The United States has produced an early Ryder Cup faux pas after an official t-shirt appeared on sale, featuring a silhouette which bears an uncanny resemblance to Europe’s Rory McIlroy. What on earth was wrong with Scottie Scheffler? McIlroy is the leading name on the European roster to face the US at Bethpage on the final weekend of September.
Social media erupted after the item appeared on the US element of the official Ryder Cup shop. Costing $65, the navy Ralph Lauren t-shirt carries the slogan ‘USA Ryder Cup 2025.’ The golfer performing a follow through as the backdrop is almost certainly McIlroy albeit the Northern Irishman shrugged off the bizarre matter at Wentworth on Tuesday. McIlroy suggested the golfer looks more like Adam Scott; which would actually be just as curious, given he is Australian. The PGA of America has been contacted for comment.
McIlroy’s appearance in England and the PGA Championship comes just days after a dramatic victory at the Irish Open. The Masters champion holed out for an eagle from 30ft on the tournament’s 72nd hole before seeing off Joakim Lagergren in a play-off. Following the Ryder Cup, McIlroy will play in the Middle East, India and Australia to close out 2025. The 36-year-old has made plain his professional schedule will not be determined by anyone else.
“At this point I want to play golf when I want to play golf,” McIlroy explained. “I want to play in the locations that I love to go to, I want to play the majors and the Ryder Cup. That’s it. I’m not going to be going by minimums or anything else. I’ll obviously do my bit to make sure I keep my membership and all that on certain tours but I’m going to play where I want to play.
Rory McIlroy’s pose after hitting a tee shot bears a resemblance to the Team USA t-shirt. Photograph: Kevin C Cox/Getty Images
“Twenty or 18 years into a career, to be able to do things for the first time. So go to India and play for the first time or whatever that may be, that excites me. I don’t want to name a tournament but you’re going back to the same place, the same thing 15, 20 years in a row, it can get a little bit monotonous and a little bit tedious.
“I had a chat with Roger Federer a few years ago sort of at the end of his career and he was saying he wanted to go and play a lot of the places he could never play in his career. So some of the smaller 250 events just because not a lot of people had never seen him play tennis before.”
McIlroy is one of 11 members of Europe’s Ryder Cup side who will tee up in this, the DP World Tour’s flagship event. The European team will travel to Bethpage at the conclusion of the Wentworth tournament for a Ryder Cup scouting mission.
