Europe’s 2025 Ryder Cup Team is locked, loaded, and marching into the lion’s den of Bethpage Black with a mix of hardened veterans, rising stars, and just enough Scandinavian steel to make a Viking blush.

Captain Luke Donald has rolled the dice—or perhaps just stacked the deck—by adding Ludvig Åberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka as his six Captain’s Picks.

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They join the automatic qualifiers—Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Rasmus Højgaard, Robert MacIntyre, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose—for the September 26–28 showdown against the United States in Farmingdale, New York.

A Familiar Cast With Fresh Firepower

This isn’t a team being built from scratch; it’s more like tightening the bolts on a machine that already dismantled the Americans in Rome two years ago.

Eleven of the twelve players from that 16½–11½ victory return for another crack at golf’s most combustible contest, with only Denmark’s 24-year-old rookie Rasmus Højgaard breaking new ground.

Donald knows the value of continuity but insists he’s not recycling last time’s playbook. “Although the team itself is similar to Rome, I have approached this captaincy from a very different angle. A different challenge requires different thinking and strategies,” he said.

And challenge is the polite word. Bethpage Black isn’t so much a golf course as it is a blunt instrument wielded by Long Island fans who’ll happily eat Europeans for breakfast if given the chance.

The Picks That Matter

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Åberg and Straka, both rookies in Rome, now get their first taste of Ryder Cup golf on foreign soil. Åberg, the 25-year-old Swede with the swing smoother than Sinatra’s voice, made headlines when he and Hovland demolished their opponents in a record-breaking foursomes match last time out. Straka, Austria’s finest golfing export, has a chance to prove his 2023 debut was no one-hit wonder.

Hovland himself, now a veteran of three straight Cups, brings the same icy Norwegian composure that makes him look as though he’s reading Ikea instructions while standing over a putt.

Lowry, Ireland’s ever-reliable giant-killer, will make his third appearance, while Fitzpatrick and Rahm bring serious scars and seasoning. Fitzpatrick, 31, is desperate to finally bag a full Ryder Cup point on American soil, while Rahm, now on his fourth consecutive Cup run, is Europe’s battering ram—equal parts fire and fury.

Donald summed it up with the sort of calm confidence you’d expect from a man holding an ace up each sleeve:

“I am delighted to welcome Ludvig, Matt, Viktor, Shane, Jon and Sepp to Team Europe, alongside our six automatic qualifiers.

“We are a settled and united team with a strong culture, with 11 of the 12 players from the victory in Rome returning, and an exciting, talented rookie in Rasmus Højgaard, who was around our team environment in Rome.

“We also have a lot of experience and that is going to be important going to Bethpage because we know the challenge that awaits us.

“I’m excited that we now have our 12 players in place, and together we are all fully focused on trying to retain the Ryder Cup in New York and trying to create history.”