Trailing at the Ryder Cup, America
stays (mostly) the same for Day 2, Europe doesn't change a thing
[September 27, 2025]
By EDDIE PELLS
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Even though he's in a hole at the Ryder
Cup, American captain Keegan Bradley is sticking with the same
lineup, with only one tweak. And European captain Luke Donald isn't
changing a thing.
The Americans will play seven of the same eight players for
Saturday's opening alternate-shot matches as played in the morning
on Day 1, when they walked off the course with a 3-1 deficit. The
Europeans will run it back with all four of their teams.
Bradley is calling on Bryson DeChambeau to open the action, same as
he did Friday, but will pair him with Cameron Young instead of
Justin Thomas — the only substitution from opening day.
The Americans closed the first day trailing 5 1/2-2 1/2. No team has
overcome that big a first-day deficit since the U.S. erased a 6-2
gap in 1999.
“He hit a lot of incredible shots,” Bradley said of DeChambeau, who
lost both his matches Friday. “Ultimately, we needed to make more
putts. I think everyone on our team would say that.”
Besides subbing in Young for Thomas, the only other changes for
either team is the order the teams go out.
The lineup:
1. DeChambeau and Young vs. Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Åberg.
2. Harris English and Collin Morikawa vs. Rory McIlroy and Tommy
Fleetwood ("Fleetwood Mac").
3. Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay vs. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell
Hatton.
4. Russell Henley and Scottie Scheffler vs. Robert MacIntyre and
Viktor Hovland.
In the tournament's opening match, Bradley hoped to turbocharge the
start by putting DeChambeau out first and having him crank his
driver to try to hit the green on the downhill par-4 that was
playing at 406 yards. DeChambeau missed the green, but ended up
making birdie to win the hole. It was the only hole he and Thomas
won the entire match in a 4-and-3 loss to Rahm and Hatton.
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United States' Scottie Scheffler and Europe's Jon Rahm walk on the
13th hole at Bethpage Black golf course during the Ryder Cup golf
tournament, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, in Farmingdale, N.Y. (AP
Photo/Matt Slocum)
Young was among the best players for America on Day
1 (a short list that also included Cantlay). Playing in front of a
home crowd, Young made five birdies in America's only afternoon win,
pairing with Thomas for a 6-and-5 victory over Åberg and Hovland.
Rahm won both his matches from the lead-off spot Friday. For Day 2,
he'll go out third.
“I think Jon is looking to always just help in any way he can to
contribute to the team,” Donald said.
Bradley had the world's No. 1 player in Scheffler, but the reigning
British and PGA champion never got on track. He was the first No. 1
since Tiger Woods to go 0-2 on the first day since 2002. Neither of
his matches made it past the 17th hole.
“When you’re the No. 1 player in the world, you have a day that
maybe it wasn’t his best, normally you bounce back,” Bradley said.
“We are not worried about Scottie Scheffler.”
Maybe the biggest head-scratcher, especially among the number
junkies, was Bradley's pairing of English and Morikawa, who were
5-and-4 losers to McIlroy and Fleetwood and are involved in Saturday
morning's only rematch.
The website datagolf.com ran projections for all 132 possible
two-man pairings for foursomes and calculated English and Morikawa
at No. 132. Asked about this after Saturday's matchups came out,
Bradley said he had confidence in the pair.
“We're sticking to our plan,” he said. “We’re not going to panic and
make those sort of mistakes. We’re going to stick to what we know.”
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