Final Ryder Cup tune-up brings US team closer together

NAPA – Even with a championship in the balance in a PGA Tour event, a good portion of the golfers at the Procore Championship have larger aspirations in September.

That is because the tournament served as a final on-course tune-up for the Ryder Cup.

“It was a good prep week – the guys definitely stayed sharp this week,” said Scottie Scheffler, who won the tournament on Sept 14 in Napa, California.

Ten of the 12 US players for the Ryder Cup took part in the Procore Championship. Only Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau from the American team were not in the field. Schauffele recently became a father and DeChambeau is ineligible as a member of LIV Golf.

“It was a good move just to get everyone sort of together and get that chemistry going,” J.J. Spaun said. “Get those team atmosphere juices flowing.”

While the Ryder Cup members were mostly paired together for the first two rounds, they also spent time off the course together. That included a dinner earlier in the week as team captain Keegan Bradley was on site but was not entered in the Procore Championship.

“It’s really fun to be together as a team outside the Ryder Cup because the Ryder Cup is so intense and nerve-racking,” he said. “So it’s fun to see the guys interact, a little lighter scene here.”

The Ryder Cup begins in less than two weeks on Sept 26 at Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York.

“I think as you look back at a couple years ago, a lot of us came in taking four weeks off and at the end of the day, we looked back and said how do we get better, right?” Collin Morikawa said.

“How do we give ourselves a better chance to go out there and compete? I know for myself I didn’t feel like I was as prepared a couple years ago, even though I put a lot of work in those four weeks.”

Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 golfer, won his sixth tournament of 2025 after a final-round 67 saw him finish on 19-under 269, but he was peppered with a regular dose of Ryder Cup questions. He overcame Ryder Cup teammate Ben Griffin (70 on Sept 14) to triumph by one stroke.

“We love going into the Ryder Cup seeing guys play well and Ben had a great year, so it’s nice to see him continue that trend this week and have a good prep week going into the Ryder Cup,” Scheffler said.

Griffin will turn his attention quickly to what lies ahead.

“I’ll get to work this next week and hopefully make every single one of them at the Ryder Cup,” he said, referring to a would-be tying birdie putt that he missed on the final hole.

Griffin said he understood the attention and the questions about the Ryder Cup. He said his best preparation during the past week was to focus on the Procore Championship and what he could accomplish in that tournament to be in an ideal place going to Bethpage.

“Definitely, I’d say like after I got the call from Keegan I was on the team, that was like one of those crazy moments where I couldn’t really believe that I had achieved what I had done,” he said.

“But then the focus shifted straight to, all right, I need to prepare for the Procore because I knew he wanted everyone to play.”

It was a good showing for US team members, with Cameron Young (67) joining Scheffler, Griffin and Spaun (66) in the top 10 and Sam Burns (67) and Russell Henley (72) in the top 20.

Of course, there was more to it than that.

“A lot of great vibes throughout the meetings and the dinners we’ve had,” Morikawa said. “That’s what you ask for. I think we’re all very close.”

It proved to be quite a send-off, with the golfers ready to fully transition to the Ryder Cup.

“We heard lots of ‘USA’ chants and lots of good-luck wishes for the Ryder Cup,” Scheffler said.

“I think we’re all excited for the tournament to get started. We’ve got three days in New York to compete and have fun. We’re all looking forward to it.” REUTERS