Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the new Heisman Trophy favorite after a five-touchdown performance against Illinois.
Former Heisman front-runners Carson Beck of Miami and John Mateer of Oklahoma have dropped in the rankings.
Other standout quarterbacks include Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia and Oregon’s Dante Moore, who are ranked second and third, respectively.

We can say this with confidence: Indiana and former California transfer Fernando Mendoza are a good match.

This conclusion comes courtesy of Mendoza’s national introduction as the latest quarterback to shine in coach Curt Cignetti’s seemingly foolproof system. The junior had five touchdowns without an interception in the Hoosiers’ 63-10 destruction of then-No. 8 Illinois.

With 14 touchdowns through four games for the unbeaten Hoosiers, Mendoza has taken over as the early Heisman Trophy favorite, replacing Miami’s Carson Beck and Oklahoma’s John Mateer.

Beck and Mateer are tumbling down the USA TODAY Sports list of college football’s top quarterbacks. Beck was average in the No. 2 Hurricanes’ win against Florida. Mateer led No. 10 Oklahoma to a win against Auburn but suffered a hand injury that could keep him out for the next month.

That helps vault Mendoza to the top of this week’s rankings:

1. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana

Any thought that Mendoza was just feasting on weak non-conference competition was put to bed in the blowout of Illinois. His 14 touchdowns lead the Bowl Subdivision. He’s the only quarterback in the Power Four with more than 10 touchdowns without an interception. His completion percentage of 76.8% ranks second nationally, as does his 206.2 efficiency rating. Mendoza has been a perfect fit for Indiana and should be even better as he gains more game-day experience in Cignetti’s scheme.

2. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt

Quarterbacks from Indiana and Vanderbilt topping the Bowl Subdivsion? Sure, why not. After back-to-back road wins against Virginia Tech and South Carolina, the Commodores returned home for a 70-21 rout of Georgia State. Pavia had a season-high 331 yards of total offense and two touchdowns.

3. Dante Moore, Oregon

Moore was unleashed in the Civil War rivalry against Oregon State, setting new season highs with 31 attempts, 21 completions, 305 passing yards, 53 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He’s ready for this weekend’s road trip to No. 2 Penn State with an opportunity to further impress.

4. Carson Beck, Miami

Beck entered last Saturday leading the nation in completion percentage but struggled in messy conditions in a 26-7 win against the Gators, completing just 17 of 30 throws for 160 yards with an interception.

5. John Mateer, Oklahoma

6. Dylan Raiola, Nebraska

Even with the running game missing in action and no help from his offensive front, Raiola nearly carried Nebraska to an upset of No. 18 Michigan with 308 passing yards and three touchdowns. He did throw his first interception, though, part of an ugly first quarter that saw the Cornhuskers quickly fall behind by multiple scores.

7. Josh Hoover, TCU

Hoover is the only quarterback in the country with at least 1,000 yards passing and 10 touchdowns in fewer than four games. He leads the FBS with 333.3 passing yards per game after going for 379 yards and five scores in the No. 25 Horned Frogs’ 35-24 win against rival SMU.

8. Jayden Maiava, Southern California

Maiava’s hot start continued with 234 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-31 win against Michigan State. The junior transfer leads the FBS in yards per attempt (12.7) and efficiency rating (208.8) for the No. 22 Trojans.

9. Jalon Daniels, Kansas

After missing most of 2023 due to injury and struggling in his return last season, Daniels has again resembled one of the nation’s top dual-threat quarterbacks for the sneaky-good Jayhawks. He had three touchdowns through the air and 69 rushing yards on 13.8 yards per carry in a 41-10 win against West Virginia to open Big 12 play.

10. Trinidad Chambliss, Mississippi

A backup rounds out this week’s list. After leading Ferris State to the Division II national championship, Chambliss came to Oxford pegged as the No. 11 Rebels’ backup to Austin Simmons. But Simmons injured his ankle in the win against Kentucky, opening a door for Chambliss to draw the nod against Arkansas and Tulane. Against the Razorbacks, he threw for 353 yards on 12.2 yards per attempt and ran for 62 yards with three scores. He added 307 yards on 11.4 yards per throw with 112 yards on the ground against the Green Wave. He’s been one of the great surprises of the season’s opening month.

Players from both Team USA and Team Europe are anticipating an intense and loud crowd for the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York.
The home team has won the last five Ryder Cups, highlighting the significant advantage of a supportive crowd.
American players hope to use the energy from the home crowd to their advantage, with Collin Morikawa saying he hopes Friday is ‘absolute chaos.’

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Tommy Fleetwood walked up the 16th fairway with his three practice partners Wednesday, less than 48 hours before the 2025 Ryder Cup began, and turned around when a spectator called his name. 

“Hey Tommy!” the fan yelled. “Nice hair!” 

The 2025 PGA Tour champion responded with a smile and thumbs-up. Everyone in the surrounding area laughed. It was an interaction emblematic of the pre-competition days at the biennial tournament – a gentle ribbing by the home-crowd spectator and a gesture of good-naturedness from the player. 

Golfers receive on-course support from their fans, but that’s rooting for an individual. Being part of a team changes the crowd’s importance, Fleetwood said. 

“That energy, that passion and that home team environment is something that plays such a big part in the Ryder Cup, and I think you have to embrace that, enjoy it, and look forward to it, even when you’re the away team.” 

By Friday morning, however, that friendly tune from the American-heavy crowd in suburban New York – where the locals are frustrated by their winless football teams, stressed about their baseball teams’ playoff races and prepared to provide a home-field advantage for Team USA – will change. 

“I hope Friday is just absolute chaos,” two-time major champion Collin Morikawa from the U.S. said. “I’m all for it. I think it feeds into who we are … we want it. Like, we want to use that to our advantage.”

The stadium setup of the first hole will ignite an intense atmosphere from the jump. Bryson DeChambeau tested that out Wednesday by hyping up the gathered crowd at the first tee before his group started their practice session. Justin Thomas brought a youngster out to walk with the group on the fourth fairway, where players signed autographs for the kid to celebrate his birthday; the gallery behind the ropes started singing ‘Happy Birthday.’

The proximity of the 16th, 17th and 18th greens should make for some overlapping roars should matches go down to the wire simultaneously. 

The last five Ryder Cups have been claimed by the home team, proving the importance of having a favorable crowd. Europe won that last “road” Ryder Cup, at Medinah outside of Chicago in 2012, when they succeeded in silencing the natives with a stunning Sunday session. 

Justin Rose, who along with Rory McIlroy, was part of Team Europe then as they are in 2025, said he expects the crowd at Bethpage to have a similar feel to the one he experienced 13 years ago. 

“I think the scale of the Ryder Cup seems to have really kind of kicked on massively in the last decade. So I feel like each occasion is getting more and more intense,” he said, “which is a lot of fun, obviously.” 

Although fans travel to the Ryder Cup from all over the world, American Patrick Cantlay said New York fans have a reputation to uphold this weekend.

“I think it’s going to be an added benefit for our team with how loud it can be,” he said, “and what a great environment we’re going to be able to get to play in.” 

The native New Yorker on the U.S. squad, Cameron Young – who grew up in New York’s northern suburbs (rather than the Eastern ones on Long Island) – described his people as ‘very intense.’

‘They love to win,’ Young said. ‘They love their teams when they win. I think that is what gets a group like this going.’

Europe practiced with virtual-reality headsets to simulate the hostile environs and at the behest of captain Luke Donald. The chirping is to be expected, Europe’s Ludvig Åberg said.   

“It’s that passion that the Ryder Cup brings out that you don’t necessarily see in a normal tournament,” Åberg said. “That’s why we all love it. That’s why we all think it’s the best tournament in the world.”  

If things go awry for the American side, Justin Thomas isn’t expecting the fans to take it easy on the home team. But there’s still a line not to be crossed regardless of who’s winning or losing. 

“Look, if we’re not playing well and you’re talking trash about us, we probably deserve it,” Thomas said. “But if you start getting into the loved ones, that’s I think when everybody starts really kind of getting a little bit chippy.”

For Xander Schauffele, whether it’s the pub songs that make their way to the course when the tournament is in Europe or the classic “U-S-A!” chants in the States, “I love all of it, to be completely honest.” 

The most similar atmosphere to a Ryder Cup reigning U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun has played in, he said, is the always-boisterous Phoenix Open. Spaun inquired with Schauffele about the feeling of playing in a Ryder Cup earlier this week. 

“I just told (Spaun) that there’s nothing more rewarding than to be at home and to make a putt to win a hole, or to even tie a hole if you’re in a bad spot,” Schauffele said, “and get these fans going.

“And get them going quickly.” 

Because a fast start Friday – crowd sure to be roaring – could be the difference between the U.S. taking back the Ryder Cup trophy, or having the unfortunate distinction of being the first team to lose the tournament at home in more than a decade.

For the fourth time in his career, Aaron Judge has reached the 50-home run milestone.

Judge hit two home runs in the New York Yankees’ 8-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, Sept. 24, finishing the night with 51 home runs on the season. Judge hit home run No. 50 during the second inning off White Sox right-hander Jonathan Cannon, then in the eighth inning he hit an opposite-field homer off left-handed Cam Booser.

Judge is the fourth player to hit 50 or more home runs this season. The Seattle Mariners’ Cal Raleigh (60), Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber (56) and Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (53) had previously eclipsed the impressive dinger benchmark.

For Judge, this marks consecutive 50-homer seasons after hitting 58 last season. In 2022, Judge set the American League home run record with 62, and in 2017 he had 52 home runs. In each of his 50-plus homer seasons, Judge has collected major awards, winning AL Rookie of the Year in 2017 and AL MVP in both 2022 and 2024. Judge is in a two-player race with Raleigh for AL MVP this season.

Judge’s four 50-plus home run seasons is tied for the most in Major League Baseball history with Mark McGwire, Babe Ruth and Sammy Sosa.

Players with 50-plus home runs in consecutive seasons

Aaron Judge (2024-25)
Shohei Ohtani (2024-25)
Alex Rodriguez (2001-02)
Sammy Sosa (1998-2001)
Ken Griffey Jr. (1997-98)
Mark McGwire (1996-99)
Babe Ruth (1927-28)
Babe Ruth (1920-21)

Players with 50-plus home run seasons

(Number of home runs, season; players in alphabetical order)

Pete Alonso (53, 2019)
Brady Anderson (50, 1996)
José Bautista (54, 2010)
Albert Belle (50, 1995)
Barry Bonds (73, 2001)
Chris Davis (53, 2013)
Cecil Fielder (51, 1990)
Prince Fielder (50, 2007)
George Foster (52, 1977)
Jimmie Foxx (58, 1932; 50, 1938)
Luis Gonzalez (57, 2001)
Hank Greenberg (58, 1938)
Ken Griffey Jr. (56, 1997; 56, 1998)
Ryan Howard (58, 2006)
Andruw Jones (51, 2005)
Aaron Judge (62, 2022; 58, 2024; 52, 2017; 51, 2025)
Ralph Kiner (54, 1949; 51, 1947)
Mickey Mantle (54, 1961; 52, 1956)
Roger Maris (61, 1961)
Willie Mays (52, 1965; 51, 1955)
Mark McGwire (70, 1998; 65, 1999; 58, 1997; 52, 1996)
Johnny Mize (51, 1947)
Shohei Ohtani (54, 2024; 53, 2025)
Matt Olson (54, 2023)
David Ortiz (54, 2006)
Cal Raleigh (60, 2025)
Alex Rodriguez (57, 2002; 54, 2007; 52, 2001)
Babe Ruth (60, 1927; 59, 1921; 54, 1920; 54, 1928)
Kyle Schwarber (56, 2025)
Sammy Sosa (66, 1998; 64, 2001; 63, 1999; 50, 2000)
Giancarlo Stanton (59, 2017)
Jim Thome (52, 2002)
Greg Vaughn (50, 1998)
Hack Wilson (56, 1930)

Former NFL star Adrian Peterson owes more than $10 million from an unpaid loan taken out in 2016.
A Houston judge recently denied a request to sell Peterson’s 2007 BMW to help pay the debt.
This is the latest development in an ongoing legal battle over Peterson’s assets, including a previously halted auction of his memorabilia.

Former Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson is still more than $10 million in debt stemming from a loan he didn’t pay back after the Vikings declined to exercise an $18 million option on his contract in 2017.

But efforts to collect on that debt hit a snag in court Wednesday, Sept. 24 when a judge in Houston denied a court-appointed receiver’s request to sell one of Peterson’s cars, according to court records obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

The court-appointed receiver, Robert Berleth, had petitioned the court for permission to sell Peterson’s 2007 BMW to help satisfy the judgment against Peterson. In response, Peterson fought back and won a ruling in court on Wednesday that denies Berleth’s attempt to do that. Peterson stated the car was seized from his home without his permission.

“My 2007 BMW… was parked outside my home and was taken from the property by the Receiver (Berleth) in this matter, or individuals under his direction, while I was not home,” Peterson said in a declaration filed in Houston Sept. 22. “I did not agree to its seizure, nor was I asked at the time whether I wanted to designate it as exempt. I was not even aware it had been taken until I returned home.”

Judge Erica Hughes denied Berleth’s motion to sell the property, which Berleth said was turned over by Peterson in 2022. The law gives Peterson some protection against debt collection, such as up to $100,000 worth of personal property. Peterson, 40, earned more than $100 million in his NFL career from 2007 to 2021.

What is going on here with Adrian Peterson?

It’s the latest in an ongoing cat-and-mouse game between Peterson and Berleth, the court-appointed receiver who is trying to collect on a court judgment stemming from a $5.2 million loan Peterson took out from a Pennsylvania lending company in October 2016.

An attachment to the promissory note indicated Peterson was seeking an advance on an $18 million contract with the Vikings. But after Peterson injured his knee in September 2016, the Vikings declined to pick up that option in early 2017. Peterson’s earnings fell after that, and he didn’t pay back the loan. He now owes around $11 million to $13 million including interest and attorneys’ fees, according to various court documents filed by Berleth.

Last year, an auction to sell Peterson’s trophies, jerseys and clothing was suspended in Texas as the two sides fought over the property involved. 

In court documents filed this week, Peterson’s attorney said that issue is still unresolved and now the court-appointed receiver was seeking to sell a car seized from Peterson under “false pretenses”

The attorney noted that Peterson “has every right to designate the car at issue as exempt.”

The judge sided with Peterson, but the larger debt-collection remains pending. In recent years, Peterson also has faced other legal problems, including with child support, a misdemeanor assault case last year and a drunken-driving arrest in Minnesota in April.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

The Phoenix Mercury evened their WNBA semifinal series against the Minnesota Lynx with an 89-83 road victory on Tuesday, guaranteeing the series will go to a Game 4.

Both Games 3 and 4 will be played at PHX Arena, and with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday, the Jonas Brothers have been forced to adjust and reschedule a date on their latest tour.

The band of brothers was originally scheduled to perform at PHX Arena the evening of Sunday, Sept. 28, as part of The JONAS20 Hometown Tour.

The Jonas Brothers will now instead perform on Monday, Sept. 29.

Any tickets purchased for the original concert date will still be valid for the new date. If fans are unable to attend the concert on the new date, they will have the opportunity to request a refund, but it must be made by 7:30 p.m. Monday, according to the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network. 

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

Ryder Cup captains use practice round groupings to test potential pairings for the competition.
The U.S. and European teams held practice sessions at Bethpage Black ahead of the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Speculation suggests Europe may stick with successful 2023 pairings, while the U.S. will feature new combinations.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Four names beneath a tee time for a practice round can seem trivial. At a Ryder Cup, it’s telling. 

Captains of both the U.S. and Europe sides assigned these foursomes for a reason – likely because the pairs in the group will be playing partners at some point during the first two days of Ryder Cup competition, which features foursomes (alternate shot) and fourball (best ball) matches on Friday and Saturday. 

Here’s a look at how the practice pairings over the first two warm-up sessions have panned out. With the weather looking questionable Thursday, practice time at Bethpage Black could be over. 

2025 Ryder Cup practice round groupings

Europe Group 1 (Tuesday): Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose

Europe Group 2 (Tuesday): Rasmus Højgaard, Viktor Hovland, Robert MacIntyre, Sepp Straka

Europe Group 3 (Tuesday): Ludvig Åberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm

Europe Group 1 (Wednesday): Hatton, Lowry, Rahm, Straka

Europe Group 2 (Wednesday): Fitzpatrick, Hovland, MacIntyre, McIlroy

Europe Group 3 (Wednesday): Åberg, Højgaard, Fleetwood, Rose

U.S. Group 1 (Tuesday): Harris English, Russell Henley, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler

U.S. Group 2 (Tuesday): Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Cameron Young, Ben Griffin

U.S. Group 3 (Tuesday): Sam Burns, JJ Spaun, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele

U.S. Group 1 (Wednesday): DeChambeau, Thomas, Griffin, Young

U.S. Group 2 (Wednesday): English, Henley, Scheffler, Spaun

U.S. Group 3 (Wednesday): Burns, Cantlay, Morikawa, Schauffele

Predicting 2025 Ryder Cup Friday foursomes (alternate shot)

Earlier this week, U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said his matchups and pairings have been ’90 percent’ decided. Europe captain Luke Donald has 11 of 12 players returning (Højgaard replacing his twin brother, Nicolai). This isn’t rocket science, but until the matchups are formally announced Thursday evening, speculation is as close as we can get. 

Europe swept the foursome session to start the 2023 Ryder Cup so let’s assume Donald doesn’t change much:

Rahm/Hatton
Fleetwood/McIlroy
Åberg/Hovland
Straka/Lowry

The Americans will definitely have a different look, however, since Thomas’ buddy Jordan Spieth isn’t on this team.

Scheffler/Henley
Schauffele/Cantlay 
Thomas/Griffin
DeChambeau/Spaun 

How the best ball pairings shake out could depend on the morning, with Scheffler and DeChambeau likely doubling up for the Americans and McIlroy and Rahm doing the same for Europe. 

The Ryder Cup isn’t just a showcase for the best golfers from the United States and Europe. The lead-up to the sport’s most prestigious international team event also puts a spotlight on their wives and girlfriends.

Yes, the WAGs of professional golf are part the 45th edition of the Ryder Cup and they were out in full force on Tuesday, Sept. 23 for the traditional Ryder Cup welcome dinner before the first tee shots of 2025 are hit starting Friday morning. This year’s gala feast was held at Hempstead House, a 50,000 square foot, Tudor-style mansion in New York near Bethpage Black Golf Course, and the annual photos featuring the Ryder Cup golfers and their significant others have once again turned into popular talking points.

The U.S. team wore black Ralph Lauren suits without ties and the Europe team wore Loro Piana black suits and ties with grey-and-white striped dress shirts and black leather loafers. Their wives and girlfriends, however, stood out wearing designer gowns and dresses in an array of colors and styles.

So who are these women? And are there any single golfers playing at this year’s Ryder Cup? Here’s a breakdown of what to know about the wives and girlfriends for every golfer participating in the 2025 Ryder Cup:

Ryder Cup WAGS 2025: Wives and girlfriends for every golfer

United States

Bryson DeChambeau

The 32-year-old might be one of the few single golfers at this year’s Ryder Cup. He has long been rumored to be dating Lilia Schneider, a golf internet personality and college golfer at Marian University in Indianapolis last year. But neither DeChambeau nor Schneider have confirmed the relationship to this point and DeChambeau attended Tuesday’s Ryder Cup gala stag.

Xander Schauffele

The two-time major winner will play his first professional event as a father at the 2025 Ryder Cup. Schauffele and his wife, Maya, recently became parents to their first son, Victor. It’s why Schauffele elected not to play in the Procore Championship along with the rest of the U.S. Ryder Cup team earlier this month. Schauffele noted after he won the 2024 PGA Championship that his wife ‘has the most inside track to my emotions on a day-to-day basis.’

“It’s been awesome. I feel very lucky to have my wife. She’s at home with him right now. I miss him a bunch,” Schauffele said earlier this week. “It’s been cool to sort of learn what it’s like to be a dad, and I look forward to everything that comes with that.”

Scottie Scheffler

Justin Thomas

Thomas and his wife, Jillian Wiesniewski, are both from Kentucky and had their first child in November 2024. Jordan Spieth was the best man at their wedding two years earlier. Thomas revealed after he won the 2017 PGA Championship that he had Wiesniewski, then his girlfriend, changed her flight to later on Sunday because he had a feeling he was going to win his first major.

Russell Henley

One of the U.S. team’s Ryder Cup rookies is married to artist Teil Duncan. ‘She puts steel in my spine,’ Henley told reporters after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2025. “She’s tough on me when she needs to be and just super supportive.’

Sam Burns

The 29-year-old and his wife, Caroline, are from the same town (Shreveport, Louisiana). She once revealed to WJCL News in Savannah, Georgia, that she was Burns’ first Valentine as a 5-year-old. The two went to different high schools and didn’t start dating until each attended LSU. Burns said he proposed on the way to dinner one night while he was playing in the 2019 RBC Heritage. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Bear, in 2024.

Patrick Cantlay

After being in the middle of a lot of drama at the 2023 Ryder Cup, Cantlay married his wife, Nikki Guidish, in Rome the day after the event ended. Justin Thomas and LPGA star Nelly Korda were among those in attendance.

Collin Morikawa

Morikawa and his wife, Katherine, met while he was playing college golf for California and she was playing golf at Pepperdine. She ran in the 2024 NYC Marathon after being inspired to start running while reading the book, ‘Can’t Hurt Me,’ by runner and author David Goggins, according to the New York Post. The couple got married in November 2022.

J.J. Spaun

Spaun won the 2025 U.S. Open on Father’s Day with his wife, Melody, and their children there to celebrate. They’ve been married since 2019, but their first encounter after meeting through mutual friends didn’t go so smoothly.

‘I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m a pro golfer.’ Because I thought I was cool,’ Spaun recounted in 2023. ‘But she’s like, ‘I don’t even know. What does that mean? Like, does that mean you’re like rich or something?’ I was like, ‘No.’ And she’s like, ‘I don’t really care.’ And I was like, ‘All right.’

‘And we went like mini golfing or something and she’s like, ‘This is lame.”

Harris English

The 36-year-old making his second-consecutive Ryder Cup appearance married his wife, Helen Marie, in 2017. They both attended the University of Georgia. When English won the 2025 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January, he savored the moment celebrating on the 18th green with his wife and 1-year-old, Emilia, when he won the tournament.

“I’ve been seeing over the years of people’s families coming out on 18 green and their children coming out to see them win,’ English said. ‘I’m so happy that she was there to see it. I have no idea if I’m going to win again or when I’m going to win again, but we’ll have those pictures for a lifetime.”

Ben Griffin

This 29-year-old Ryder Cup rookie got engaged to Dana Myeroff in July 2024 and they’re slated to get married in December, according to an Instagram post by Myeroff.

Cameron Young

The captain’s pick and Ryder Cup rookie is married to Kelsey Dalition. Their families knew one another growing up outside New York. Young told Golfweek in 2021 he played hockey for Dalition’s father and with her brother.

“They’re not a golf family at all so Kelsey is kind of still learning the ropes,’ Young said. ‘It’s actually great for me, because the last thing I want to do when I get home is answer questions like, ‘Why’d you pull a 9-iron on 16?’ That would make my head explode, so that’s been a blessing.”

Europe Ryder Cup WAGs

Rory McIlroy

The 2025 Masters champion has been married to his wife, Erica Stoll, since 2017. They met while Stoll was working for the PGA of America at the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah. ‘Erica that week was always the one that was checking us in and out. She was there at transportation, so she was always in the car park over there,’ McIlroy told Golf Channel in 2019. McIlroy filed for divorce in May 2024, but the couple eventually reconciled. They have a daughter, Poppy.

Jon Rahm

The 30-year-old Spanish LIV Golf star is married to Kelley Cahill Rahm, a former Arizona State track and field athlete. Rahm played college golf for the Sun Devils. The couple have three kids together. Kelley told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2018 that she and Rahm met at a Halloween party as Arizona State freshmen. Rahm wore a SWAT team uniform, and she was dressed as a referee.

Matt Fitzpatrick

The 2022 U.S. Open champion will compete in his fourth Ryder Cup appearance for Europe, but his first as a married man. He and his wife, Katherine, got engaged in September 2023 after the Ryder Cup in Italy. Katherine was the runner-up in the 2014 Miss New Jersey pageant and revealed on Instagram earlier this year that she writes messages like ‘MF is cute’ and ‘I love you’ in bright red marker on his golf balls.

Tyrrell Hatton

The English LIV Golf star had several near-misses at majors this year, but nothing like his 2021 wedding day with wife, Emily Braisher. Hatton revealed that the driver got lost and the couple showed up 30 minutes late for their COVID-19 impacted ceremony in Asheville, North Carolina. Braisher, who previously wrote the ‘Wife on Tour’ blog, also famously interrupted Hatton in the middle of his backswing when she closed a port-o-potty door too loudly at a DP World Tour event in Italy.

Justin Rose

The 45-year-old PGA Tour veteran is the oldest golfer representing Europe this year, and he also appears to have the longest marriage. Rose and his wife, Kate Phillips, have been married since 2006. She notably was shown embracing Rory McIlory after he won the 2025 Masters while paired with her husband for the final round. The couple met when Kate worked at IMG while it was representing Rose at the time. She also served as caddie for Rose at the Indonesian Masters on their wedding anniversary in 2017. They founded the Kate and Justin Rose Foundation in 2009 that helps children living in poverty in Central Florida.

Sepp Straka

The 32-year-old Austrian met his wife, Paige, while he was a golfer at the University of Georgia and Paige was a student at Auburn. Straka missed the BMW PGA Championship in England that the rest of Europe’s Ryder Cup team played in earlier this month because he and his wife recently had their second child prematurely, according to Europe team captain Luke Donald. Straka didn’t want to be too far from home and his wife is not in New York this week.

Tommy Fleetwood

The 34-year-old Englishman who finally broke through and won his first PGA Tour event to close out the 2025 FedEx Cup playoffs is married to Clare Craig. She also serves as his manager. There is a 23-year age gap between the two and Craig initially turned down Fleetwood’s initial attempts to start a romantic relationship because of that dynamic. Craig is 57 years old.

Ludvig Åberg

This rising PGA Tour star brought his girlfriend, OIivia Peet, to this year’s Ryder Cup festivities. Peet is a Manchester, England native who played college tennis at Texas Tech. Åberg, 25, played college golf at Texas Tech.

Shane Lowry

The 38-year-old Irish golfer married his wife, Wendy, in 2016. She is a former hospital nurse in Dublin. The couple met in 2012 and Wendy Lowry once shared a photo of their first night out together.

“There were plenty of times I have been crying myself to sleep or wondering am I able to keep going but when you have a good strong woman behind you it makes it easier,” Shane Lowry told the Irish Independent in 2019. “I owe a lot to her.”

Viktor Hovland

The 28-year-old appears to be the lone single member of Europe’s team.

Robert MacIntyre

The 29-year-old lefty burst onto the international scene with his performance two years ago at the Ryder Cup and he had girlfriend, Shannon Hartley, with him at this year’s Ryder Cup gala. Hartley came with MacIntyre to the United States the past two years when he became a PGA Tour regular following his successful Ryder Cup debut.

Rasmus Højgaard

The 24-year-old Ryder Cup rookie was accompanied by his girlfriend, Julie Sander Danielsen, at the Ryder Cup gala. Højgaard makes frequent appearances on Danielsen’s Instagram page.

A team of Afghan refugees will participate in its first international soccer tournament, which will be a round-robin event for four women’s national teams in the United Arab Emirates, FIFA announced Wednesday.

Dubbed ‘FIFA Unites: Women’s Series,’ the tournament will also feature national teams from Chad, Libya, and the UAE. The tournament will be held in Dubai Oct. 23-29, with all matches set to stream on FIFA+.

‘Ensuring that all women have access to football is a priority for FIFA and a key element in shaping the future of our sport,’ FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement announcing the event.

Using the training grounds that typically host the English women’s and men’s national teams, FIFA last week hosted a talent identification camp for the Afghan refugee team, with roughly 70 players participating. Head coach Pauline Hamill and her coaching staff plan on narrowing that group down to a final 23-player squad to take part in October’s games.

The Afghan national team began play in 2007, but the Taliban-led government banned women from playing sports in August 2021. With significant worries that the ban would extend to punishment for players who had participated, the Australian government led an effort to evacuate 75 women athletes from Afghanistan.

The refugee team, which FIFA plans to recognize as representing Afghanistan, would be making its debut on the international stage. Many resettled players have teamed up to play in Australian lower-league soccer as the Melbourne Victory FC Afghan Women’s Team.

The last officially-recognized game for an Afghan women’s national soccer team was Dec. 1, 2018, a 5-0 loss to Tajikistan at the Central Asian Football Association Women’s Championship. FIFA statutes expressly bar governments from interfering in the affairs of their country’s recognized soccer federation. However, despite the actions of the Afghan government banning a women’s national team from play, the Afghanistan Football Federation has never faced sanctions from FIFA.

The UAE national team, which played its first international match in 2010, is currently ranked 117th out of 196 teams that meet the threshold for evaluation. The team’s coach, Vera Pauw, was accused of abusive conduct during her tenure leading the NWSL’s Houston Dash, and is currently barred from any role in the league. Pauw has denied the allegations against her.

The Chadian and Libyan teams are not currently ranked by FIFA due to inactivity. A report from UAE state-owned newspaper The National notes Libya last played a FIFA-sanctioned game in 2019. By participating in the ‘FIFA Unites: Women’s Series,’ both will qualify for a place in the next FIFA rankings, which will be released in December.