What is your favourite winning moment from the Ryder Cup?
As a European, there are no prizes for guessing that Martin Kaymer’s nerveless stroke to win the 2012 event at Medinah is the one for me.
His calmness under pressure spared his blushes from what would’ve been an unconsciously bad three-putt, but he doesn’t have to worry about that now.
Many will look back to Paul McGinley’s winning putt from 2002 at the Belfry, and Graeme McDowell’s snakey down-hiller at Celtic Manor in 2010. That didn’t quite secure it for Europe, but it backed Hunter Mahan into a corner he couldn’t come out of.
My dad and grandad (and some of my colleagues) would probably look to Sam Torrance’s long putt on the 18th at the Belfry in 1985, raising his hands for the first-ever European victory in that iconic red jumper.
I’m getting misty-eyed thinking about winning putts of the past because in a survey that NCG ran before the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage, we asked you which Team Europe member you would most trust to hole a six-footer to win the Ryder Cup.
We received over 2,000 responses to the survey, and you gave us your preference from a team that includes major champions, PGA Tour winners and previous Ryder Cup heroes.
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Who will win the Ryder Cup for Europe?
Over 45% of you chose the career grand slam winner Rory McIlroy.
The Northern Irishman completed his set of all four majors by winning the Masters in April, beating Justin Rose in a playoff. McIlroy had missed a short putt for par in regulation to seal the deal and avoid extra holes.
But he knocked in an even shorter putt on the first playoff hole at Augusta to win his fifth major. He is the best player Europe have by far, and it isn’t surprising to see him at the top of the pile.
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He has played in every Ryder Cup since 2010, and at the last Ryder Cup in 2023, he won four points in his best Team Europe performance to date. He is desperate to win on away soil, like he did in 2012.
The difference between the second and third players with the most votes is both narrow and intriguing. Two-time major champion Jon Rahm received 16.6% of the vote.
Fans of the established tours might see less of him now that he plays in the LIV Golf League, but Rahm is still a serial winner and was the LIV individual champion of 2025, too.
The Spaniard is making his fourth consecutive Ryder Cup, having made his debut in 2018 when he memorably beat Tiger Woods with a short putt in the Sunday singles. He has since formed formidable partnerships with Sergio Garcia and LIV Golf teammate Tyrrell Hatton.
With 15.7% of the vote was the former US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick. He might only have 1 Ryder Cup point in three appearances for Europe, but a large chunk of fans on the continent think he would remain cool, calm and collected over a winning putt.
The man from Sheffield certainly showed plenty of poise and nerve when taking his first major title at Brookline in 2022, a venue that hosted a famous American Ryder Cup win in 1999.
Norway’s Viktor Hovland picked up the pieces of the rest of the vote. 7.3% of European fans would like the former FedEx Cup champion over a knee-knocker for glory.
He formed a great partnership with Ludvig Aberg at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy, which culminated in a historic 9&7 win over US stars Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka in the day two foursomes. This is his third consecutive start for the continent.
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Notable omissions from the chart would include recent Tour Championship winner Tommy Fleetwood and Ryder Cup veteran Justin Rose, who also won last month on the PGA Tour.
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