Ryder Cup 2025: All the facts and records for the clash at Bethpage Black

The time has come on Friday: the best golfers in Europe and the USA will meet for the Ryder Cup 2025. This time, the legendary Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York, will be the stage for the prestigious duel. For fans, the tournament offers a wealth of exciting figures and statistics. From the unique venue to the players' impressive records, we have compiled the most important facts you should know before the start of the spectacle.

Bethpage Black: a public golf course in a class of its own

The Ryder Cup will be held at a venue that enjoys a very special reputation in the golf world: Bethpage Black. It is one of only seven golf courses in the USA to have hosted the Ryder Cup, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. Despite its importance, the course is a public gem. Locals from New York pay just 80 dollars for a round at the weekend, while guests from out of town are asked to pay 160 dollars. The challenge lies not in the water hazards - there is only one - but in the sheer number of bunkers. A whopping 76 sand traps are waiting to get players into trouble.

The teams in focus: rookies and old hands

This year, Team USA is sending four rookies into the race, led by captain Keegan Bradley. The European veterans, on the other hand, are competing with the same team that triumphed in Rome in 2023, with one exception. A look at recent Ryder Cups shows that this approach could be risky. Since 2012, American rookies have achieved a record of 47 wins and 25 losses, while the debutants from Europe have only managed 9 wins and 20 losses in the USA.

Rory McIlroy leads the European team with 16 points and is the most experienced player in this year's line-up with eight appearances. However, the absolute record holder is the Spaniard Sergio García, who has scored 28.5 points in his career. García was the youngest Ryder Cup player of all time in 1999 at the age of 19. Incidentally, Phil Mickelson not only holds the record for the most appearances at the Ryder Cup with 12 participations, but also leads the statistics for the most defeats. With a total of 22 matches lost, he has set a sad record.

Records for eternity: Ryder Cup history

The Ryder Cup has been writing its own history for almost 100 years. During this time, there have been some remarkable records:

• Pure home advantage: since 2014, the host country has always won the Cup. In the last five tournaments, the winning team has always had a lead of at least five points.
• Winning record: Since the changeover to the current format in 1979, Team USA achieved the highest victory in history in 2021 with 19 to 9 points.
• Flawless performance: Only three players have managed to win all five of their matches in a single Ryder Cup: Larry Nelson (1979), Francesco Molinari (2018) and Dustin Johnson (2021).
• Captain's Champions: Only Walter Hagen and Ben Hogan have managed to lead their team to victory twice in a row. Luke Donald could join this exclusive list if Europe wins at Bethpage.
• Holes-in-One: There have been a total of six aces in the history of the tournament. The last was in 2006, when both Scott Verplank and Paul Casey achieved the feat.