U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley has a jam-packed week ahead of him at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
During regular PGA Tour events, players vying for one of the automatic six spots on Team USA earn one point for every $1,000 earned after the cut’s made that week. During the week of the PGA Championship and other majors, that total moves up to 1.5 points earned per $1,000 made that championship Sunday. All roads lead to Bethpage Black in New York for the Ryder Cup from September 26-28 this fall.
RYDER CUP RANKINGS: See how the U.S. and European Ryder Cup teams are taking form
The 38-year-old and 2011 PGA Champion Bradley will surely be keeping as good an eye as he can on the developments of his potential players during the week in Charlotte. He’s also playing really well himself of late with a T6 in the Sony Open and T5 in the Arnold Palmer Open, so one would imagine he’ll have a lot on his mind as he plays one of his “favorite courses on Tour.” Currently, Bradley is ranked 22nd in the U.S. team standings.
Brooks Koepka made a big statement during the last run towards Ryder Cup qualifying in 2023 when he won the PGA Championship at Oak Hill thanks to a 3-under 67 to take the Wanamaker by two shots over Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland.
Both Scheffler and Koepka ultimately ended up on that 2023 Ryder Cup team. Scheffler finished first in the U.S. team’s qualifying standings and Koepka got one of Zach Johnson’s captain’s picks.
For Team USA, the top six eligible players following the BMW Championship outside of Baltimore (August 12-17) will make the team. Captain Bradley will then have six captain’s picks which he gets to announce following the 2025 Tour Championship.
The top six players in the current Team USA standings are Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Russell Henley, and Justin Thomas.
Scheffler is coming into Quail Hollow with great form after a win in his last start. Defending PGA Championship winner Schauffele hasn’t quite mirrored Scheffler’s consistency in 2025 due to an intercostal strain and a cartilage tear to his ribcage during the offseason-but he’s quietly assembled three straight top 20 finishes this spring. DeChambeau is coming off a two-shot win at LIV Golf Korea in his last start and who can forget when he electrified the Valhalla crowd in last year’s PGA Championship as he finished with a 72nd hole birdie and back nine 4-under 32 to fall just one short of Schauffele’s winning total. DeChambeau would figure to relish a chance to make the U.S. Team after missing the last Ryder Cup in Rome. Russell Henley delivered a career-best win at Bay Hill back in March and has been lurking in major championships.
Bryson DeChambeau's putt was so good, Scottie Scheffler gave it two thumbs up 👍 🇺🇸#GoUSA pic.twitter.com/OGZDbXW53f
— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) May 4, 2025
Justin Thomas won in his last start before this week at the RBC Heritage in April, and he’s finding form that may bring one of Team USA’s vocal and emotional leaders back to his fourth Ryder Cup this fall.
At the minute, Maverick McNealy stands at seventh and on the outside looking in to qualifying thanks to a series of firsts that he’s checked off his list over the past few months. He got his first PGA Tour win at the RSM Classic in November, catapulting him up the Ryder Cup rankings. He played in his first Masters last month where he tied for 32nd.
McNealy now heads to Quail Hollow for his fifth consecutive PGA Championship.
“I’ve been working on a few short game shots that I think will translate well (at Quail Hollow) so I think it will be really fun, and a good test of golf,” McNealy said this week at the Truist Championship.
Lots to look forward to for Ryder Cup USA fans to see which players emerge in the PGA Championship on their march to Bethpage.
Garrett Johnston is a golf journalist based in Washington, DC and the host of the Beyond the Clubhouse Podcast with players, caddies, and media personalities.
