“It felt like a lifetime,” exclaimed Ludvig Aberg after finishing with four birdies and six holes at the 2025 Genesis Invitational. Another Euro star just took the win, and now everyone’s talking, and questioning. When will Tiger Woods return to the course after his appearance at Torrey Pines? Will Scottie Scheffler find his route back to winning ways? Can Team USA win, or is Rory McIlroy gonna take the 2025 Ryder Cup?

The last question seems to grow larger with every passing event at the 2025 PGA Tour. Of the last 5 winners at the PGA Tour, only Harris English, who won the Farmers Insurance Open, was American. The other 4 have been European. Sepp Straka at the American Express Open, Rory McIlroy at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Thomas Detry at the WM Phoenix Open, and now, Ludvig Aberg at the Genesis Invitational. Ryder Cup’s in New York in just over seven months—should Keegan Bradley and Team USA be stressing?

Will Rory McIlroy and Co. mount a successful Ryder Cup defense?

Keegan Bradley has every right to be concerned. But whatever we are seeing is not the whole story. And 2018 John Deere Classic winner Michael S Kim seems to understand it.  To a tweet by golf journalist Kyle Porter, in which he put forth the momentum Europeans are carrying on the 2025 PGA Tour, Kim had a short but thought-provoking reply. The PGA Tour pro stated, “Peaking too soon,” indicating that there is still time left for the Bethpage event to commence.

But would that time be enough? Team USA is not near its full strength. Xander Schauffele has not featured in a single event since the season opener which was The Sentry. The World No.2 has been battling a soft-tissue rib injury which he incurred late last year. Then, Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth are returning from considerable time away from the course due to mishaps.

Scheffler was particularly candid regarding his feel for the game after nearly one month away. “I think I feel pretty bad about where I’m at, ” He expressed his thoughts on where his game currently is after the Genesis Invitational. This is scary for any opponent. Finishing T4 even with a rough 3-over on Day 3? That’s awesome. If he and Spieth find their rhythm, they’re gonna be a nightmare to face.

The second reason why Keegan Bradley does not need to lose sleep over the improved performance of European players is that the 2025 Ryder Cup is taking place in the United States. The last two editions at home, in 2021 and 2016, were thumping victories for the Americans, beating Team Europe 19-9 and 17-11 respectively. The Bethpage Black Course in New York is likely to be more of the same.

The form before the 2023 Ryder Cup was also pretty surprising. American golfers won 6 of the 8 events before the 44th Ryder Cup, with the only European winner being Norwegian Viktor Hovland. If momentum was to be considered, Team USA should have beaten Team Europe easily in Lazio, but that was not what happened.

Most importantly, even at the recently concluded Genesis Invitational, most of the top 10 places were occupied by Americans. Outside of Ludvig Aberg who won the competition, the only other two non-Americans were the Brit Tommy Fleetwood (T5) and Canadian Nick Taylor (T9). This also gives new captain Keegan Bradley the interesting but problematic question of who to select.

Selection headache for Keegan Bradley

The announcement of Keegan Bradley’s new captaincy had sent McIlroy and Co. in ‘disbelief.’ The first six Ryder Cup spots are locked in by the Official World Golf Rankings, but the leader’s pick? Well, that’s going to be a tricky one. A lot of strong choices are coming up and he will need to choose carefully. Bradley himself was the controversial omission at the last Ryder Cup after captain Zach Johnson went with Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas.

The key question is whether to consider form or experience. Based on current rankings, the locks are Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa, Maverick McNealy and Patrick Cantlay. The next six, who may or may not be selected but are deserving, are Tony Finau, Russell Henley, Brian Harman,  Billy Horschel, Harris English, and Justin Thomas. Based on the current top 12, the likes of Wyndham Clark, Sahith Theegala, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Lucas Glover, and Max Homa all miss out. Keegan Bradley needs to find a justifiable balance between form and experience if he is to get the winning combination.

With just 7 more months for the flagship event, both Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley will be looking to fine-tune their squads and make tough but calculated decisions. Who do you have winning the Ryder Cup this year?