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NEW YORK (Sept. 18, 2025) - As the world’s eyes turn to the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, golf’s future stars will be competing in their own international showcase Sept. 23-25, at Nassau Country Club and Bethpage Black, for the 13th Junior Ryder Cup presented by HPE.
Captained by PGA of America Past President and PGA Master Professional Suzy Whaley, the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team features six boys and six girls who are U.S. citizens and members of the high school graduating class of 2026 or younger. The U.S. will look to re-claim the Junior Ryder Cup aided by two of the top-ranked junior golfers in America: Stanford University commit Asterisk Talley, 16, and Florida State University commit Miles Russell, 16.
Additionally, the U.S. team boasts six of the top-10-ranked boys and four of the top-10 girls in the AJGA rankings, including 2025 U.S. Junior Amateur champion and University of Georgia commit Hamilton Coleman, 17, of Augusta, Georgia, and Anna Fang, 16, of San Diego, who will join Talley as a Stanford Cardinal in the Class of 2027.
Team Europe, once again led by four-time DP World Tour winner Stephen Gallacher, a member of the victorious 2014 European Ryder Cup team, comes to New York defending its title with two returning players: Ukraine's Lev Grinberg, 17, and England’s Kris Kim, 17. Half of the team is from France, including top-ranked U18 European Amateur Callixte Alzas, 17, who sits second on the European Amateur Golf Rankings. French native Sara Brentcheneff, 18, is also the second-ranked amateur on the European Girls’ Amateur ranking and 37th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
The U.S. Team looks to rebound from their 20 ½ - 9 ½ loss two years ago at Golf Nazionale & Marco Simone in Rome in 2023, which broke a U.S. win streak of six consecutive Junior Ryder Cups between 2008 and 2018.
As the sole returning player for the U.S., Russell will add some veteran experience and hopes to share some wisdom with his teammates.
“Rome showed me how big the stage feels, so this time I know what to expect,” said Russell, the 13th-ranked amateur in the world. “My focus is on helping my teammates stay relaxed, enjoy it and play their best.”
Russell is no stranger to playing in front of crowds with a Junior Ryder Cup and four PGA TOUR events under his belt, including the recent Procore Championship, which included the majority of the U.S. Ryder Cup Team in the field.
But when it comes to representing your country, the experience changes.
“Playing for the red, white and blue is just different,” the 2025 Junior Players champion explained. “You feel the pride and it makes you want to give everything for your team and country.”
As a PGA Master Professional and LPGA Coach, and the first woman since Babe Zaharias in 1945 to qualify for a PGA TOUR event (2003 Greater Harford Open), Captain Whaley knows how to prepare her team for the pressure they will experience, especially come Thursday, Sept. 25, when the Junior Ryder Cup singles matches will take place at Bethpage Black in front of tens of thousands of fans. A stalwart in Golf Magazine’s “Top 100 Teachers in America” list, she also knows her role.
“I can provide the awareness of how to bring a team together, how to make sure we have a culture of respect, grit and perseverance.”
Unlike the Ryder Cup, playing at home hasn’t always provided the upper hand. In the U.S. team's 7-4-1 record, four of its victories came abroad, including the inaugural event in 1997 at Alcaidesa Links Golf Course in Cadiz, Spain. The others came during the 2008-18 win streak. During Europe’s three-match win streak (1999, 2002, ‘04), two of those victories were in America.
With “home-course advantage” not a factor, Whaley’s preparation has been focused on getting the best out of her team, even before they arrive in New York. She went on a fact-finding mission, watching most of the team compete at the Junior PGA Championships in August and making pre-event phone calls, learning what motivates them and what builds their confidence mid-round.
“Now during a match when I can sense there's some nerves, I can remind them of the things they previously shared with me that aren't mine, but that are their own.”
Whaley will also aim to create a week they can build on for the rest of their playing careers.
“I want them to make incredible relationships with the European team. Some of these players may end up playing together in college or on the professional tours. But even more than that, it gives them a stepping stone. Once you’ve played in front of 40,000 people and on the first tee of the Ryder Cup, that first big college event or first Korn Ferry Tour or Epson Tour event might just feel a little bit easier.”
Following the Junior Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony on Monday, Sept. 22, at Nassau Country Club, play will begin Tuesday with morning foursome matches and mixed foursome matches in the afternoon. Day two will feature mixed four-ball matches at Nassau CC, before they play singles at Bethpage Black Thursday.
Their matches at Bethpage mark the first time a U.S. Ryder Cup venue will host the Junior Ryder Cup singles matches on the eve of the Ryder Cup.
The Junior Ryder Cup offers a thrilling international preview of the future of professional golf. Junior Ryder Cup alumni include current Ryder Cup players Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns and Cameron Young for the U.S., and Rory McIlroy and Rasmus Højgaard for the Europeans. Other Junior Ryder Cup veterans include Solheim Cup players and LPGA Tour professionals Lexi Thompson, Alison Lee, Emily Kristine Pedersen, Leona Maguire and more.
“The Junior Ryder Cup can be a springboard for the rest of your playing career,” Whaley added. “Every single player, girl and boy, can look to that as a goal and can realize the number-one player in the world was once in their shoes.”
For more information on the 2025 Junior Ryder Cup and live scoring during the event, click here.
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Media Contacts
Jesse Dodson, PGA of America, jdodson@pgahq.com
Jared Minski, Mastro Communications, jared@mastrocomm.com