond, despite promising early signs of a second-place finish at the Farmers Insurance Open and a T16 at his debut Masters, having briefly led on Saturday afternoon.

Aaron Rai

A top-20 player in the world in September 2024 was not something many in the sport outside of Team Rai anticipated. But remarkable consistency, culminating in a maiden victory on the PGA Tour at the Wyndham Championship, put the 29-year-old in a commanding position to seize a Ryder Cup debut next year. A T-23 at the Tour Championship, and making three cuts in the majors this year, including T-19 at Pinehurst in the US Open, show Rai is trending nicely. It’ll be tricky to dislodge one of the incumbents, but he is perhaps the favourite to force Donald’s hand and shake things up.

Rasmus Hojgaard

Nicolai’s twin brother Rasmus has thrust himself into the Ryder Cup reckoning by becoming a consistent winner on the DP World Tour. A scintillating victory at the Irish Open in September 2024, where he outduelled McIlroy with a Sunday 65 to win by a stroke, that quickly followed a third place at the British Masters showed how competitive he is in elite company. If he can make a mark at any of the 2025 majors, while continuing his impressive form in Europe, then he could be part of a double Hojgaard booking on the flight to Bethpage Black.

Matthieu Pavon

A breakthrough year, capitalising on a late dash in 2023 to secure a PGA Tour card, has seen Pavon win the Farmers Insurance Open and produce impressive finishes at the Masters (12th) and US Open (fifth). A polished series of performances gives him a shot at becoming the first French player in the Ryder Cup since Victor Dubuisson in 2014 and just the fourth player overall to appear, alongside Thomas Levet and Jean van de Velde.

Outsiders

Alex Noren

Ageing like a fine wine, T-13 at the Open and T-12 at the PGA Championship, Alex Noren has found something. The Swede can call on experience from the 2018 winning side, too, producing a 2-1-0 record, including a heavy, 5&4 win over Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, before returning in singles to beat the latter. Has his work cut out to get back in, but a big performance in a major would make Donald think hard.

Thomas Detry

The Belgian appears to be a player on the rise as he enters his 30s, climbing into the world’s top 50 in the summer of 2024 and becoming a consistent, if not spectacular, performer on the PGA Tour. Missed just two cuts from March through to September 2024 on the PGA Tour, sprinkling in regular top-30 finishes as well as a T-2 at the Houston Open, T-4 at the PGA Championship, T-14 at the US Open and T-9 at the Olympics. To genuinely mark himself out as a Ryder Cup contender, he needs to win a first solo professional tournament since a 2016 Challenge Tour triumph and start consistently popping up in the top 10 of PGA Tour events.

Matteo Manassero

Burst on to the scene with a T-13 as a 16-year-old at The Open in 2009 before becoming the youngest player in history to make the cut at the Masters the following April and was a four-time winner on the DP World Tour by the age of 20 including a flagship event – the BMW PGA Championship. Narrowly missed out on a couple of Ryder Cup teams during that time and then spent a decade in the golfing wilderness as he lost complete confidence in his game. Happily, Manassero slowly found some form, earned his way back on to the DP World Tour for 2024 and then won his first top-level tournament for 11 years at the Jonsson Workwear Open in March. Eight further top-15 finishes in the next six months signalled a newfound consistency, with his run of T-6 at the British Masters, T-3 at the Irish Open and T-4 at the BMW PGA Championship proving he can compete with elite fields. If selected for his first Ryder Cup at Bethpage, it would be a brilliant story and complete a remarkable comeback.

Niklas Norgaard

You’ve all seen the video, right? Niklas Norgaard cranked up his driver and delivered a bomb that clocked 191mph ball speed at Wentworth during the BMW PGA Championship. If Donald fancies a bit more firepower in the States, where Bethpage may suit the longer hitters, Norgaard makes for an interesting option. A winner at the British Masters, Norgaard will need to show layers to his game in the next six months to properly move into contention. Yet his length off the tee, averaging 322.99 yards off the tee, ranking him third on the DP World Tour, could make him an attractive fourball option for Donald.

Matt Wallace

Matt Wallace has started to recapture the form that saw him go on a blazing hot streak back in 2018 to claim three European Tour titles and a top-20 finish at the US PGA Championship in a six-month period, before a T-3 at the following year’s PGA – which coincidentally was held at Bethpage Black. He was as high as 23 in the world at one point and he has started the qualification period for the 2025 Ryder Cup like a freight train. A top-10 at the British Masters, a brilliant European Masters victory to seal a first DP World Tour title for six years and a creditable T-12 at the star-studded BMW PGA Championship made up an impressive September 2024 for the 34-year-old Englishman. Proved he can find success on North American soil by winning a PGA Tour event – the Corales Puntacana Championship – in the Dominican Republic in 2023.

Predicted European team for the 2025 Ryder Cup

1. Rory McIlroy

2. Viktor Hovand

3. Ludvig Aberg

4. Tommy Fleetwood

5. Matt Fitzpatrick

6. Bob MacIntyre

7. Jon Rahm

8. Tyrrell Hatton

9. Shane Lowry

10. Aaron Rai

11. Justin Rose

12. Nicolai Hojgaard

This would only be one change from the side that vanquished the United States in Rome, with Aaron Rai in for Sepp Straka, and relies on the LIV Golf situation not stopping the selections of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton but plenty can change over the next 11 months.