Former Ryder Cup skipper: This player will star at Bethpage Black

Former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley says Matthieu Pavon and Aaron Rai stood out at the Team Cup. 

The three-day event is giving European captain Luke Donald the chance to observe players from Continental Europe and Great Britain and Ireland. 

Donald and his dozen will head to Bethpage Black in September and will attempt to win in hostile territory for the first time since 2012. 

The event is expected to be a raucous affair with an antagonistic and perhaps innebriated New York crowd. 

In those circumstances, Europe will need players that can handle the heat. 

McGinley reckons that Frenchman Pavon and England's Rai - who broke through on the PGA Tour in 2024 - have what it takes to withstand the bearpit. 

"Matthieu Pavon has stood out, and I know he's on a team that will lose, but he's been something special," McGinley said after Justin Rose's Great Britain and Ireland took charge of the contest on day two. 

"He's got a bit of grit about him. It's no secret that we are looking at two or three rookies again. 

"We are looking at this Ryder Cup in a very different way to the way we've looked at an away one before.

"What we are particularly looking for is personality, guile and grit, someone who can play in a hostile environment, someone who has an edge about them and, I think, Pavon brings that to the table. 

"He had a big year in America last year, which has set him up for a particularly big year this year because he's in all the majors and big signature events. 

"It'll be interesting to see how he plays in that but, this moment in time, he looks very, very strong."

McGinley added: "Aaron Rai you would put in a similar vein (to Pavon), and another name is Matt Wallace, another player with the grit and the guile that we think can perform in that hostile atmosphere.

"Obviously, you have to throw in the players that have played this week. Matthew Jordan has been brilliant. 

"Romain Langasque has played well today, but all of these guys are maybes. 

"You never know, they have one good season and you never know where they may end up.

"The performance this week is not going to be the determining factor, but it might be if they have brilliant seasons. 

"Those kind of guys will have to have brilliant seasons to bring them up to the level of Pavon and Wallace, those guys who have last season in the bank."

The 2025 Ryder Cup takes place over 26-28 September. 

The automatic qualifying period for Team Europe ends on 24 August. 

Six players will automatically qualify and Donald will then have six picks. 

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