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Like many of you, I have been intrigued by what’s happening in Napa this week at the whatever-the-event-is-called tournament that’s being played to start the fall portion of the 2025 PGA Tour schedule.
Ten of the 12 U.S. Ryder Cuppers are playing with only Xander (new baby) and Bryson (Crushers) not teeing it up. Bryson, though, is still in attendance.
I was texting with some folks out there earlier in the week and reading a bit about what’s going down, and I have a few thoughts.
1. I would say almost all of it is encouraging, and specifically this quote from vice captain Gary Woodland, which Brody Miller got in his terrific piece for The Athletic.
“We all know each other, yeah, but we’re trying to get beyond golf,” Woodland said. “We’re trying to get these guys to understand, trust each other a little bit, build their relationships, because when stuff hits the fan, you want to trust the guy next to you.”
Gary Woodland | The Athletic
Yes! I feel like we have been screaming this from the rooftops, and it’s nice to see it implemented in seemingly real and meaningful ways outside of the week of the actual event.
2. However! I’m still a little concerned about some of the ways this crystallizes on the U.S. side. Bryson was interviewed at Cypress Point last week at an event he wasn’t playing — normal stuff — and he used the phrases “bringing your ego” and “be who you know you are.”
This could not possibly be more opposite from the Euros, who, as Rahm noted in 2023 in Rome, try desperately to forget all of those things.
“We make it a point to forget about who we were for the sake of the team. It’s the ability to walk through those doors and forget about who you are outside of this week. What you have done or what you may do afterwards really, truly doesn’t matter.”
Jon Rahm | 2023 Ryder Cup
Choose your fighter: Ego vs. Humility.
I know which one I prefer, but I also admit that Bryson’s mantra might work at home for a U.S. side that does at least seem more intent on building trust with one another (see above). I don’t love it — truly, I don’t — but I accept it as the way things are probably always going to be on the U.S. side of things.
3. I was thinking back to the last two Ryder Cups in the U.S. and wondering if the U.S. team did anything similar with 10 of 12 players playing the same event two weeks before the Ryder Cup.
In 2016, the Ryder Cup was the week after the Tour Championship — which was wild and led to Rory, rolling in off a $11M week at East Lake, trying to singlehandedly carry an extremely overmatched Euro side to victory.
In 2021, the doubly long COVID season leaked into September as well, and the only event between the Tour Championship and the Ryder Cup (also Napa) was not played by members of the U.S. side.
So if it has happened, it hasn’t happened since at least 2012.
4. Lastly, pairings. Fool’s errands and such, but the following hints are interesting.
Practice round groups
In-tournament groups
TIHs (Things I’m Hearing)
Napa practice round groups first.
Group 1: Scheffler-Spaun-Henley
Group 2: Morikawa-English
Group 3: JT-Cam-Burns-Cantlay
Group 4: Griffin
Napa actual tournament pairings.
Group 1: Scheffler-Spaun-Henley
Group 2: Morikawa-English-Webb
Group 3: Burns-Cantlay-Woodland
Group 4: JT-Cam-Griffin
I would categorize the partnerships as follows.
Will Happen
Scheffler-Henley
Will Probably Happen
Cantlay-Burns
Morikawa-English
JT-Cam
Cantlay-Xander
Unsure but Maybe
Griffin-Bryson
No Clue
Xander-Spaun?!
It seems as if Scheffler-Burns is being broken up because Scheffler-Henley was so nasty at the Presidents Cup and that Burns and Cantlay might be together, which I like. It’s difficult to imagine Cantlay and Xander not playing together at all, and I’m sure they’ll be a pairing at some point.
Spaun, Griffin and Bryson are wild cards to me. There is some talk around Bryson and Griffin being together, which actually makes some emotional sense — they would be insane as a duo. Then JT-Cam seems a little odd but could be amazing when Cam is teeing off and JT is hitting approach shots.
I also like Morikawa and English together. Flush flush flush flush.
All of this is in flux, as always, but that’s my first run at some of these pairings going into Bethpage in two weeks.
Like many of you, I have been intrigued by what’s happening in Napa this week at the whatever-the-event-is-called tournament that’s being played to start the fall portion of the 2025 PGA Tour schedule.
Ten of the 12 U.S. Ryder Cuppers are playing with only Xander (new baby) and Bryson (Crushers) not teeing it up. Bryson, though, is still in attendance.
I was texting with some folks out there earlier in the week and reading a bit about what’s going down, and I have a few thoughts.
1. I would say almost all of it is encouraging, and specifically this quote from vice captain Gary Woodland, which Brody Miller got in his terrific piece for The Athletic.
“We all know each other, yeah, but we’re trying to get beyond golf,” Woodland said. “We’re trying to get these guys to understand, trust each other a little bit, build their relationships, because when stuff hits the fan, you want to trust the guy next to you.”
Gary Woodland | The Athletic
Yes! I feel like we have been screaming this from the rooftops, and it’s nice to see it implemented in seemingly real and meaningful ways outside of the week of the actual event.
2. However! I’m still a little concerned about some of the ways this crystallizes on the U.S. side. Bryson was interviewed at Cypress Point last week at an event he wasn’t playing — normal stuff — and he used the phrases “bringing your ego” and “be who you know you are.”
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