One of the biggest and fiercest rivalries in world golf is set to resume in a month’s time when the 45th Ryder Cup tees off at the famed Bethpage Black course in Farmingdale, New York. Anticipation levels for the biennial tournament ratcheted up a notch this week with both the US and Europe teams confirming their first six players to have qualified, while US captain Keegan Bradley yesterday announced his six ‘captain’s picks’ which finalised the host nation’s full complement of 12 players. 

Earlier qualifiers Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau will be joined by Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Ben Griffin, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Cameron Young as the US seeks to reclaim the trophy it lost to Europe at Marco Simone G&CC, Italy, in 2023. Europe captain Luke Donald is still to confirm his captain’s picks who will tee up alongside qualified players Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Rasmus Højgaard.

This year’s tournament is set to write another memorable chapter in the Ryder Cup’s rich and emotion-charged history and getting a first-hand behind-the-scenes look at everything is young Australian greenkeeper Hugh Ryan (pictured right).

The 24-year-old from Royal Melbourne Golf Club is currently undertaking an internship at Bethpage State Park through The Ohio Program and has been based there since April. Ryan is one of around a dozen Australian greenkeepers currently on the program in the US which is overseen by manager Mike O’Keeffe. 

Originally from regional Victoria, Ryan left school at the age of 17 and picked up an apprenticeship at Mildura Golf Resort. As part of his apprenticeship training, Ryan would travel six hours to Melbourne Polytechnic where he would study and partake in theory and practical exercises.

In October 2020, Ryan moved to Royal Melbourne where he completed his apprenticeship in 2022 under director of courses Richard Forsyth. He then immediately started his Diploma in Sports Turf Management, also through Melbourne Polytechnic, going on to complete that in early 2024. During that time, in 2023 and 2024, Ryan would also volunteer as part of the 60-strong course crew at The Grange Golf Club for the LIV Golf Adelaide tournaments.

Earlier this year Ryan was one of two up and coming Australian greenkeepers to be awarded the John Hood IGFR-Australia Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship, which was first struck back in 1992, is awarded by the Australian branch of the International Golfing Fellowship of Rotarians (IGFR) and provides financial assistance ($5000) to participate in The Ohio Program.

The other winner this year was Callum Mcilduff (Sun City CC, WA) who is currently on placement at Chevy Chase Club in Maryland which is home to ex-pat Australian Stephen Britton who is director of agronomy. 

Over the next month, as the countdown begins to the Ryder Cup (23-28 September), Ryan will be providing regular updates via The Cut, outlining course preparations by the Bethpage team which is led by director of agronomy Andrew Wilson. Wilson has served a remarkable 36 years at Bethpage – the only course he has worked at in his turf management career – and was appointed director of agronomy in 2010.

The ASTMA thanks Hugh for these contributions and hopes they will provide some valuable insight into one of the most talked about tournaments in the game at one of the game’s most iconic public access courses. Read on below for this week’s update…

UPDATE WEEK 1

“Hello all, my name is Hugh Ryan, I am an Australian greenkeeper currently interning at Bethpage Black for the 2025 season where we are hosting the 2025 Ryder Cup from 23-28 September. Over the next few weeks I will share some insight into the day-to-day preparation for what is set to be the biggest golf event in the world this year.

“Bethpage State Park is impressive to say the least. It is home to five public golf courses (Black, Yellow, Green, Blue and Red) which span across 1500 acres (approx. 607ha), all starting and finishing from the one clubhouse. About 250,000 rounds of golf are played here every year, with about 30,000 taking place on the Black Course which is renowned as being one of the toughest tests in golf worldwide. Indeed, the famous warning sign on the 1st tee (pictured) reads… 

“The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers".

“With the tournament a month away, the last day of public golf on Bethpage Black was 17 August which means the course maintenance team now has a solid window to get the course in as best condition as possible for tournament week. Immediately after closure, all divots on the ryegrass/Poa annua fairways were filled with sand and ryegrass seed, followed by aeration on some weak areas in the rough along with seed applications. We also began plugging pitch marks on the Poa annua/bentgrass greens to remove any imperfections. We have also sodded some small high traffic areas in the roughs which are a ryegrass/Kentucky bluegrass/Poa mix. 

“The weather is now slowly turning away from peak summer with overnight temperatures in the low 60s Fahrenheit (15-18 degrees C) along with a few nice slow rainfalls. It has strongly assisted turf recovery given the playing surfaces are all cool-season which thrive in slightly cooler conditions.

“Construction for corporate and general admission seating is rapidly expanding with new structures popping up daily. The 18th hole will be a major attraction for spectators, with the 5000-seat grandstand wrapping around the green and 1st tee set to provide an extraordinary atmosphere. I look forward to sharing more information about the course and tournament across the coming weeks." – Hugh Ryan. 

Bethpage photos (from top down): The par three 17th tee looking towards the green; the iconic warning sign on the 1st tee of Bethpage Black; Hugh Ryan on his clean up lap; the 18th green with the huge grandstand in the background. Photos: Hugh Ryan