The 2025 golf season is now in full swing with events now having been played across all three major men’s tours. With March quickly accelerating into view, the first major is now a little under two months away and focus is already beginning to turn to the Ryder Cup that will be played in September.
Set to be played at one of the hardest golf courses in the world, the atmosphere is set to be electric as the Americans attempt to win back the cup they lost in Rome.
Some players who will play in the biennial showcase have already got their seasons off to a bang. Rory McIlroy captured the AT&T Championship, Sepp Straka and Ludvig Aberg are also members of the victorious 2023 team who have already tasted PGA Tour success this year..
Over on the LIV Tour, Tyrell Hatton has been a winner in Europe whilst Jon Rahm posted yet another top three finish at LIV’s opening event of the season.
However whilst some have flourished, there are others who have found 2025 to be tricky. Carrying high hopes of making their respective teams for the September showdown, these players will hope to quickly remind their Captains of the qualities they possess.
Viktor Hovland
Rewind the clock back eighteen months ago to Europe’s jubilant celebrations over the Americans at the 2023 Ryder Cup and a huge factor behind those celebrations was Viktor Hovland.
Hovland had just climbed to third in the world rankings and just been crowned the FedEx Champion for the first time. With the golfing world at his feet, many rightly would have believed that the big hitting Norwegian would be a lock for the Ryder Cup for the next decade, but those aspirations may well end up being false.
Despite being one of the form men in the game, Hovland decided to change his swing and it’s fair to say that the results have so far been disastrous.
Barely qualifying for the 2024 season ending Tour Championship, Hovland had to really grind last season and his 2025 has started in a similar fashion with him missing the cut in two of the four tournaments he has played this season and Hovland’s tough run doesn’t look like changing anytime soon.
When on his game there are no doubts that he will be a certainty for selection, but if European Captain Luke Donald had to pick his team tomorrow he would have to make a real call as to whether he thought Hovland could get the job done.
On his day Hovland can win the best tournaments and beat the very best players in the game. The 2025 Ryder Cup without Hovland was unimaginable back in 2023, unless he can find his form quickly, that reality could well end up being true.
Robert MacIntyre
Bob MacIntyre had a superb experience at the Ryder Cup back in 2023. Picking up 2.5 points and going through the week unbeaten, many believed that the Scot could be the European’s weakest link but he proved to be anything but.
Having then gained his PGA Tour card for 2024, MacIntyre would end his 2024 campaign having qualified for the year ending Tour Championship and with two PGA Tour titles.
Able to rise in the world rankings to become one of the best players in the world, there would be nobody underestimating the Scot if he were to make the 2025 team, but after a slow start to his season, he has a bit of a battle on his hands to ensure he will be there in New York.
A non factor in the majority of tournaments he has played so far this season, he was able to finish sixth at the Phoenix Open but he will want many more.
Missing the cut at the Genesis Invitational would have hurt and he will hope to bounce back by the time the Arnold Palmer rolls around.
Xander Schauffele
It seems a little absurd to include Xander Schauffele in this list but the world number two and two time major winner has yet to appear in 2025 and there will be hopes from US Captain Keegan Bradley that one of his star men is able to find his feet quickly.
Having missed every event of 2025 so far with a nagging rib injury, Schauffele has announced that he will make his comeback at the Arnold Palmer.
American’s dominated all four majors in 2024 but so far American players have been usurped by their European counterparts when it comes to PGA Tour success and Bradley will hope that Schauffele will be able to help turn the tide.
For years Schauffele claimed the unwanted title of being the best player not to have won a major, but since winning the PGA Championship he now looks like a player who could win every time he tees it up.
With the pressure on the American’s at the 2024 Presidents Cup, Schauffele was coolness personified as he helped guide his team to yet another victory. Seemingly perfectly happy to lead his team from the front, Bradley and all of America will hope he can put down some serious markers ahead of the Ryder Cup starting in six months time.
Max Homa
The 2023 Ryder Cup was a chastening experience for the majority of the American players but the one player who emerged with real credit was Max Homa.
Competing in his first Ryder Cup, Homa exited the tournament as America’s top scorer and despite a rocky 2024 his exploits in 2023 allowed him to take a place at the 2024 Presidents Cup.
Whilst he is loved by fans and his fellow players, reputations won’t be enough to secure a precious place on the American Ryder Cup squad and if Homa is to play in his second Ryder Cup he needs to pick up his game quickly.
Having missed out on the 2024 Tour Championship, he would have hoped to get his 2025 off to a much better start but he has missed the cut in his last two tournaments and has fallen all the way to 61 in the world.
Whilst you can never write off a player with Homa’s ability he is going to have to find his best game quickly as it’s likely that currently he is outside of Bradley’s thinking. Only he can change that and he will hope the PGA Tour’s famed Florida swing will see him return to form.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
