Luke Donald and his European Ryder Cup team will be quietly confident of their chances of success at Bethpage Black later this month.
The 45th edition of the Ryder Cup is one of the most eagerly anticipated in recent history.
Donald has only one different player in his team from the victorious 2023 side in Rome, while only six players remain from the US side.
Despite the lack of continuity in the US team, Keegan Bradley is more than happy with his group of players ahead of the showdown at Bethpage Black.
However, the Americans do have some concerns ahead of the clash with the Europeans.
Xander Schauffele won’t be playing in the Procore Championship ahead of the Ryder Cup, and he’s the only PGA Tour player to miss the event in Napa.
The 31-year-old isn’t injured either, he allegedly just needs time off from the game.
And Donald and his players must be absolutely delighted about that.
Luke Donald and Team Europe will be very happy after US Ryder Cup team development
American Ryder Cup fans are concerned about Schauffele skipping the Procore Championship, and rightly so.
The two-time major champion endured a really challenging 2025 season on the PGA Tour, and only recorded two top-10 finishes after The Masters in April.
Schauffele was injured at the start of the season and didn’t return to action until March but he never managed to rediscover his best form.
The American’s driving was uncharacteristically poor and he ended up down in 85th spot in strokes gained off the tee.
Schauffele admitted that he was thinking about too many things over the ball, and that is not a good sign with the Ryder Cup now just three weeks away.
The most concerning thing for American golf fans, though, is the fact that Schauffele supposedly needs time away from golf, despite the fact that he has already had three weeks off.
The Ryder Cup starts in just 20 days, and if the 2024 Open champion is desperately searching for something, he may well have already left it too late.
Taking Schauffele’s current situation into account, the Europeans might just be slight favourites to win the Ryder Cup.
Xander Schauffle could be a target for LIV Golf
Schauffele’s current situation definitely has similar vibes to when Jon Rahm withdrew from the TGL only to join LIV Golf not long after.
Earlier this year, Schauffele’s father hinted that LIV not having world ranking points on offer was a key reason why his son rejected a move to the Saudi-backed golf league.
However, LIV are currently in the process of applying for ranking points, and if they’re successful, Schauffele could well be swayed.
LIV need to make a statement signing, so to speak, during the off-season.
Schauffele certainly seems like someone who could be attainable for them, and the fact that he is the only PGA Tour player not playing in the Procore Championship will do little to dispel the rumours.
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