Why all 24 players at Ryder Cup can lead the event in points (kind of)

We are just days away from one of the most anticipated Ryder Cups in the event’s history.

Europe enters having won 10 of the past 14, dating back to 1995, but it’s the Americans entering as -155 favourites on FanDuel.

The last time we saw these two teams, it was Europe holding serve on home soil with a statement 16.5-11.5 victory.

But Team USA has won the past two Ryder Cups at home by a combined margin of 16 points and has the best player in the world on its roster, so it’s not surprising to see them as favourites.

Using the odds at FanDuel in the top point scorer market, I have grouped all 24 players into tiers and have added one thought for every golfer.

So here is one reason why every player will and won’t lead this event in points.

Tier 1 - The Next Tiger Woods

Scottie Scheffler +500

In a tier of his own is the current best player in the world. Scheffler is the only player priced shorter than 8-1 in this market and for good reason.

Why: The 29-year-old added two major championships to his resume this year, bringing his total to four for his career. The last time a Ryder Cup was held in America, Scheffler snuck on this team as the 12th man, despite not having a PGA Tour win to his name. That week he went 2-0-1 and beat then-World No. 1 Jon Rahm on Sunday and seemingly never looked back. Scheffler has been on a Tiger Woods-like run since that event; his 16 wins since September 2023 are eight more than any other player in this event.

Why not: If Scottie really is the next Tiger Woods, perhaps that’s a sign to stay away. Woods’s Ryder Cup record is one of the lone blemishes on his historic career, going 13-21-3 in his matches. Scheffler struggled in 2023, going 0-2-2 and was a part of a historic 9-and-7 defeat at the hands of Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland. Between the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, this will be Scheffler’s fifth time suiting up for Team USA as he looks to earn more than three points for the first time in his career.

Tier 2 - Europe Has a Path

We have two leaders of Team Europe at 9-1 to lead the event in points, so I have lumped them into a tier of their own. If Europe is going to win as an underdog, it’ll likely be on the backs of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm.

Why Rory: It’s been a historic 2025 for McIlroy, winning the Masters and solidifying his legacy as one of the best golfers of all time. He enters this event on the heels of winning the Irish Open, and a strong Ryder Cup on American soil would be a pretty fitting ending to his year.

Why Rahm: His 6-3-3 record in the event speaks for itself, and after three top-15 finishes at the majors this season, it might be time for LIV Golf’s individual champion to remind everyone he’s still a top-five player in the world.

Why not Rory: Similar to Scheffler, if the Americans target Rory as a player to slow down, he will have to work really hard in every match to earn points.

Why Not Rahm: Despite winning LIV Golf’s season-long points race, Rahm hasn’t won an event since LIV Chicago in 2024. Can he close matches late?

Five Americans and one European walk into a bar…

Expectations for Scheffler can’t be higher, but if Team USA is going to make noise in this event, FanDuel’s odds indicate it’ll likely be one of these five Americans to join Scottie at the front of the group.

Also, Tommy Fleetwood is the only European priced longer than 9-1 but shorter than 20-1, so he’s snuck into this tier.

Why Bryson: DeChambeau was just one of two players (Scheffler) with three top-10s in the majors this season.

Why not Bryson: This is his third Ryder Cup, yet he’s still looking for his first point in foursomes. If he can’t put points on the board in two of the five sessions, his path to leading the team gets wonky.

Why Henley: I wrote about Henley and his partnership with Scheffler earlier this week.

Why not Henley: Since 2002, only one rookie (Thomas Pieters in 2016) has led the Ryder Cup in points.

Why Schauffele: He’s one of the best golfers in the event, he has a comfortable partner with Patrick Cantlay, and a history of success in team golf events.

Why not Schauffele: 2025 has been a down year for Schauffele; the American failed to finish inside the top five in an event this season for the first time in his career. He also hasn’t played a competitive round of golf since the Tour Championship in August.

Why Cantlay: He’s one of the best golfers in this event, he has a familiar partner in Schauffele and a history of success in team golf events.

Why not Cantlay: 2025 has also been a down year for Cantlay; he (alongside Xander) is just one of three Americans on the team without a win this season.

Why Fleetwood: Something about this event brings out the best of Tommy lad. Add that to the fact he’s coming in filled with confidence after breaking his PGA Tour winless drought, and a potential partnership with McIlroy, and you have the fixings for a big week.

Why not Fleetwood: Tommy is 7-2-0 at home in the Ryder Cup but went 0-1-2 in his lone away game four years ago.

Why Young: I also wrote about Young earlier this week. If you had to build a golfer in a lab for this event, Young would be a pretty close image to what it spits out.

Why not Young: See Henley.

Vibes, Vibes, Vibes

This collection of golfers all have similar odds to be the top point scorer in this event, and I believe they all have a path. But the vibes must be right for this group of six as the ceilings are high, but the floors could be lower than you think.

Why Hovland: This is Hovland’s third Ryder Cup, and Friday morning he’ll likely tee it up in his 11th session of his career. Hovland has played every session in the first two Ryder Cups with a record of 3-4-3.

Why not Hovland: The last time this event was played, Hovland was arguably the best player in the world. He also was leaned on five times in 2021 due to a lack of talent on the roster. With a deeper European team this time around, it’s possible Hovland sees his workload reduced for the first time.

Why Aberg: Already teeing it up for the second time in this event, Aberg might be one of Europe’s foursomes specialists, going 2-0-0 in both sessions in 2023. The 25-year-old has played in just eight majors and already has two top-10s and four top-25s, so he’s proven to be a big-stage performer.

Why not Aberg: After sporting an incredibly high floor to start his career, Aberg has shown more variance in 2025. Will the good version of Aberg show up? Or will he have a case of the lefts off the tee? Time will tell.

Why Hatton: A comfortable partnership with Rahm makes Hatton an intriguing option this week.

Why not Hatton: In three Ryder Cups, Hatton has earned six points, with three-and-a-half of them coming in 2023. His 1-2-0 record in singles also makes it hard to see him separate from Rahm if they are equal in points heading into Sunday.

Why Morikawa: Collin Morikawa’s game was seemingly built for alternate shot. He’s not the longest hitter on the team, but he is accurate, has world-class irons and has putted better this season than previous years. If Team USA wins this week, Morikawa could be a big reason why.

Why not Morikawa: This is Morikawa’s third Ryder Cup as he seeks his first win in Sunday singles. The 28-year-old also enters this week with very poor form, having just one top-10 finish since March.

Why Thomas: A Ryder Cup legend in the making, Thomas enters the week 3-0-0 in Sunday singles matches and could wake up paired with DeChambeau Friday morning in the opening session. If they put a point on the board in the opening session, JT and Bryson could be a duo that leads USA to the promised land.

Why not Thomas: Are we sure a partnership with Bryson is the best fit? Will Thomas play at least four sessions? These are a few things we’ll find out as the week unfolds.

I don’t know what to expect, but I have a vision

These next two golfers are in a tier of their own due to some unknowns.

Why Straka: In 2023, Straka played both foursomes sessions for Team Europe, going 1-1-0. If captain Luke Donald sticks with Straka in the opening foursomes session, the Austrian could have an opportunity to play his way into a fourball session that afternoon. Only Scheffler and McIlroy had more wins than Straka in this field this season. He could be Europe’s ultimate sleeper.

Why not Straka: Eleven of the 12 Team Europe players teed it up on the DP World Tour two weeks ago in prep for the Ryder Cup. Meanwhile, Straka was at home celebrating the birth of his second child. The last we saw Straka, he was finishing 30th at the Tour Championship in August.

Why Spaun: There are three players who won a major in 2025 in this event: Scheffler, McIlroy and J.J. Spaun. When Spaun’s game is on point, he is a dream to play alternate shot with as he is very accurate off the tee and finds a way to make big putts when needed. Two years ago, when Brian Harman played his way onto a Ryder Cup team by winning a major, he went on to play four times, finishing second on the team in points.

Why not Spaun: Is he going to play more than three times? I have no idea how much he’ll play, he feels like a true wild card.

I just don’t see a path

This group of six golfers all have shorter (or equal) odds to the two players above, but I just don’t see a path to any of these guys playing enough matches to earn enough points to lead the event.

But I’ll still provide a “why” for each guy in case I happen to be wrong for the first time ever.

Why Burns: He drives it well and led the PGA Tour in strokes gained: putting this season. His connection to Scheffler can’t be ignored either. He also won the match play event in 2023 and finished second on the team in points at the 2024 Presidents Cup. Okay hand up. I’m starting to see a path for Burns.

Why Lowry: Lowry brings great energy and vibes to an away side that’ll need a boost with the crowd against them. He is accurate off the tee and was one of the best putters on the PGA Tour this season.

Why Fitzpatrick: Fitzpatrick has seven top-10s in his past 10 events, so he enters with good form. The 31-year-old should have extra motivation this week, looking to improve on his 1-7-0 record in the event.

Why MacIntyre: We’ve seen Bob show up in national opens, winning his own and Canada’s last year. He enters his second Ryder Cup with a 2-0-1 record and could be a sparkplug if the team needs it.

Why Rose: This will be Rose’s seventh Ryder Cup; he has played in all three formats in the prior six. If he gets enough run, perhaps this could be Europe’s ultimate Cinderella story.

Why English: Captain Keegan Bradley was vocal about wanting experience and winners on this team, so with this being English’s second Ryder Cup team and with him winning this year, maybe he plays a larger role on the team than expected.

Rasmus Hojgaard

Rasmus Hojgaard +8000

In a tier of his own is Rasmus Hojgaard. The 24-year-old has no path to leading this event in points, and he might only play two times. Hojgaard likely wouldn’t have made the team if he didn’t snag the last automatic spot in points, and I assume his workloadwill reflect that. He can still play a big part of the team, and any point or half-point he can steal in his two matches will be huge. But if Rasmus leads this event in points, something beyond my imagination has happened.