Ryder Cup Returns to U.S. Soil at Bethpage Black

Nick Ewing

Business and Finance Manager

The Ryder Cup is never just about golf. It is about pride, pressure and passion. When the biennial showdown between the United States and Europe arrives at Bethpage Black in 2025, it will feel less like a genteel country club event and more like a heavyweight title fight staged in front of a New York crowd that will not sit quietly.

Bethpage is no stranger to chaos. It has hosted two U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship, and each time the galleries were massive, rowdy and unapologetically partisan. This time, it is different. This is a Ryder Cup. The crowd is not just cheering good shots. They are living and dying with every hole, egging on their side and jeering the opposition. At Bethpage, where New Yorkers embrace heckling as part of the sporting experience, the European team is in for a long week.

That is not to say Europe will be intimidated. The Ryder Cup has shown time and again that home advantage only goes so far. The Europeans have won nine of the last 14, including stunning road victories at Oakland Hills in 2004 and Medinah in 2012. They thrive on being the underdog, on silencing hostile crowds. Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm will not back down from the noise. If anything, the energy might fuel them.

Still, this American team is loaded. Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked player, will anchor a lineup that blends steady veterans like Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele with fearless young talent like Sam Burns and Ben Griffin. The United States has depth that Europe cannot quite match. If captain Keegan Bradley can get the pairings right, the Americans should roll. But that is a big “if.” Ryder Cups have a way of humbling even the deepest squads.

The other factor is the course itself. Bethpage Black is a brute, stretching more than 7,400 yards with narrow fairways and punishing rough. It demands length and accuracy, and it rewards aggressive shot-making. On paper, it suits the Americans. But pressure has a way of exposing weaknesses, and Bethpage’s greens are tricky enough to make even the steadiest putters twitch. Matches will swing on six-foot putts under unbearable tension.

What makes this Ryder Cup particularly compelling is the setting. No venue in modern golf will bring the noise quite like Bethpage. Fans will line the fairways in their thousands, waving flags, chanting and celebrating like it is a football game. The energy will be raw, and the pressure will be unrelenting. For the United States, it is an opportunity to seize momentum after losing in Rome in 2023. For Europe, it is a chance to spoil the party and cement their modern dominance.

I predict the United States will win at Bethpage Black, and they will win big. The combination of Scheffler’s consistency, Bradley’s leadership, and a roster that is both deeper and more explosive than Europe’s will be too much to overcome, especially with the New York crowd roaring behind them. Europe will have their moments, and McIlroy will likely thrive on the antagonism, but the Americans’ firepower on a course built for length and aggression will prove decisive. I expect a final tally somewhere in the neighborhood of 17–11, with the United States reclaiming the Ryder Cup in dominant fashion.

No matter the outcome, Bethpage promises to deliver an atmosphere unlike anything golf has seen. The Ryder Cup is theater, and New York is about to host its loudest, rowdiest and most unforgettable act. And that’s exactly what this event should be: golf stripped of its formality, fueled by national pride and staged in front of a crowd that treats every putt like a championship moment. At Bethpage, there will be no hiding and no quiet moments. This Ryder Cup will test nerves, expose weaknesses and crown a team that can thrive under the spotlight’s hottest glare.