FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — No. 1 in the world is 0-2 at this Ryder Cup, and Scottie Scheffler had the worst first day by a top-ranked player since Tiger Woods.
Scheffler lost again in foursomes — and as always in that format at the Ryder Cup, lost badly — in the morning with Russell Henley, then went back out with U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun for a loss in fourballs in the afternoon.
By himself, Scheffler is winning more often than anyone in golf. But his teams were behind nearly throughout both of his matches Friday, and with Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau, their two biggest stars, both going 0-2, the Americans trailed Europe 5 1/2 to 2 1/2 overall.
“When you’re the No. 1 player in the world, you have a day that maybe it wasn’t his best, normally you bounce back. We are not worried about Scottie Scheffler,” U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said.
Scheffler finally seemed to find his game late in the afternoon match, with three birdies in the final four holes of the match. But he didn’t have any until the 13th hole as Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka built a comfortable lead, and the European duo went on to a 3-and-2 victory.
“We gave ourselves plenty of opportunities,” Scheffler said. “It really just came down to me not holing enough putts. We put up a good fight at the end.”
He fell to 0-4-2 in his last six Ryder Cup matches, becoming the first No. 1 player in the world to go 0-2 on the opening day since Woods in 2002. Woods also did that in 1999; Ian Woosnam in 1991 is the only other top-ranked player to do it.
Scheffler and Henley were defeated 5 and 3 by Europe’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Åberg in the morning, Scheffler’s third blowout loss in three career foursome matches in the Ryder Cup.
Two years after being left in tears when Åberg and Viktor Hovland routed Scheffler and Brooks Koepka 9 and 7 in Rome in the shortest foursomes match in Ryder Cup history, Scheffler watched Fitzpatrick and Åberg make seven birdies in 15 holes.
Scheffler has trailed by at least four holes in all three of his Ryder Cup foursomes matches. He and Henley are paired again for Saturday morning’s final foursomes match against Hovland and Robert MacIntyre.
Scheffler’s afternoon match swung when he missed a good birdie chance on No. 8.
He and Spaun were 1 down and Scheffler hit his tee shot on the par 3 to about 8 feet. Rahm made his putt from about twice as long and Scheffler missed, turning the U.S. hopes of evening the match into a 2-up lead for Europe.
Rahm and Straka would never let the Americans back into it, making five birdies in the final six holes.
“The guys just really turned it on on the back nine, but it really came down to us not taking advantage of the holes early in the match that we needed to,” Scheffler said. “But overall it was a good fight at the end, and we’ll come back out tomorrow.”
Scheffler has won six times this year, four more than anyone else on the PGA Tour, with two major championships. He has played himself back into tournaments after slow starts before, and maybe his performance on the final few holes gives him some momentum going into Saturday.
Henley is No. 3 in the world, and he and Scheffler went 2-1 together last year in the Presidents Cup in Montreal.
Scheffler pumped his fist after rolling in a birdie putt on No. 2 to quickly tie the match after Fitzpatrick and Åberg had won the opener, but there wouldn’t be much more to celebrate for the Americans. The Europeans ran off three straight birdies to win Nos. 4-6 to build a 3-up lead that ballooned to 5 up, and won it when the U.S. made bogey on No. 15.
“They played great, gave themselves a lot of chances and just was a little sloppy,” Henley said. “Didn’t make the putts I needed to and didn’t really keep the momentum going with the ball-striking on the back nine, either. Hung in there as best I could, but they played great.”
Scheffler also lost 4 and 3 with Sam Burns against Rahm and Tyrell Hatton in his other foursomes match in 2023, when he went 0-2-2. He didn’t play in either match in his Ryder Cup debut in 2021, when he went 2-0-1.
Netflix has officially welcomed Luke Wilson (Legally Blonde, The Royal Tenenbaums) to the cast of its upcoming golf comedy series, which will be led by Elf star Will Ferrell. This marks the latest collaboration between Wilson and Ferrell, after previously starring together in comedy movies like 2003’s Old School, 2004’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and 2007’s Blades of Glory.
What do we know about Luke Wilson’s character in Will Ferrell’s Netflix show?
According to Variety, Wilson is set to portray a “pro golfer who has beaten Ferrell’s character for the tour championship twice before.” He will also be joining previously announced cast members Molly Shannon as Stacy, Chris Parnell as Anton, Katelyn Tarver as Natalie, David Hornsby as Radford, Jimmy Tatro as Lance, and Fortune Feimster as Sam.
The untitled comedy will take place in the world of professional golf. Ferrell will be playing a fictional golf legend. This marks the Saturday Night Live vet’s first major TV project in a long while, after 2021’s Apple TV+ miniseries The Shrink Next Door. He was most recently seen in Prime Video’s romantic comedy movie You’re Cordially Invited with Reese Witherspoon. Besides the golf series, Ferrell is also currently attached to star opposite Zac Efron in the comedy movie titled Judgement Day.
In addition to leading the cast, Ferrell will also be serving as an executive producer along with Jessica Elbaum and Alix Taylor for Gloria Sanchez Productions. The 10-episode show is also executive-produced by Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman, and Nena Rodrigue for T-Street, Chris Henchy, Harper Steele, David Gordon Green, and Andrew Guest.
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Rory McIlroy waited two years to play again with Tommy Fleetwood at a Ryder Cup. It took mere minutes for them to look like the perfect teammates again.
They weren’t the only ones. Jon Rahm hit a splendid shot out of the rough to bail out Tyrrell Hatton on the sixth hole. Hatton did the same for Rahm moments later, when a stick inches away from their ball threatened to derail the duo on the seventh.
While captain Luke Donald did not run it back with the exact lineup that won in Rome in 2023, he kept Europe’s two most reliable pairings together — and the result was a dominant start at Bethpage Black and a 3-1 lead over the U.S. following morning foursomes on Friday.
“We have a lot of great players and a lot of great partnerships,” Fleetwood said. “As a team, there’s a lot of continuity there.”
The “Fleetwood Mac” tandem rolled past Collin Morikawa and Harris English 5-and-4. Rahm and Hatton rallied from a rough first few holes to beat Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas 4-and-3.
Eliciting the sing-song “Ole! Ole! Ole!” chants from fans waiting at the 18th hole they didn’t come close to needing, Rahm’s and Hatton’s mutual admiration more than ran its course.
“This man is a joy to be partnered with,” Rahm said. “We spend a lot of time together and he can be very, very dependable when things get going difficult. I have full confidence every single time, and just glad we were able to get it done.”
DeChambeau and Thomas were 1 up through five when Hatton’s tee shot went left and into the rough. Rahm chipped his second shot to around three feet, and they halved the hole.
“Jon hit an amazing recovery shot,” Hatton said. “I don’t think anyone thought that we’d be putting second.”
They tied it on No. 7 after Hatton rescued them with his shot over the stick and through the trees to land it on the green. They went 1 up on No. 8 and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way.
“We didn’t have our best start during the first seven holes, (but) we battled, we stayed in it and from then on we started hitting good shots and getting really positive vibes,” Rahm said.
Returning 11 of the 12 players who won at Marco Simone two years ago, Donald split up Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Åberg , putting them with new partners. Åberg and Matt Fitzpatrick beat Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley, while Hovland and Robert MacIntyre lost to Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
By juggling things a bit, Donald may have found a new winning combination. Asked about beating Scheffler, the top-ranked golfer in the world, Aberg said: “I had a great partner. I think that speaks to it.”
Washington — President Trump is in New York to attend the first day of the 45th Ryder Cup, the prestigious golf tournament pitting the best players in the U.S. against the best in Europe.
The Ryder Cup got underway early Friday morning at Bethpage Black on Long Island, one of the most challenging courses on the pro golf circuit. The competition takes place every two years, alternating between a course in the U.S. and one in Europe.
Mr. Trump’s arrival at Bethpage in Farmingdale, New York, came as tight security was in place for the thousands of fans who packed the stands around the course. The president will return to the White House in the afternoon.
“I’m going to go for a little while to represent the United States at the Ryder Cup, which is very exciting, and we’ll be watching that,” Mr. Trump told reporters before leaving the White House. He was accompanied by his eldest granddaughter Kai Trump, a talented high school golfer in her own right.
He flew over the course on Air Force One before touching down in New York. The president lamented that Team USA “is not doing so well,” and joked that he had to travel to Bethpage to assist the American golfers.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s best player and the anchor of the American team, said this week that the president’s presence would give the U.S. team a boost.
“It’s been a tough few weeks for our country with some of the stuff that’s been going on, and to have our president here and for us to represent the United States of America, albeit being in a golf tournament, is extremely important for us,” Scheffler said, according to The Athletic.
Xander Schauffele tees off during the Friday morning foursomes matches of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, on Sept. 26, 2025.
Maddie Meyer/PGA of America/PGA of America via Getty Images
The Ryder Cup features two rounds of team matches on Friday and Saturday, before one-on-one matches on Sunday to close out the tournament. Mr. Trump touched down toward the end of the final match of the morning, before the afternoon groups tee off. The Americans entered this year’s tournament as favorites but quickly fell behind in early matches, dropping the first three foursome contests of the morningbut winning the fourth on the 18th hole.
An avid golfer himself and owner of several championship-level courses around the world, Mr. Trump has been highly engaged with the sport since returning to office. His course in Florida, Trump National Doral Miami, hosted a tournament for the LIV Golf tour in April, which he attended. And he has been involved in negotiations aimed at completing a merger between LIV and the PGA Tour, which remains unresolved. His courses are scheduled to host both LIV and PGA events next year.
The Europeans currently hold the Ryder Cup, having defeated the Americans handily in Rome in 2023. The home team has won the past four Ryder Cups, with the last Europe win on U.S. soil coming in 2012. The tournament is known for its raucous crowds, with thousands of spectators boosting the home squad and berating the visitors.
Stefan Becket is a managing editor of politics for CBSNews.com. Stefan has covered national politics for more than a decade and helps oversee a team covering the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court, immigration and federal law enforcement.
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Fans who filled the massive grandstands in darkness Friday morning at the Ryder Cup nearly two hours early got what they came to see: Bryson DeChambeau cranked his driver 344 yards just short of the green and the Americans won the opening hole.
And thus began perhaps the most anticipated Ryder Cup on U.S. soil, played at notoriously rowdy Bethpage Black on Long Island amid tighter security for the late morning arrival of President Donald Trump.
U.S. captain Keegan Bradley showed up 90 minutes before the opening shot, grabbed a microphone to address the crowd and said, “Let’s (expletive) go, boys!”
The chanting and singing so typical of the start at the Ryder Cup was flat and somewhat disconnected, one side of the grandstands starting one cheer while the other had something else going. And it was foul at times, particularly when Rory McIlroy was shown on the video board warming up on the range.
Even during regular play on this New York public course, the most common four-letter word in golf that starts with “F” is not fore.
The energetic vibes didn’t hold. Europe led three of the four matches as foursomes reached the turn, subduing the American fans, many of whom also faced delays entering prompted by enhanced security.
The Americans have won the last two times at home, although Europe has dominated by winning 10 of the last 14 times. Team Europe, which won comfortably in Rome two years ago, returns the same 12 faces — the one newcomer is Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark, whose identical twin Nicolai played last time.
DeChambeau has not played foursomes in the Ryder Cup since France in 2018 — he lost both his matches — but Bradley wanted to start this Ryder Cup off with a bang. He got that.
DeChambeau and Thomas emerged from the tunnel — every movement was shown on the video board — with an American flag draped on their backs as they walked shoulder-to-shoulder.
Jon Rahm, who is 4-0 in the foursomes format, hit driver to the right rough. DeChambeau turned to face the crowd, took two powerful practice swings and then launched it over the trees and short of the green, 45 yards from the back pin. Justin Thomas hit a pedestrian pitch to 15 feet and DeChambeau holed the putt for a 1-up lead.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player who did not win a match in Rome, followed. McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood — the successful “Fleetwood Mac” pairing from last time, were in the third match, with Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in the anchor match.
In a lot of ways, kids in America are safer than ever. But apparently, golf carts didn’t get the memo. New research this week finds that pediatric golf cart injuries are on the rise.
Researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia conducted the study, which analyzed golf cart injuries that sent children and young adults to the emergency room. They found that these injuries had increased in recent years, with almost half involving children under the age of 12. More needs to be done to beat back the golf cart menace, the researchers say.
“The growing trend of golf cart use in residential areas, alongside the increased frequency of children driving and riding these vehicles, correlates with a concerning rise in both the number and variety of childhood golf cart injuries,” said study author Theodore Ganley, director of the Sports Medicine and Performance Center at CHOP, in a statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The findings are being presented over the weekend at AAP’s national conference.
Why and how kids are getting hurt by golf carts
The researchers pored through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), a database of injuries treated at hospital emergency departments across the country. The data is intended to be nationally representative, so scientists often use it to gauge how many Americans are hurt by specific products or specific causes of injury.
They examined NEISS data between 2010 and 2023, focusing on golf cart-related injuries among children and young adults (aged 22 and younger). They counted 1,419 cases during that period—amounting to an estimated 53,855 such injuries nationwide during that period. On average, they estimated that around 3,800 golf cart injuries occurred annually, but they also found that these injuries had increased consistently during the past three years.
The average age of a golf cart victim was 11, and 90% of those hurt were boys. Roughly half of the injuries were caused by someone falling from the cart, while 36% involved a collision or cart overturning. Kids were most often hurt along the head, face, or neck, while half of all injuries were deemed superficial.
Notably, other research has suggested that the trend of rising golf cart injuries in general dates back to the early 2000s.
What to do
The authors say their findings highlight the “inadequacy of robust safety features and the deficits in standard regulations.” But, leaving aside the possibility of waging a massive public campaign to dissuade kids from golf, that should also mean there’s plenty that can be done to reduce these injuries.
Golf carts could be better designed to handle sharp corners, for instance, or to be less prone to tumbling over in general. Policy and lawmakers could also pass laws and regulations to encourage better safety.
Some places have already started to do the latter. Just this year, South Carolina implemented a law requiring children under 12 to wear a seat belt when inside these vehicles on public roads. In 2023, Florida also began to require that teens have a permit or license to drive a cart (previously, kids as young as 14 could drive without any license at all).
The researchers also say that people should be made more aware of the potential dangers of golf carts.
“Our findings highlight the urgent need for increased awareness and attention to these injuries among children and demonstrate the crucial role of education on safe golf cart operation,” Ganley said.
What are foursomes, who is playing, and why on earth is that rather inebriated spectator cosplaying as George Washington? The Ryder Cup can be a dizzying beast to wrap your head around if you’re not a seasoned golf enthusiast.In such headspinning circumstances, it’s helpful to start with the basics.Video above: Golf fans celebrate Ryder Cup victory in 2021So without further ado, here’s a drive through the format so you can get up to speed before tee off at New York’s Bethpage Black Golf Course on Friday.What is the Ryder Cup?Launched in 1927, the Ryder Cup is a biennial tournament that pits the best golfers from the United States and Europe against each other in a battle for bragging rights and a shiny gold trophy.That wasn’t always the setup: for the first 50 years, it was strictly Team USA versus Team Great Britain (renamed Great Britain & Ireland between 1973 and 1977). The problem was, it wasn’t much of a spectacle, with the U.S. winning all but four of the first 22 tournaments.To even the odds, the Great Britain and Ireland selection pool was expanded to include the wider continent from 1979. It worked: Team Europe have won 12 of the 22 tournaments held since, losing nine times and tying once (more on that shortly).Hosting privileges rotate each time, with Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, the arena for the 45th edition of the tournament after Rome’s Marco Simone Golf Club staged the 2023 contest.Winning away is no easy feat. Team USA’s defeat in Italy extended their winless run across the pond to a minimum of 34 years, while Team Europe have not tasted victory on American soil since a comeback for the ages in Illinois back in 2012.How do you win?Like most team sports, the side with the most points at the end wins. Sounds straightforward enough, but Ryder Cup scoring is a little more nuanced.While regular season events like The Masters run according to stroke play – whereby the player who navigates the course in the fewest number of ball hits triumphs – the Ryder Cup is a three-day match play competition.That means players are competing to “win” individual holes, rather than shoot the lowest overall score across the course. Win more holes than your opponent across an 18-hole match and you score a point for your team. If the match ends in a tie, each team receives half a point.With 28 total points up for grabs – eight apiece for foursomes and fourballs sessions across the first two days, and 12 for each Sunday singles matchup – the first team to nudge past the 14-point mark is crowned champion.In the rare event of an overall tie, the trophy is retained by the previous champion. Only twice in Ryder Cup history has this occurred, with the U.S. and Europe each retaining their crown in 1969 and 1989, respectively.What are foursomes?Friday and Saturday morning will be the time for foursomes, a format in which teams of two take alternate shots of the same ball until each hole is complete.For example, Scottie Scheffler could tee off, but his American playing partner would be the one playing from wherever the world No. 1’s drive landed. Teammates alternate hitting tee shots, so Scheffler’s partner would begin the next hole.Whichever pair finds the cup in the fewest strokes wins that hole, with the hole tied if both teams manage it in the same number of strokes. The winner of the most holes clinches the match and a point for the overall scoreboard, with a tied match rewarding each side with half a point.You may see results listed like “won 4&3,” which would – in that case – mean a pair was four holes up with three holes to play and, as a result, could not be caught.Scheffler and Brooks Koepka made unwanted history in Italy two years ago when they were obliterated 9&7 by Scandinavian duo Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, the largest margin of victory for any 18-hole match in Ryder Cup history.What are fourballs?The first two afternoons belong to the fourballs.Again, this is played in pairs and scored like foursomes, but this time players strictly hit their own ball as opposed to alternating shots: four balls are in play at the same time. The player with the lowest score wins that hole for his team.It is up to the home captain to decide which format will be played first, with new US lead Keegan Bradley opting to kick off proceedings with foursomes for the third successive tournament.Captains also have the critical power to choose which players to pair together, an intricate dance of team chemistry and opposition matchup that can make or break a Ryder Cup bid.European captain Luke Donald, retaining the armband after leading his side to triumph in Rome, has an advantage in that sense, with just one change to his champion roster: Rasmus Hojgaard in for his twin Nicolai.By contrast, only six players from that defeated Team USA lineup return: Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns and Justin Thomas.What are singles matches?Sunday is dedicated solely to the singles matches, 12 tense shootouts contested by one member of each team.Usual match play rules apply, with the player who scores lowest on each hole taking that hole in the race to secure crucial late points.Expect drama aplenty, with Sundays staging many of the greatest moments in Ryder Cup history, from The Battle of Brookline in 1999 to The Miracle of Medinah in 2012.It is worth noting that, in match play, players have the option to “concede” a hole. This almost exclusively happens around putts, typically very short ones, whereby a player can concede to his opponent and allow them to pick up the ball and win the hole.The most legendary such instance occurred in 1969, when Jack Nicklaus conceded a short putt to Tony Jacklin, confirming the first tie in Ryder Cup history. “The Concession” has since been heralded as a display of supreme sportsmanship, though US captain Sam Snead was not best pleased.”When it happened, all the boys thought it was ridiculous to give him that putt,” Snead would later remark. “We went over there to win, not to be good ol’ boys.”Who is playing?Six players qualify automatically for each team based on ranking points accumulated through seasonal performances, with wins at the four majors giving out the most points.The remaining six slots on either side are left to the captain’s picks, a big talking point in the run-up to every Ryder Cup.Team USACaptain: Keegan BradleyAutomatic qualifiers: Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, Bryson DeChambeauCaptain’s pick: Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay, Sam BurnsTeam EuropeCaptain: Luke DonaldAutomatic qualifiers: Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Robert MacIntyre (Scotland), Tommy Fleetwood (England), Justin Rose (England), Rasmus Hojgaard (Denmark), Tyrrell Hatton (England)Captain’s picks: Shane Lowry (Ireland), Jon Rahm (Spain), Sepp Straka (Austrian), Viktor Hovland (Norway), Ludvig Aberg (Sweden), Matt Fitzpatrick (England)What happened last time?Look away now, American readers.A spirited Sunday fightback proved too little too late as Team USA fell to a 16.5 – 11.5 defeat in Italy, the hosts tearing out of the blocks to avenge a record-breaking 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits in 2021.American captain Zach Johnson had faced criticism before a ball had even been struck at Marco Simone, with none of his six captain’s picks ultimately registering a winning record in Rome.Some Saturday evening drama did seem to spark an American response, with McIlroy having been incensed by the celebrations of US caddie Joe LaCava following a key putt for Cantlay.It led to an angry confrontation in the course parking lot and, although resolved over text, provides a juicy subplot heading into the next chapter of a storied rivalry this week.
CNN —
What are foursomes, who is playing, and why on earth is that rather inebriated spectator cosplaying as George Washington? The Ryder Cup can be a dizzying beast to wrap your head around if you’re not a seasoned golf enthusiast.
In such headspinning circumstances, it’s helpful to start with the basics.
Video above: Golf fans celebrate Ryder Cup victory in 2021
So without further ado, here’s a drive through the format so you can get up to speed before tee off at New York’s Bethpage Black Golf Course on Friday.
What is the Ryder Cup?
Launched in 1927, the Ryder Cup is a biennial tournament that pits the best golfers from the United States and Europe against each other in a battle for bragging rights and a shiny gold trophy.
That wasn’t always the setup: for the first 50 years, it was strictly Team USA versus Team Great Britain (renamed Great Britain & Ireland between 1973 and 1977). The problem was, it wasn’t much of a spectacle, with the U.S. winning all but four of the first 22 tournaments.
To even the odds, the Great Britain and Ireland selection pool was expanded to include the wider continent from 1979. It worked: Team Europe have won 12 of the 22 tournaments held since, losing nine times and tying once (more on that shortly).
Hosting privileges rotate each time, with Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, the arena for the 45th edition of the tournament after Rome’s Marco Simone Golf Club staged the 2023 contest.
Winning away is no easy feat. Team USA’s defeat in Italy extended their winless run across the pond to a minimum of 34 years, while Team Europe have not tasted victory on American soil since a comeback for the ages in Illinois back in 2012.
How do you win?
Like most team sports, the side with the most points at the end wins. Sounds straightforward enough, but Ryder Cup scoring is a little more nuanced.
While regular season events like The Masters run according to stroke play – whereby the player who navigates the course in the fewest number of ball hits triumphs – the Ryder Cup is a three-day match play competition.
That means players are competing to “win” individual holes, rather than shoot the lowest overall score across the course. Win more holes than your opponent across an 18-hole match and you score a point for your team. If the match ends in a tie, each team receives half a point.
With 28 total points up for grabs – eight apiece for foursomes and fourballs sessions across the first two days, and 12 for each Sunday singles matchup – the first team to nudge past the 14-point mark is crowned champion.
In the rare event of an overall tie, the trophy is retained by the previous champion. Only twice in Ryder Cup history has this occurred, with the U.S. and Europe each retaining their crown in 1969 and 1989, respectively.
What are foursomes?
Friday and Saturday morning will be the time for foursomes, a format in which teams of two take alternate shots of the same ball until each hole is complete.
For example, Scottie Scheffler could tee off, but his American playing partner would be the one playing from wherever the world No. 1’s drive landed. Teammates alternate hitting tee shots, so Scheffler’s partner would begin the next hole.
Whichever pair finds the cup in the fewest strokes wins that hole, with the hole tied if both teams manage it in the same number of strokes. The winner of the most holes clinches the match and a point for the overall scoreboard, with a tied match rewarding each side with half a point.
You may see results listed like “won 4&3,” which would – in that case – mean a pair was four holes up with three holes to play and, as a result, could not be caught.
Scheffler and Brooks Koepka made unwanted history in Italy two years ago when they were obliterated 9&7 by Scandinavian duo Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, the largest margin of victory for any 18-hole match in Ryder Cup history.
What are fourballs?
The first two afternoons belong to the fourballs.
Again, this is played in pairs and scored like foursomes, but this time players strictly hit their own ball as opposed to alternating shots: four balls are in play at the same time. The player with the lowest score wins that hole for his team.
It is up to the home captain to decide which format will be played first, with new US lead Keegan Bradley opting to kick off proceedings with foursomes for the third successive tournament.
Captains also have the critical power to choose which players to pair together, an intricate dance of team chemistry and opposition matchup that can make or break a Ryder Cup bid.
European captain Luke Donald, retaining the armband after leading his side to triumph in Rome, has an advantage in that sense, with just one change to his champion roster: Rasmus Hojgaard in for his twin Nicolai.
AP
Europe’s Rasmus Højgaard chips to the green during a practice round at the Ryder Cup golf tournament
By contrast, only six players from that defeated Team USA lineup return: Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns and Justin Thomas.
What are singles matches?
Sunday is dedicated solely to the singles matches, 12 tense shootouts contested by one member of each team.
Usual match play rules apply, with the player who scores lowest on each hole taking that hole in the race to secure crucial late points.
Expect drama aplenty, with Sundays staging many of the greatest moments in Ryder Cup history, from The Battle of Brookline in 1999 to The Miracle of Medinah in 2012.
It is worth noting that, in match play, players have the option to “concede” a hole. This almost exclusively happens around putts, typically very short ones, whereby a player can concede to his opponent and allow them to pick up the ball and win the hole.
The most legendary such instance occurred in 1969, when Jack Nicklaus conceded a short putt to Tony Jacklin, confirming the first tie in Ryder Cup history. “The Concession” has since been heralded as a display of supreme sportsmanship, though US captain Sam Snead was not best pleased.
“When it happened, all the boys thought it was ridiculous to give him that putt,” Snead would later remark. “We went over there to win, not to be good ol’ boys.”
Who is playing?
Six players qualify automatically for each team based on ranking points accumulated through seasonal performances, with wins at the four majors giving out the most points.
AP
United States captain Keegan Bradley points on the 16th hole during a practice round at the Ryder Cup golf tournament.
The remaining six slots on either side are left to the captain’s picks, a big talking point in the run-up to every Ryder Cup.
Captain’s pick: Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns
Team Europe
Captain: Luke Donald
Automatic qualifiers: Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Robert MacIntyre (Scotland), Tommy Fleetwood (England), Justin Rose (England), Rasmus Hojgaard (Denmark), Tyrrell Hatton (England)
Captain’s picks: Shane Lowry (Ireland), Jon Rahm (Spain), Sepp Straka (Austrian), Viktor Hovland (Norway), Ludvig Aberg (Sweden), Matt Fitzpatrick (England)
What happened last time?
Look away now, American readers.
A spirited Sunday fightback proved too little too late as Team USA fell to a 16.5 – 11.5 defeat in Italy, the hosts tearing out of the blocks to avenge a record-breaking 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits in 2021.
American captain Zach Johnson had faced criticism before a ball had even been struck at Marco Simone, with none of his six captain’s picks ultimately registering a winning record in Rome.
Some Saturday evening drama did seem to spark an American response, with McIlroy having been incensed by the celebrations of US caddie Joe LaCava following a key putt for Cantlay.
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — New York sports fans have been so starved for something to celebrate that they poured out of Madison Square Garden onto the streets and snarled city traffic in May, all because the Knicks simply got out of the second round of the NBA playoffs.
They’re already resigned to the Giants and Jets being bad, aware the Yankees and Mets might not be good enough. They need a team to pin their hopes on.
The U.S. squad playing in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, a place revered by locals in ways no arena ever could, could be it. The Americans might as well trade their red, white and blue for Yankee pinstripes, because their support comes New York style: loud, loyal and liquored up.
“There’s not going to be a lack of alcohol consumption,” U.S. player Ben Griffin said. “Fans are going to be loud. New York people love their sports.”
New York teams have iconic championship moments like Joe Namath guaranteeing victory in the Super Bowl in 1969 and Willis Reed limping to the court to play Game 7 of the NBA Finals a year later, but the Jets and Knicks haven’t won since those guys were on the team.
Fans wept in the stands at MSG when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, ending a 54-year drought. Now they’re working on another one of 31 years and counting.
Even the Yankees don’t win like they used to, with only two World Series titles in the 2000s — and one came against the Mets, so a portion of New Yorkers hated the whole thing.
It can make even longtime New York fans wonder if they can keep hanging in there. John McEnroe questioned why he didn’t switch allegiances after watching the Showtime Lakers when he was living in California and befriended team executive Jeanie Buss, but the Hall of Fame tennis player could never quit the Knicks.
So he remains a regular at Madison Square Garden with Spike Lee, Ben Stiller and all the other fans who come to cheer on their Knicks. (Well, usually cheer.)
“Listen, I’ve been in all of these arenas. If things are going bad in Indiana, the Indiana fans are going to try to rally their team back. The Knicks fans are going to boo their team,” said Stan Van Gundy, an NBA coach and broadcaster whose brother, Jeff, coached the Knicks to their most recent NBA Finals appearance in 1999.
True, New Yorkers sometimes struggle to hide their disappointment. Giants fans couldn’t, booing throughout their home opener Sunday, and some Jets fans wore paper bags over their heads at MetLife Stadium last year.
But when things are good, players say no place compares.
“Everything is heightened, everything is better here,” the Knicks’ Josh Hart said. “With all due respect to other places I’ve played, New York, it’s the mecca, and when you have people that really wear their heart on their sleeves and they go out there and they’re really passionate about sporting events of their teams, they come to show love and that energy is what makes you feel that difference.”
Some fans already started, booing loudly Tuesday morning as their shuttle bus passed Team Europe’s blue and yellow coach.
Bethpage Black is the public course that New Yorkers arrive a day early to and sleep in their cars overnight for a chance to play. It’s not one of those hotel resort courses people play on vacation where there’s no trouble unless they drive it behind a palm tree. The Black is long and it’s hard. Arms get sore and legs feel weary. It hurts like playing against Lawrence Taylor’s Giants.
But hard is how New Yorkers want things.
“Everything we do, we grind. We grind every day. It’s so New York,” said David Caleca, the president of Bonnie Briar Country Club in nearby Westchester County.
Besides playing Bethpage, Caleca was there when New York fans heckled Sergio Garcia during the 2002 U.S. Open. He’s also been in Shea Stadium when fans would boo their own Mets players, so knows emotions can swing in a New York minute.
He thinks the U.S. team will receive a huge backing not only because it’s Bethpage but because of captain Keegan Bradley, who is a New Englander but played collegiately at St. John’s and displays the passion of someone who must be from Brooklyn or the Bronx.
“He’s the kind of guy that New Yorkers love because he wears his emotions for everyone to see,” Caleca said.
Some fans may be cheering as much for the course as Bradley’s team. He knows how New Yorkers feel about Bethpage, a place they learned the game from their fathers or spent summers caddying.
“It’s much more than a golf course to a lot of these people,” Bradley said. “When you add all these things up, you’re going to get fiery fans.”
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AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson and Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak contributed to this report.
The 2025 Ryder Cup gala brought together members from Team USA and Team Europe a few days before the first matchups begin at Bethpage Black on Long Island, New York.
Before any golf ball was placed on a tee, the American competitors already ruffled the feathers of fans and purists on social media because of the fashion choices they made. The American golfers were seen with their wives and girlfriends in a suit without a tie and with sneakers on their feet.
Team United States and Team Europe pose for a photo during the Ryder Cup Teams’ Welcome Dinner prior to the Ryder Cup 2025 at Hempstead House on Sept. 23, 2025 in Sands Point, New York.(Carl Recine/Getty Images)
The outfit selections didn’t win over any fans ahead of one of the most prestigious tournaments in the sport.
There are plenty of storylines going into this year’s Ryder Cup. Team Europe will look to continue its dominance over Team USA after the pummeling in Rome in 2023. Team USA won at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin in 2021. It was the team’s first win since 2016.
Scottie Scheffler of Team United States and his wife Meredith Scheffler arrive for the Ryder Cup Teams’ Welcome Dinner prior to the Ryder Cup 2025 at Hempstead House on Sept. 23, 2025 in Sands Point, New York.(Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Scottie Scheffler leads Team USA on the golf course. He’s put together a dominant 2025 season that included wins at the Byron Nelson, Memorial, BMW Championship and the Procore Championship earlier this month. Not to mention, he won the PGA Championship and The Open Championship this year.
Rory McIlroy leads Team Europe into the fray. He completed the career grand slam this year, finally picking up a green jacket with a Masters victory. He also had a victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship.
Rory McIlroy of Team Europe and wife Erica Stoll McIlroy arrive for the Ryder Cup Teams’ Welcome Dinner prior to the Ryder Cup 2025 at Hempstead House on Sept. 23, 2025 in Sands Point, New York.(Carl Recine/Getty Images)
The Ryder Cup has become everything golf typically is not.
The slow-moving sport features relentless action from the opening tee shot at 7:10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, and it doesn’t stop (except for darkness) until the United States or Europe gets enough points to win after the singles matches on Sunday afternoon.
Civility gives way to hostility when flags are involved, mostly outside the ropes. Golf really doesn’t have a partisan crowd except at the Ryder Cup, where cheers can be for a good shot or a missed putt. The Ryder Cup is personal.
And yes, there is homefield advantage. Europe has had the upper hand in the Ryder Cup for the last 30 years, but it still has won only four times on U.S. soil. The Americans have seven players on their team who were not even born when the U.S. last won the Ryder Cup in Europe in 1993.
It all unfolds Sept. 26 at Bethpage Black on Long Island in New York, known as the “People’s Course” because it was the first state-owned course to host a U.S. Open.
Where is it being played?
The Ryder Cup is at the Black Course at Bethpage State Park, a course that dates to 1936 and is regarded as the strongest taxpayer-owned golf course in the country.
It was refurbished to host the U.S. Open in 2002 (won by Tiger Woods) and in 2009 (won by Lucas Glover). It has twice held a PGA Tour postseason event. And most recently it held the PGA Championship in 2019 (won by Brooks Koepka).
Getting to the Cup
The Bethpage Black Golf Course is out on Long Island and accessible by the Long Island Rail Road. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the MTA would offer up to nine additional trains between Wednesday and Sunday.
Riders can get off at the LIRR Farmingdale Station, where free shuttle buses run by the PGA will transport fans to the golf course. The bus trip takes about 15 minutes.
Officials warned drivers that parking will not be available at Bethpage State Park or at the Farmingdale Station. Anyone who normally parks at that station to access the train should park at nearby Wyandanch Station.
Dozens of retailers in Long Island are getting ready for the Ryder Cup and the thousands of fans that will bring an influx of revenue for their businesses
What to bring
The usual list of prohibited items is listed on the Ryder Cup’s website. Don’t bring any drones, weapons, alcohol or outside food. The full list can be found here.
There are, however, plenty of things that fans could consider packing along, according to organizers. Here’s a list of suggested items to bring:
Portable, canvas chair with a carry bag
Jacket and/or layered outerwear piece
Comfortable walking shoes
Portable phone charger
Personal sunscreen
Nursing mothers may bring necessary equipment on-site. Storage and refrigeration are available at the Medical Stations at Hole 1 fairway and Hole 10 tee.
Is President Donald Trump going to be there?
Trump plans to attend the opening session Sept. 26. He would be the first sitting U.S. president to attend. Former President George H.W. Bush went to the 2008 matches at Valhalla.
Trump was in office for his first term when he dropped in on the final day of the Presidents Cup in 2017 at Liberty National in New Jersey.
Here’s everything to know about the Ryder Cup, one of golf’s most iconic events.
VIRGINIA WATER, England — Whatever heckling European players might face at the Ryder Cup in New York could be what they already have heard before, all because of virtual reality headsets that Rory McIlroy says can be adjusted to hear the harshest abuse.
Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has said his European team will be prepared for the noise at Bethpage Black, the public course with the reputation for having among the rowdiest and at times obnoxious golf fans.
McIlroy told reporters after the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday that Donald handed players the VR equipment on Tuesday night after a team gathering. It allows players to visualize the course while adjusting the noise — and insults — from outside the ropes.
“It is just to simulate the sights and sounds and noise,” McIlroy said. “That’s the stuff that we are going to have to deal with. So it’s better to try to de-sensitize yourself as much as possible before you get in there. You can get them to say whatever you want them to say.
“So you can go as close to the bone as you like.”
Europe had 11 players at Wentworth and was headed for New York for practice at Bethpage Black. Sepp Straka was home with a newborn last week and is expected to join them.
Straka is among five European players who have never competed at Bethpage Black.
Europe last won the Ryder Cup on U.S. soil in 2012 at Medinah, and that required a stunning comeback led by Ian Poulter.
“We are doing everything we can to best prepare ourselves for what it is going to feel like on Friday week,” McIlroy said. “But nothing can really prepare you until you’re actually in that. You can wear all the VR headsets you want and do all the different things we’ve been trying to do to get ourselves ready but once the first tee comes on Friday it’s real and we just have to deal with whatever’s given.”
Europe can at least count on more support than its last road Ryder Cup. That was in 2021 at Whistling Straits, with worldwide travel restrictions from COVID-19 still in place. There were hardly any European fans at all in an American rout.
We are just hours away from crowning the winner of the BMW PGA Championship, the final prep event for Team Europe ahead of the Ryder Cup.
All 12 players, along with captain Luke Donald, arrived at Wentworth on Thursday with high hopes and sharpened focus. But while fans eagerly await the leaderboard’s final shakeout, one name has already slipped from contention: Robert MacIntyre.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre tees off on the 4th on the opening day of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club, south-west of London, on September 11, 2025. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) /… Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre tees off on the 4th on the opening day of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club, south-west of London, on September 11, 2025. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)
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The 29-year-old Scotsman, who made his Ryder Cup debut in 2023 was among 86 players who made the standard 36-hole cut. With 26 players tied at 2-under-par, the field ballooned beyond expectations.
That triggered a norm in the DP World Tour rulebook that says, if more than 84 players advance to the final round, a secondary cut is enforced to reduce the field to 78 on Sunday.
MacIntyre, sitting at 2-under, was one of 13 players, including Alex Fitzpatrick and Niklas Norgaard, who fell victim to the rule. Despite initially making the cut, he was eliminated before the final round due to this technicality.
🚨 | No final round golf for MacIntyre as he misses out on the top 78 cut.
Although he was good off the tee this week, the other parts of his game just weren’t at it.
Though he still earned Race to Dubai points and prize money, the disqualification stung. MacIntyre, known for wearing his emotions on his sleeve, had already shown signs of frustration throughout the week.
On Friday, he launched a ball into a tree on the 13th hole and flung his club into the turf at No. 17. Saturday brought more tension, as he slammed his driver into the ground following a wayward tee shot on the sixth.
Seeing the same, former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance didn’t hold back in his commentary.
“He got away with one there,” Torrance commented on Saturday while watching the Scotsman. “He made a bit of a mess on the tee. You almost have to see yourself on television doing something like that to see how silly it looks. Oh well, each to their own. He’s very fiery, a great competitor.”
MAINEVILLE, Ohio — Chanettee Wannasaen maintained a two-shot lead Friday in the Kroger Queen City Championship, with top-ranked fellow Thai star Jeeno Thitikul and Charley Hull making big moves.
What You Need To Know
Chanettee Wannasaen maintained a two-shot lead Friday in the Kroger Queen City Championship
Wannasaen, the 21-year-old player trying to win for the third straight year on the LPGA Tour, shot a 4-under 68 at soggy TPC River’s Bend to reach 13-under 131
Thitikul and Hull were tied for second with Olivia Cowan
Wannasaen, the 21-year-old player trying to win for the third straight year on the LPGA Tour, shot a 4-under 68 at soggy TPC River’s Bend to reach 13-under 131. She opened with a 63.
“I just want me to play like this,” Wannasaen said. “I not think about the score. I just want hit driver like this, hit iron like this. I just want to enjoy with the golf again.”
Thitikul and Hull were tied for second with Olivia Cowan.
Wannasaen holed out for eagle on a par-4 for the second straight day, this time on the 13th — her fourth hole of of the day. She did it on No. 10 in the first round.
“Exactly like the same, but I didn’t see the ball like get in,” she said.
The 22-year-old Thitikul had a 64, making four straight birdies in a back-nine 30. She won the Mizuho Americas Open in June at Liberty National for her fifth LPGA Tour victory.
“Pretty much I think trying to make putts for sure here,” Thitikul said. “I mean, like the green, it’s not easy. It’s so slopey. And then you need to judge the putt really perfectly to roll it in the hole.”
Hull eagled the par-5 11th and birdied the final two holes for a 65. The English player is coming off a runner-up finish in Houston as part of the Aramco series on the Ladies European Tour.
“I’m just firing at the pin pretty much,” Hull said. “I like going at the pins. I find it boring otherwise.”
Cowan, from Germany, matched Hull with a 65. Maja Stark (66), Sei Young Kim (68) and Gigi Stoll (69) were 10 under.
Second-ranked Nelly Korda topped the group at 9 under after a 68. She’s winless this season.
“You just have to really stay aggressive,” Korda said. “The greens are pretty soft so you can, but hitting fairways, hitting greens is the key to eventually having a putt.”
Defending champion Lydia Ko shot 69 to get to 5 under.
Alison Lee missed the cut in her first event since giving birth to a boy in April, shooting 76-73.
Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson is in good form going into the World Athletics Championships
The world’s best athletes will take to the track and field this weekend when the World Athletics Championships get under way in Tokyo from September 13-21.
Many of the stars who shone at Paris 2024 will be there, including Britain’s 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and USA’s 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles.
One of the major talking points away from the sport has been the introduction of a mandatory SRY or sex test for athletes who intend to compete in female categories.
All athletes in female category take new ‘sex test’
World Athletics, led by their President Seb Coe, have taken an unambiguous stance for several years when it comes to talking about and defining new rules around the sensitive issues of the protection of female categories, transgender and DSD (Difference of Sexual Development).
They became the first global sporting federation to announce they would introduce a mandatory, once-in-a-lifetime gene test, known as an SRY Test earlier this year.
The test identifies the Y chromosome which causes male characteristics to develop. If an athlete returns a negative result, they are eligible to compete in female categories at world ranking events, including these World Championships.
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World Athletics President Lord Coe says the governing body will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to protect the female category in the sport after it approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female
World Athletics President Lord Coe says the governing body will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to protect the female category in the sport after it approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female
Coe told Sky Sports he expected every athlete required to take an SRY Test will have done so by the time track and field events get under way in Tokyo, including all French athletes.
In France, the process has been complicated by French law where the SRY gene test is illegal in France due to a 1994 law banning DNA testing for non-medical, non-judicial purposes to protect family integrity, so French athletes have had to undertake the SRY test by travelling outside of France.
Coe confirmed that while it is World Athletics’ stated aim to have all athletes tested by the start of the World Championships next month, the results do not have to be known due to the tight time frame.
For athletes whose national federation hasn’t been able to offer an SRY test yet, World Athletics will step in and offer the test at holding camps in Japan used by athletes prior to competing in Tokyo.
“By and large, the process has gone pretty smoothly, but it’s not been without its challenges,” Coe said. “The vast majority have been pretty straightforward and we’ve (World Athletics) made a contribution of about US$100 per test.”
How important are championships for Coe?
Very.
He has transformed the athletics governing body since his election in Beijing in 2015 from the tarnished old IAAF to the new World Athletics.
He’s serving his third and final term as president and while no doubt still pondering his defeat in March’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency election to Kirsty Coventry, his first love has always been track and field, and during his term as president he has tackled controversial issues like banning Russia and bringing in updated rules on gender eligibility.
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Lord Coe accepts defeat to Kirsty Coventry in the IOC Presidential vote and says he welcomes the fact it’s a former Olympic athlete who will take up the role
Lord Coe accepts defeat to Kirsty Coventry in the IOC Presidential vote and says he welcomes the fact it’s a former Olympic athlete who will take up the role
While those issues can be divisive, the progress of time has shown that many, if not most, sporting federations have followed athletics’ lead by watching and then following.
It’s interesting to note that the new IOC President, whom he lost out to, is preparing the IOC to greater understand and perhaps even lead on gender eligibility and protections for female sports stars.
He also wants athletics firmly in the position of the world’s second most popular sport behind football by showing off packed out stadia in Tokyo.
The World Championships take place in the 70,000 capacity Olympic Stadium where during the 2020 Olympics not one fan was able to watch the sport on offer due to a strict Covid-19 lockdown in Japan.
Many of the sessions during the nine days of competition are sell-outs and, according to Coe, no session will have fewer than 50,000 people in attendance.
Tokyo heat, humidity and typhoons
World Athletics deliberately scheduled the start of their marquee championships later than they would normally. Two years ago in Budapest, for example, the schedule ran during August.
High temperatures and humidity can be exceedingly high in Japan during the months of July and August, as many athletes who competed at the Tokyo Olympics four years ago will testify to.
The 2025 World Athletics Championships will be held at the National Stadium in Tokyo from September 13-21
However, heat mitigation measures will again be in place as Japan has experienced temperatures 2.36 Degrees Celsius above average between June and August, with local temperatures in Tokyo this week reaching 33 Degrees Celsius.
World Athletics president Seb Coe is of the belief that climate change is not temporary and is here to stay; at these championships, decisions on whether competition will go ahead will not be in the hands of local organisers, but World Athletics.
Information on drinks, ice baths and cooling techniques has been shared widely with athletes and their federations, while plenty of provision will be in place for spectators.
Tokyo and Japan, in general, is prone to typhoons at this time of year, indeed many British and Northern Irish athletes were confined to their hotel at their training camp for a few days due to a typhoon. If such a weather system hits Tokyo during the championships, it will again be a decision for World Athletics to make as to whether to postpone or cancel events.
Where could GB medals come from?
Great Britain and Northern Ireland haven’t been set a medal target, but a top-eight finish in the medal table is the challenge, with an expectation of several of their world-leading track stars to medal and all relay squads to medal.
So who are the stars? The women’s 800m final has been scheduled for the last session of the last day of the championships, as it’s been viewed as being a hot ticket in town. Two Brits could well end up on the podium, both friends and training partners coached by husband and wife duo Jenny Meadows and Trevor Painter – Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter-Bell.
Hodgkinson was one of the stars of Paris last year, streaking home to become Olympic champion and, although she has suffered hamstring injuries this year, she has come back to racing in time and is running ferociously quickly.
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Keely Hodgkinson says she is in a good place after receiving her MBE and is fully focused on the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo
Keely Hodgkinson says she is in a good place after receiving her MBE and is fully focused on the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo
While perhaps not quite the right time for a tilt at the 800m world record, if Hodgkinson feels it, she’ll go for it.
Elsewhere, medals could come in men’s middle distance, with 1500m runner Josh Kerr defending his world title he won in 2023.
His battles with Norway’s Jacob Ingebrigtsen have already become legendary, with the two not the best of pals. At the Paris Olympics, one of the two should have taken the gold medal, but their attention on one another allowed the USA’s Cole Hocker to shock them both and cross the line first.
George Mills, son of Danny – the former Leeds, Manchester City and England defender – is a serious contender for medals in the men’s 5000m. This season he’s beaten Sir Mo Farah’s long-standing British 5000m record and ran the second fastest 1500m by a Brit, so the 26-year-old is well warmed up.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson is always a threat at major championships, and at Tokyo she will defend the heptathlon world title she won two years ago. She was also crowned world champion in 2019, and took Olympic silver in Paris.
Dina Asher-Smith will make her seventh appearance at a World Championship and, while the competition is fierce in both the 100m and 200m, she is running quickly this season.
“I’m just really happy,” she told Sky Sports. “I think the other week in Zurich is testament to what kind of shape I’m in because, honestly, I knew that I’ve been in good shape for a very long time and I know that I’ve been putting together some great races in the past few months, but to run a 10.90!
!I was picking it out because I know I could have had faster in me that day, but still obviously I’m very happy.”
Could Dina Asher-Smith medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo?
Also very quick is Daryll Neita, who finished fourth in the women’s Olympic 100m final in Paris, narrowly missing out on a medal. She did, however, take home an Olympic Silver medal from the 4x100m women’s relay and in Tokyo it is expected that Great Britain and Northern Ireland medal in all five relay disciplines.
Individually, in the men’s sprint events (100m and 200m), Zharnel Hughes should at the very least make finals, as the qualified pilot has run sub-10 seconds in the 100m and sub-20 seconds in the 200m. With age, Hughes seems to get faster, as he broke both British 100m and 200m records in 2023, the same year he took his first ever global medal, a bronze at the last World Athletics Championships.
“Obviously the experience has been taking me into finals and stuff like that,” he said. “I’ve always been one to be reckoned with when it comes to the championships. I’ve always been able to position myself into the finals at every major championship.
“Unfortunately, last year it didn’t get to happen due to injury, but I’m feeling confident and I’m looking forward to getting myself on that podium for sure. I’ll be giving it my very best, I’m filled with determination and I’m quite confident in my ability that I can always catch you at the very end.
“I’m trusting myself and trusting my speed. The work that I’ve put in leading up to this championship has been tremendous. It’s going to be great.”
While the British team is medal heavy on expectation from the track, also keep an eye on pole-vaulter Molly Caudery. She won the 2024 World Indoor title and won the Diamond League meeting in Doha in May.
The Cornishwoman is a huge talent was expected to challenge for the gold at the Olympics last year, but had a shocker and failed to even qualify for the final. The 25-year-old is determined to learn the mental lesson from a year ago.
The wife of a retired professional golfer has sold their home in Cherry Hills Village.
Suzanne Duval, whose husband David is a former World No. 1, sold the home at 11 Parkway Drive for $3.4 million last month, according to public records.
Suzanne, who owns an interior design firm called Maison de DuVal, purchased the home in her name for $1.3 million.
David Duval was a prominent player during the late 1990s and early 2000s, known for his aggressive style and intense competitiveness. He now competes on the PGA Tour Champions, for players over the age of 50, and has also worked as a golf analyst and commentator.
Suzanne Duval listed the 5,665-square-foot home, situated on a private 1.2-acre lot adjacent to open space, on July 11. Ann and Katherine Durham of LIV Sotheby’s International Realty represented the seller. The home went under contract on July 28, and the sale closed on August 19.
The four-bedroom, five-bathroom home features an upper-level artist studio that can also serve as a gym and boasts a west-facing deck.
The main floor includes a spacious primary suite with an attached office. The home’s garden-level basement includes a half bath and flexible space.
Katie Herman with 8z Real Estate represented the buyer, Scott W. Colvin, principal at engineering and design consulting firm Kimley-Horn.
Herman said her clients liked the home’s location and chose it because it offers more room and outdoor space for their children.
“They loved that the lot next door is owned by the city and will never be built on,” she said.
Prior to 11 Parkway Drive, the Duvals previously owned the 13,400-square-foot mansion at 1000 E. Oxford Lane in Cherry Hills Village. But they handed the keys to a bank in the summer of 2012 rather than go through the foreclosure process.
The current owners, who bought it from the bank, listed the property for sale for $13.5 million in 2022, but no deal came to fruition.
About two years in, “there was so much interest from the Southern men’s stores, particularly, saying, ‘Look, I’m selling your belts well, but, you know, I could really sell a Clemson or a Georgia or University of Texas belt very, very well,’” Carter recalls.
They built a book of business, proving that selling belts was a cinch, and went back to the schools for the licenses. Colleges, Greek organizations, professional sports franchises, bands, and more gave permission for the company to commit their emblems to needlepoint.
Now Smathers & Branson offers not only belts, which can be customized with a multitude of emblems, but also embroidered key tags, hats, leather can coolers, and more. Though Bowdoin didn’t have a Greek system, the pair liken their college living situation to a frat house, touting the belts’ appeal amongst golfers, campus dwellers, and more, with tales of men showing off their belt collections.
Branson recalls “watching [the belt trend] explode at the University of Georgia and Texas,” to name just two schools. “It’s just mind-blowing, the next level of enthusiasm and passion there is for the college experience everywhere.”
Though needlepoint belts remain an eye-catching niche accessory, their prevalence in the preppy-leaning sartorial displays of campus bros is unsurprising, Articles of Interest podcast host and creator Avery Trufelman tells VF. Trufelman produced a full season of her show around the idea of prep, attributing the style’s prevalence to its being a “sweet spot in the American dream.” In the US, there’s no formal class system, no monarchy. Dressing preppy, a trend that Trufelman says evolved from the casual style of Princeton students who would play tennis and then—gasp!—stay in their tennis clothes, rather than spiff up, is an accessible way to signal social rank, whether real or aspirational, and belonging.
Trufelman points to a certain IYKYK aspect of classic preppy brands, like J. Press, which never displays logos and instead may use a school’s colors in an article of clothing, for instance, as a sort of dog whistle for other alums to pick up on. The Smathers & Branson cofounders, too, call out that their pieces show the wearer’s choice of emblems, rather than any brand logo of their own, allowing the company to be both a golf brand and a tailgating brand, for example.
“That’s the fundamental thing about preppiness: It’s an institutional look. It’s about belonging,” she says. “Even if you don’t belong, it’s a way to look like you belong. It’s a way to look like you went to these schools. It’s a way to look like you go to these clubs.”
And though Smathers & Branson belts aren’t necessarily made by a college girlfriend, they are hand-stitched and heirloom-quality. Branson shows off a key tag that he’s carried for some 20 years, featuring a stitched depiction of a golden retriever, the breed of his childhood dog. “This is a sample, I think, from one of the first batches that we did,” he says. “It has been really loved.”
The idea that a young man may be able to inherit his father’s needlepoint belt the same way he might wear a luxury watch passed down to him is part of the company’s success with the preppy set.
“The men’s space that we operate in doesn’t change [in the same way as] high-end women’s fashion,” Carter says. “Some of our best-selling patterns, like American flags or dogs, although we do change them from year to year, they don’t change that dramatically. I think that’s the same thing kind of within frat life, and then collegiate stuff, the game-day clothes, they don’t change necessarily.”
“It’s a classic, traditional men’s look that evolves,” Branson adds. “The shape of a khaki pant changes, the fit the guys are wearing different years changes, but the same basic look is consistent. While I don’t think of ourselves as, like, a Greek business necessarily, we fit into that as an element of what that customer, that demographic, has probably worn since the ’60s.”
STRAFFAN, Ireland — Rory McIlroy bogeyed two of his last three holes and faded to a 1-under 71 in the first round of the Irish Open on Thursday in his latest homecoming.
The world No. 2, who attracted the biggest galleries of the day at The K Club, was looking to sharpen up his game a few weeks out from the Ryder Cup in Bethpage Black, where the Northern Irishman is expected to be Europe’s key player once again.
McIlroy said he was encouraged at how he played — he birdied four of his first nine holes after starting at No. 10 — and performed “better than what the score reflects.” His finish hurt him most, missing the green at Nos. 7 and 8 and failing to get up and down for par.
“Game feels pretty good,” McIlroy said, adding: “Just a matter of being more efficient with the scoring.”
McIlroy, who was in Northern Ireland in July for the British Open at Royal Portrush, was five strokes off the clubhouse lead held by Nacho Elvira, whose 66 was bogey-free and contained birdies in four of his last six holes.
The Spaniard was one shot ahead of Bernd Wiesberger, Daniel Brown and Adrien Saddier.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry, another member of Europe’s Ryder Cup team, was playing in front of his home crowd and birdied three of his last six holes to shoot 69.
Sergio Garcia, the all-time leading scorer in Ryder Cup history, will not be teeing it up at Bethpage Black this September, and the emotional fallout has been immediate.
The 45-year-old Spaniard, who accumulated 28.5 points across 10 Ryder Cup appearances, was left off Luke Donald’s final European team on Monday.
PLYMOUTH, MICHIGAN – AUGUST 23: Sergio Garcia of Fireballs GC looks down the fairway on the 18th hole during day two of the LIV Golf Team Championship Michigan at The Cardinal at Saint John’s on… PLYMOUTH, MICHIGAN – AUGUST 23: Sergio Garcia of Fireballs GC looks down the fairway on the 18th hole during day two of the LIV Golf Team Championship Michigan at The Cardinal at Saint John’s on August 23, 2025 in Plymouth, Michigan. (Photo by Raj Mehta/Getty Images)
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Donald had warned Garcia weeks earlier at the British Masters that his spot was far from guaranteed. He had also confessed to GolfMagic that Garcia would need a standout showing at LIV Golf’s season-ending Team Championship to be considered as the captain’s pick.
But Garcia’s Fireballs GC finished eighth, falling short of the impact needed to sway Donald’s decision.
“The call with Luke (Donald) was fine but not the call I wanted, obviously,” Garcia told GolfMagic’s Andy Roberts on Monday. “Now, the only thing I can do is support the team from home. It’s as simple as that. I’ll be watching and cheering on the European team.”
The snub hit Garcia hard. Just hours after the picks were revealed, he withdrew from the Amgen Irish Open at The K Club in Kildare, citing emotional fatigue.
“I felt like I was so looking forward to being a part of that team,” he expressed during the same conversation with Golf Magic. He added, “And so I felt like mentally, you know, mentally it was kind of tough.
“I didn’t want to go there and not be fully engaged in the tournament and stuff, so I just decided to take a little bit of time off and spend it with the family and do a couple of things, you know, some things outside of golf and just kind of reboot a little bit, recharge the batteries.”
Garcia’s season has been a mix of flashes and frustration. He claimed his second career LIV Golf title in Hong Kong this March, finishing ninth in the LIV Individual Championship standings. That followed a third-place finish in the same race last year.
Yet despite those wins, Garcia’s world ranking has fallen to No. 411, mainly due to LIV Golf events not earning ranking points.
Lee Westwood of England and team Europe, Sergio Garcia of Spain and team Europe, Jon Rahm of Spain and team Europe, and vice-captain Luke Donald of England and team Europe watch during Sunday Singles Matches… Lee Westwood of England and team Europe, Sergio Garcia of Spain and team Europe, Jon Rahm of Spain and team Europe, and vice-captain Luke Donald of England and team Europe watch during Sunday Singles Matches of the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits on September 26, 2021 in Kohler, Wisconsin.
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The Masters winner’s withdrawal underscores the emotional weight of missing out on what would have been his 11th Ryder Cup appearance, tying legends like Sir Nick Faldo and Lee Westwood.
His passion for the event has never wavered, and his leadership has often been a force for younger players under pressure.
According to GolfMagic, the Spaniard still plans to compete at the Spanish Open at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid next month.
But he’ll need a top-tier finish to crack the top 70 in the DP World Tour Rankings and qualify for the season-ending playoffs in Abu Dhabi. Currently, he sits at No. 188.
For most golf professionals, the Ryder Cup isn’t just a tournament, but an emotion, a feeling of pride, legacy, and honor. Unfortunately for Englishman Matt Wallace, that dream came painstakingly close this week in Switzerland, and then slipped away.
CRANS-MONTANA, SWITZERLAND – AUGUST 31: Matt Wallace of England plays his second shot on the 15th hole on day four of the Omega European Masters 2025 at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club on August 31, 2025 in… CRANS-MONTANA, SWITZERLAND – AUGUST 31: Matt Wallace of England plays his second shot on the 15th hole on day four of the Omega European Masters 2025 at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club on August 31, 2025 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
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Wallace entered the Omega European Masters in Switzerland knowing the stakes.
A successful title defense could have forced his way into Luke Donald’s final six captain’s picks for Team Europe at next month’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
But after three solid rounds, the 35-year-old fell just short, finishing tied for second behind South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence.
The heartbreak came at the par-5 14th on Sunday. Wallace, trailing by one, went for the green in two but blocked his second shot into the water. The bogey that followed dropped him three shots back.
Wallace’s final-round 67 wasn’t enough to reclaim the title or secure his Ryder Cup spot. And when asked about his hopes during a live interview with Sky Sports, the emotion overwhelmed him.
He paused, visibly shaken, before finally saying, “I’d never give up on the Ryder Cup. I just won’t.”
Wallace has long worn his Ryder Cup ambitions on his sleeve. He was controversially left off the 2018 team by then-captain Thomas Bjorn, despite strong form that season.
This time, he sits 12th in the European Ryder Cup standings, just outside the automatic qualification zone.
With Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, and Sepp Straka already locked in, the six captain’s picks are all that remain.
On the other hand, with stars like Ludvig Åberg and Nicolai Hojgaard in the mix, Wallace’s chances now rest on hope.
Luke Donald is expected to announce his six captain’s picks on Monday, at 2 p.m. ET.
NORTON, Mass. — Sei Young Kim traded the stop-and-start rhythm of the rain-delayed FM Championship for a long day Saturday. She shot a 7-under 65 to complete the second round and build a three-shot lead at the halfway point.
Miranda Wang took 10 hours to complete her second round Friday at the TPC Boston because of so many delays that kept half the field from finishing.
Kim played only four holes of the second round and then returned Saturday morning to clean conditions. She made three straight birdies and then had another stretch of an eagle and two birdies. She finished at 14-under 130, three shots ahead of Wang.
Rose Zhang shot 64 and was in third place, four shots behind.
Nelly Korda returned and played her last 14 holes in even par, leaving her seven shots behind as she tries to win for the first time this year.
