The 2025 Junior Ryder Cup brings together the top juniors from the U.S. and Europe. You’ll recognize some of these names as the top golfers in the world!
In order to be eligible for the U.S. Team, players must be graduating high school no earlier than 2026 and must be U.S. citizens. 10 of the 12 players will qualify for their spot through various rankings and tournaments; one girl and one boy will be chosen as captain’s picks. European players must be under the age of 18 on January 1, 2025, and must be a citizen of a European country. 6 of the players will qualify for their spots through rankings; the other 6 (three girls and three boys) will be captain’s picks.
The Junior Ryder Cup follows a similar format to the Ryder Cup taking place at Bethpage Black later this week – two days of foursome and fourball matches and a final day of singles matches.
While this was the first year that the singles matches would take place at Bethpage Black – the same venue as the Ryder Cup – weather has dictated the final day of the Junior Ryder Cup return to the course they were originally competing on, Nassau Country Club.
Last year, Team Europe won the Junior Ryder Cup in Italy, 20.5-13.5. Will Team USA win the 13th Junior Ryder Cup?
2025 Junior Ryder Cup Quick Facts
Date: September 23-25, 2025
Golf Course: Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, NY.
Format: Tuesday (Foursomes/Mixed Foursomes), Wednesday (Mixed Four-Ball), Thursday (Singles)
To Win: The first team to reach 15.5 points wins. If the teams tie 14-14, the trophy remains with the previous winner (Team Europe).
Meet Team USA
Captain: Suzy Whaley
Suzy Whaley is the former PGA President and a force in the golf world. Not only did she play professionally, but she also became a Master Professional in the teaching space.
Zoe Cusack – Maryland
17-year-old Zoe Cusack is playing in her first Junior Ryder Cup this year. Verbally committed to the University of Virginia, Cusack has won the Maryland Girls’ Junior Amateur and the AJGA Junior this year. She also placed second at this year’s Girls’ Junior PGA Championship.
Anna Fang – California
16-year-old Anna Fang earned second in the Junior Ryder Cup rankings. After a runner-up finish at the 2025 Fortinet Stanford Invitational hosted
by Rose Zhang, Fang went on to finish second at the 2025 Mizuho Americas Open, an LPGA Tour event that pairs the top junior golfers with LPGA players. She also finished T3 at the Girls’ Junior PGA Championship.
Rayee Feng – New Jersey
17-year-old Rayee Feng played with Lydia Ko in the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open, where she made the cut. The reigning New Jersey individual state champion, Feng also represented her home state at the PGA Jr. League Championship in 2021.
Lily Peng – California
16-year-old Lily Peng won the 2025 Kathy Whitworth Invitational and has had several top-5s over the last year, including a third-place finish at the Mizuho Americas Open. Peng also reached the Semifinals round of the RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic, which would have given her a leg up at Bethpage Black had the final day of the Junior Ryder Cup played out as planned.
Asterisk Talley – California
16-year-old Asterisk Talley needs no introduction. She was the low-amateur at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open at just 15 years old and was atop the leaderboard before finishing T44. Talley has several wins under her belt this year, including the Girls’ Junior PGA Championship, the PING Invitational, the Hilton Grand Vacations ANNIKA Invitational and the Fortinet Stanford Invitational hosted by Rose Zhang. Her second-place finishes were equally impressive, including the U.S. Women’s Amateur, the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and the coveted Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA).
Amelie Zalsman – Florida
16-year-old Amelie Zalsman earned third in the Junior Ryder Cup Rankings. Zalsman won the Rolex Girls’ Junior Championship and the 2024 Rolex Tournament of Champions. She was also the runner-up in The Nelly Invitational presented by Chevron.
Hamilton Coleman – Georgia
17-year-old Hamilton Coleman is headed to his first Junior Ryder Cup and ultimately to the University of Georgia. Coleman is ranked 3rd on the AJGA rankings and won the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
Luke Colton – Texas
18-year-old Luke Colton is a back-to-back high school individual champion and part of the U.S. National Junior Team. He has two runner-up finishes at the Team TaylorMade Invitational and the Rolex Tournament of Champions in 2024. Colton has committed to playing at Vanderbilt.
Lunden Esterline – Kansas
16-year-old Lunden Esterline tied a course record of 62 to win the Boys’ Junior PGA Championship and earn a spot on this team. Among other top finishes this last year, Esterline has also committed to play at Auburn University in 2027.
Tyler Mawhinney – Florida
17-year-old Tyler Mawhinney is also committed to play at Vanderbilt. He made his PGA Tour debut this year and made the cut at the RBC Canadian Open. Mawhinney also won the Canadian Men’s Amateur in 2024 and made plenty of other top-3 finishes this season.
Giuseppe Puebla – Florida
16-year-old Giuseppe Puebla has three second-place finishes individual and another as a member of Team Florida in the PGA Jr. League Championship. He also played in the Korn Ferry’s Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank in 2025.
Miles Russell – Florida
16-year-old Miles Russell is No. 1-ranked player on the Boys’ Junior Ryder Cup list, the AJGA Rankings and the Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings. This will be Russell’s second Junior Ryder Cup. With plenty of impressive wins (two majors) and his debut on both the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour this year, it’s no surprise he’s committed to play at Florida State University. Russell is known for being the youngest player to make a Korn Ferry Tour cut and is also the youngest player to win the AJGA Rolex Boys’ Player of the Year Award, whose last youngest player was Tiger Woods.
Meet Team Europe
Captain: Stephen Gallacher
Stephen Gallacher is coming off his team’s last victory two years ago in Rome, the first in 12 years. Gallacher is an accomplished player himself, having won four DP World Tour events. A win for Team Europe this year would make him just the third captain to win both home and away.
Sara Brentcheneff – France
18-year-old Sara Brentcheneff topped the Junior Ryder Cup Order of Merit, the European version of rankings. Brentcheneff ranks No. 37 in the world as an amateur and has several top finishes this season. She also was part of the Junior Solheim Cup team last year.
Benedicte Brent-Petersen – Denmark
18-year-old Benedicte Brent-Petersen was also a member of the 2024 Junior Solheim Cup team. Brent-Petersen won the European Nations Cup – Copa Sotogrande and ranks 7th on the European Women’s Amateur Golf Rankings.
Alice Kong – France
15-year-old Alice Kong will be making her first Junior Ryder Cup appearance after being a captain’s pick. Kong won the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge on the LET Access Tour in a playoff and earned three other top-10s on this professional tour. She was also part of the Junior Solheim Cup team.
Nagore Martinez – Spain
17-year-old Nagore Martinez is another captain’s picking making her debut at the Junior Ryder Cup. With three impressive wins, either in Spain or representing Spain, Martinez has verbally committed to play at the University of Arizona.
Charlotte Naughton – England
17-year-old Charlotte Naughton earned the last team qualification spot through the Order of Merit. Naughton is the first English player to win the German International Girls Championship and also finished second at The R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship.
Louise Uma Landgraf – France
16-year-old Louise Uma Landgraf also has two wins under her belt coming into her first Junior Ryder Cup. She is the youngest player to ever win an LET Access event and was the highest scorer for Team Europe in the Junior Solheim Cup.
Callixte Alzas – France
17-year-old Callixte Alzas is playing in his first Junior Ryder Cup this year after ranking first in their Order of Merit. He is ranked first in the U18 European Golf Amateur Rankings and second in the European Golf Amateur Rankings. After a win and several top-5 finishes, Alzas has committed to the University of California – Berkley.
Oscar Couilleau – France
16-year-old Oscar Couilleau was a captain’s pick for his first Junior Ryder Cup. Couilleau has two big wins from this year and made history as the youngest French player to play in a PGA Tour event.
John Doyle – Ireland
18-year-old John Doyle was selected as a captain’s pick after his two wins this year. Doyle also ranks one position behind Alzas in both the U18 and the general European Amateur Golf Rankings. After some other top finishes, he also played in his first DP World Tour event, the Amgen Irish Open.
Lev Grinberg – Ukraine
17-year-old Lev Grinberg is a returning champion for Team Europe, having won 2 points for them in Rome. Grinberg has some impressive runner-up finishes and was also the second-youngest player at age 14 to make a cut at a DP World Tour event.
Kris Kim – England
17-year-old Kris Kim is the other returning champion for Team Europe, where he went undefeated and earned 3.5 points. With some top finishes in amateur events, Kim was also seen playing The CJ Cup Byron Nelson the last two years, where he was the youngest European player to make the cut in a PGA Tour event in 2024. He also played in 5 Hotel Planner Tour events this year.
Hugo Le Goff – France
17-year-old Huge Le Goff won the Lytham Trophy to qualify for his first Junior Ryder Cup. After securing a top-10 finish at The Western Amateur Championship, Le Goff committed to the University of Virginia.
