What Sepp Straka once said about potentially representing Team USA in the Ryder Cup as he’s encouraged to switch sides for Bethpage Black

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Sepp Straka will be a key member of the European Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black in September.

Straka is very much the man of the moment right now, after his scintillating win at the Truist Championship.

And the Austrian is now a lock for Team Europe at the Ryder Cup later this year at Bethpage Black.

Straka is now being tipped to contend at The PGA Championship, and his game certainly suits the Quail Hollow layout.

The 32-year-old now has two PGA Tour wins to his name this season, and four in total. He is an incredibly consistent golfer, and will undoubtedly have a huge say in the final outcome of the 2025 Ryder Cup.

However, it seems like things could have worked out very differently.

What Sepp Straka once said about potentially representing Team USA in the Ryder Cup

Keith Mitchell was speaking to Colt Knost on SiriusXM PGA Tour radio, and he opened up on how Straka could have represented Team USA at one point.

Knost said, “He’s gonna be on that European Ryder Cup team, but Keith, are we 100% sure he actually is European?”

And Mitchell responded, “He’s 50% Does that count?”

Knost then highlighted how much the USA need Straka, “I mean, I think we need him over here on the American team.”

Whilst Mitchell explained how it actually could have happened, “It’s funny, we used to give him such a hard time because we always asked him which team are you going to play for? And he said, ‘whichever team I’ll make first’. The Olympics is what solidified it for him. He was like, ‘okay, I could play for Austria in the Olympics’. So that’s kind of, once he did that, he couldn’t go back and play for the US team.

“But, I mean, the guy was born over there and his dad’s from over there. He’s obviously Austrian, but his mom’s from South Georgia, you know, he’s from South Georgia. It’s crazy, he’s literally from both places. I don’t know how to describe it.”

Unfortunately for the United States, Straka will definitely be on the blue and yellow side of the divide up in New York State in September.

How Team USA and Team Europe would look if the Ryder Cup started today

Team USA Captain Keegan Bradley will have six captain’s picks, whilst European skipper Luke Donald will have the same.

However, if the top 12 players in the standings qualified automatically, here’s how the teams would look right now.

It must be said that, as things stand, Team Europe is looking far stronger than Team USA ahead of the Ryder Cup in September.

However, a lot can change between now and then, and Bradley’s team will still be favourites on home soil – there’s no doubt about that.