Ryder Cup format 2025: United States puts foursomes in morning once again at Bethpage Black

While the full 12-man rosters for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black are not fully set, the event's playing format was made official Monday. As host this year, the United States had the opportunity to decide whether to roll with four-ball or foursomes in the morning wave across the first two days of the biennial competition.

The Americans ultimately decided to begin Day 1 and Day 2 of the Ryder Cup with foursomes (alternate shot), leaving four-ball (best ball) for the afternoon sessions both days. The United States and Europe will then meet head-to-head with 12 singles matches as the competition wraps Sunday in New York.

This decision by U.S. captain Keegan Bradley makes this the third straight playing of the Ryder Cup that will begin with foursomes followed by four-ball. It represents the 13th time since 1981 this structure has been employed with the Americans picking it eight times and the Europeans five times.

U.S. has employed this strategy in five straight Ryder Cups, holding a 12-4 record in previous sessions. This record was buoyed by the red, white and blue's performance at Whistling Straits in 2021 where homestanding Americans went 6-2 in foursomes. The Europeans fared well at Marco Simone in the 2023 Ryder Cup, going 7-1 across the eight foursomes matches.

Fast starts are required for Ryder Cups, Bradley believes this is the widest path for his team to find success. History suggests that he is right as Team USA is 9-3-1 in Ryder Cups when foursomes open the first two days of the event.

Captains picks for the Ryder Cup are due later this week ahead of the event, set from Sept. 26-28, though both sides have their automatic qualifiers already set for Bethpage. The United States (-130) is a slim favorite over Europe (+145) despite hosting the Ryder Cup, per FanDuel Sportsbook.

2025 Ryder Cup teams: automatic qualifiers

Listed by Official World Golf Rankings