Two years ago, Team USA made a mistake, and Europe took advantage of it. In 2023, at Marco Simone in Rome, the Americans arrived unprepared. Out of the 12 players on the U.S. team, only three had played competitive golf in the two weeks leading up to the Ryder Cup. In contrast, all 12 Europeans teed it up at the 2023 BMW PGA Championship and made the cut. And ultimately, the results proved the lack of prep as the Europeans hammered the Americans 16.5–11.5. “I think a lot of us just weren’t prepared,” Wyndham Clark said after the loss. But this year, they didn’t make the same mistake.

Captain Keegan Bradley decided that his team would be gathering in Napa for the Procore Championship as a team-building opportunity and to shake off any rust from the post-Tour Championship break before the Ryder Cup begins in less than two weeks. And from the moment they arrived in California, the focus was clear. Ten of the twelve U.S. Ryder Cup players teed it up at Silverado Resort, and the results showed promise.

How Team USA Fared at the Procore Championship

The Procore Championship in Silverado last week had its strongest field and largest gallery since the tournament moved to Napa in 2014. Had it not been for the Ryder Cup prep, the first event of the fall season would have been just another quiet and overlooked stop. Instead, it turned into a preview of the main event, with Scottie Scheffler claiming the title.

Scheffler had advocated early for the team to play the event to serve as a tune-up before the Ryder Cup. “We floated the idea of doing a scouting trip to Bethpage or coming here and playing this event. We felt it would be a little bit more valuable to get all the guys together here this week to play tournament golf in order to stay in shape,” Scheffler told the PGA Tour. 

Scottie Scheffler clawed his way from eight shots back to claim the title at 19-under-par, clinching his sixth PGA Tour win of the year. With his win in Napa, Scheffler now joins Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Arnold Palmer as the only players since 1960 to win at least six times in consecutive seasons. It clearly doesn’t stop for the Texan. “Did a really good job of kind of staying in the tournament the first two days and then the last two I played some really good golf in order to be in this position,” Scheffler said after his win.

But it wasn’t just Scheffler’s debut in Napa. Ben Griffin, Scheffler’s close competitor this season, also made his debut at the fall event, and he nearly stole the show. Griffin finished solo second at 18-under, just one shot behind Scheffler, continuing a breakout year that includes two wins and eight other top-10 finishes. This was the second time Griffin was edged out by Scheffler, as a similar feat followed during the 2025 Memorial. But Griffin’s performance in Napa was no fluke.

Ben Griffin stayed in contention all week, showing the kind of composure and consistency that’s made him one of the most reliable players on the U.S. roster this season. Not just these two, even the rest of the players who played this week displayed exactly what Team USA needed to prepare.

J.J. Spaun, the reigning 2025 U.S. Open champion, finished a solid 6th, looking calm and in control all four days, while Cameron Young delivered a strong tied 9th finish at 12-under par. While Spaun was an automatic qualifier for Team USA, Griffin and Young were Keegan Bradley’s picks. These three, along with Russell Henley, who finished tied 19th, will be making their first Ryder Cup appearances. The only other player to finish within the top 20 at the Procore Championship was Sam Burns, who finished tied 13th.

Burns, who is currently the leader in strokes gained putting on the tour, will be making his second Ryder Cup appearance with a previous record of 1-2-0. Meanwhile, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Harris English, and Justin Thomas struggled to contend for the top spots. While Thomas was the worst of the lot, finishing in tied 69th place, Morikawa and English managed a mediocre tied 43rd finish. While English earned an automatic spot in the team with his consistent play throughout the year, the other three were captains’ picks, having past Ryder Cup experiences.

As for those who didn’t tee it up at Silverado, there were two notable absences — Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau. While Schauffele cited the need to spend time with his wife and newborn son, Victor, DeChambeau, meanwhile, didn’t have a choice. He remains ineligible to compete in PGA Tour events, and despite lobbying for an exception, the Tour held firm on his suspension. “It’s on them if they don’t let us become together as a team and play,” DeChambeau said last month.

So, while the Americans were soaking up the Napa sun and knocking off rust at Silverado, you might be wondering—what were the Europeans up to? Team Europe was also all business across the pond, grinding it out on Wentworth at the BMW PGA Championship at the same time.

Team Europe’s prep at Wentworth looks Ryder Cup-ready

On the other side of the Atlantic, Team Europe stuck to their proven formula of getting all warmed up before the Ryder Cup. And why wouldn’t they? It worked brilliantly for them in Rome. Team Captain Luke Donald followed the same strategy this year, and 11 of 12 players on his squad teed it up at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, with Sepp Straka being the only absentee due to a personal family matter.

The result? A leaderboard that looks equally ready as Team USA. Out of the 11, Tyrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, and Matt Fitzpatrick bagged the best finishes at tied 5th, while their team vice captain, Alex Noren, claimed the title. Meanwhile, strong contenders like Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy, who fired rounds of 66 & 65, respectively, on the final day, failed to contend, but still finished within the top 20 of the field.

But just like players on Team USA, there were some players on Team Europe, too, who didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard. Justin Rose struggled, finishing tied 61st, while Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood, usually Wentworth regulars, settled for a tied 46th finish. No panic buttons, though. Fleetwood did save his best for last with a tidy 67 on Sunday, but Lowry, who won the title three years ago, couldn’t find his form.

But here’s where things tilt ever so slightly in the Americans’ favour. Unlike Team USA, Europe had two players who missed the cut. Rasmus Højgaard, the only rookie on Luke Donald’s squad, stumbled to a five-over total with rounds of 74 and 75, while Robert MacIntyre, who made the 36-hole cut, didn’t survive the Saturday trim after the third round. Neither result is a deal-breaker, of course. But when you’re heading into a Ryder Cup in enemy territory, every round matters for a confidence boost.

So, what’s the verdict?

If we’re keeping score in this Ryder Cup prep session, it’s hard to say who won. Team USA had 10 players tee it up at the Procore Championship, and all 10 made the cut. Four finished inside the top 10, including a win from Scottie Scheffler, a solo second from Ben Griffin, and strong showings by J.J. Spaun and Cameron Young. In Europe, 11 of 12 players played at Wentworth, and two missed the cut; six finished inside the top 20, including three in the top five.

If we’re looking strictly at finishes, Europe had more players placed high on a tougher course (given the conditions), but the Americans showed consistency across the board. The two events weren’t the same, but the results give us a pretty good idea of how evenly matched the teams are.

Both sides also had a player from within the team win the event— Scheffler at Silverado, and vice-captain Noren at Wentworth. But the real difference? No one on Team USA missed a cut, while two Europeans did. That’s enough for Team USA to walk away with a quiet sense of satisfaction—not a victory lap, but a confident nod.  Europe, on the other hand, might have a touch more flair at the top, but a couple of early exits mean there’s still a little more work to do before the lights come on at Bethpage.

But still, the stats suggest that the battle at the Ryder Cup will be neck and neck, which means we’re in for a Ryder Cup that could go down to the final putt. With both squads competitively sharp and locked in, this year’s Ryder Cup has all the ingredients of a masterpiece event. If the prep is any indication, we’re in for a treat at Bethpage Black.