by Welcome to the seventh edition of my weekly professional golf update. This week, we’re doing an early Ryder Cup check-in, spotlighting the golfer henceforward known as the Anti-Spieth, and talking a little bit about expectations for the actual Jordan Spieth.
Tiering Team Europe
One of the emergent storylines of the 2025 season has been the success of European golfers. Three of the first six PGA Tour events of the year have been won by Euros, and there are currently eight European players in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
A highly competitive Ryder Cup at Bethpage looms at the end of September. A lot is going to change between now and then. Every time the Ryder Cup rolls around, people use the word “lock” irresponsibly early, so we’re not going to label anybody a lock today. Still, it’s never too early to start surveying how each team is shaping up.
Let’s take a look at the European side.
A few notes:
David Puig, you have my attention. The 23-year-old Spaniard is on the shortlist for the most underrated golfer in the world right now. He has seven top-20 finishes in his last eight starts worldwide across LIV, the DP World Tour, and the Asian Tour, including three straight top 10s. Now an Affiliate Member on the DP World Tour, Puig should be fully eligible to participate in the Ryder Cup. Length will be rewarded at Bethpage, and Puig has plenty of pop in the bat. Assuming he stays on track, he could be a valuable asset on Team Europe this September.
How good is Sepp Straka? He’s posted three top-15 finishes in a row on the PGA Tour, including a win. Since the start of 2023, he’s made six of eight cuts in major championships with two top 10s. I wouldn’t consider him a top-10 player in the world, but he is not far off.
In April 2023, Matt Fitzpatrick was ranked sixth in the world. At the time, he was the reigning U.S. Open champion, had finished top 25 in five straight majors, and was coming off a big win in a playoff over Jordan Spieth at the RBC Heritage. Two years later, the ballstriking numbers have dipped considerably. Since last June’s U.S. Open, Fitzpatrick hasn’t really posted a single solid finish. I guess a T-18 at the FedEx St. Jude was decent? This year, he’s off to another slow start through three tournaments (T-24 at The Sentry, T-48 at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, MC at WM Phoenix Open). It’s hard to imagine Fitzy missing out on the Ryder Cup, but it’s a distinct possibility right now. The next six months mark a pivotal period in Fitzpatrick’s career.
Player Spotlight: Cameron Young
I’ve never done crack before, but I do follow Cameron Young’s shot trails pretty meticulously. Some of you know exactly what I mean by that, but I do realize not everyone spends an inordinate percentage of their lives clicking through shot details on PGA Tour leaderboards. So for the uninitiated, what is the essence of the Cameron Young experience?
If I had to pick the best representation of a Cam Young hole, it generally looks something like a 338-yard drive in the fairway, then a pulled wedge from 118 yards that misses the green, followed by a mediocre chip to eight feet and a putt that barely touches the hole—a routine bogey after the best drive you’ve ever seen in your life. Then on the next hole, he’ll stuff a 192-yard approach shot to four feet and he may or may not make the putt.
When you watch Young, you see a player who is very clearly capable of winning at the highest level. The swing, the ballstriking—everything looks the part. After each of his rounds, he leaves you wondering how he hit the ball so well while getting so little out of his round. He is the Anti-Spieth.
Cam routinely touches ball speeds in the mid-180s. So far in 2025, he’s averaging 181.4 mph ball speed, which ranks 12th on Tour. Most of the golfers around his ball speed struggle to keep the ball on the planet. Cam’s drives are typically under control. When he lets his driver rip, very few golfers on the planet can keep pace with him.
What people may not have noticed is how much Cam’s short game has improved since last summer. He led the field in SG: Around the Green at The Sentry. Through four starts in 2025, Cam is gaining 0.28 strokes per round around the greens, ranking 41st on Tour. For many players, the around-the-green sample size is small, so I wouldn’t place too much stock in the ranking yet. However, for reference, gaining 0.28 strokes per round around the green for a full season will typically rank around 20th on Tour. In the first full three seasons of Young’s career, he has never ranked above 71st in that stat.
So where does that leave us? Some people see an inconsistent player incapable of winning a PGA Tour event; others see a burgeoning talent who just hasn’t put it all together in the same week. What are reasonable expectations for Cam Young in 2025?
I expect Cam to make the cut in all four majors, contend late in one, and record at least one top-five finish in a major championship this year. Those might be slightly ambitious goals for a player who is ranked 44th in the world right now, but I believe in Cam’s ability and progress. Anything short of those results should be disappointing to Cam.
Almost nobody drives the golf ball better, and his recent poor iron play should regress toward his historical baseline. Plus he’s improved his short game. That bodes well for demanding major setups. By the way, do you know how many golfers have more top 10s in majors than Cam Young (5) since the start of 2022? Only three: Rory McIlroy (8), Scottie Scheffler (8), and Xander Schauffele (6).
Also, Cam is still 27 years young. He’s no spring chicken by today’s standards, but he has time. Many of the top players in the world are ages 28-34. Thomas Detry just finally broke through at age 32. I like the path that Cam is on.
How will he perform this week at Torrey Pines? We’ll see. Historically a bad putter, I could see Cam struggling mightily on these Poa greens. His tee-to-green game should stand up well, though. If he putts averagely and finishes outside the top 10, it’d be a weak performance for a player capable of winning a golf tournament like this one.
Anyway, if you really want to understand the Cam Young experience, just watch this two-minute video compiled by the wonderful PJ Clark.
Reader-Submitted Question
Reader: Are you officially worried about Jordan Spieth winning this week?
Answer: I assume this is in reference to my Jordan Spieth Shouldn’t Get a Sponsor Exemption take. Um, yes, a Spieth win this week on a sponsor exemption would be unfortunate for my mentions. I think it’s important to call out that my sponsor exemption position has nothing to do with what I think of Jordan Spieth’s form or potential, though.
But if you’re asking what I think of Spieth’s chances of winning this week, I don’t think a win is likely. Spieth just posted his first top-five finish in 12 months last week on a golf course he’s dominated throughout his career. Torrey Pines is a different beast. And Jordan has some stiffer competition this week at the top of the board.
Spieth’s mid-170s ball speed is nothing to scoff at, but he is going to be yielding significant distance to many of the names near the top of this weekend’s leaderboard. If Rory brings his A-game and picks smart targets off the tee, he should be firmly in the mix on Sunday. It’s hard to imagine Spieth hanging with an in-rhythm McIlroy. Especially on a setup like Torrey Pines, Rory plays an off-the-tee game with which Jordan is not familiar.
Overall, I think the reactions to Spieth’s performance last week were a bit excessive. I’m not fully counting out his chances of becoming a top-10 level player again, especially if he is now fully pain-free, but one strong finish on a familiar golf course is not cause for sweeping prognostications. I would genuinely love to see Jordan Spieth return to a top-10-in-the-world level. Let’s just give it a little bit more time.
Ok, that’s all for this week. Have a question you want me to answer next week? Email me at joseph@thefriedegg.com!
