The Ryder Cup looms like a specter over golf's greatest American and European talents. And like a phantom, it can strike fear in even the most even-keeled of talents.
Scottie Scheffler has enjoyed a meteoric rise, parlaying a successful collegiate career at Texas into superstardom on the PGA Tour. With a fearsome drive, a polished short game, and a knack for precision putting, Scheffler has become a rockstar on the links.
His trophy case reflects that dominance: two Masters green jackets, a PGA Championship, a British Open, and multiple PGA Tour titles.
Yet the Ryder Cup has proven a tougher stage. Scheffler has struggled in the biennial team event, most notably in 2023 when he and Brooks Koepka fell to Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland.
Here’s what you need to know.
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Revisiting Scottie Scheffler's collapse at 2023 Ryder Cup
Scheffler entered the 2023 Ryder Cup riding high. The 27-year-old had held the world’s No. 1 ranking in 2022 and was expected to anchor a strong 12-man U.S. team that included Wyndham Clark, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler, among others.
Scheffler and partner Sam Burns were chosen to open play for the Americans in Rome but fell 4 and 3 to Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton in Friday’s foursomes. Scheffler fared slightly better in the four-ball session with Brooks Koepka, halving their match against Rahm and Rasmus Hojgaard. Still, the Americans lost five of eight matches on Day 1 and failed to record a win, falling behind 6½-1½ heading into Saturday.
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Team Europe's advantage continued to swell over the course of the weekend, with Scheffler and Koepka dropping their match with Aberg and Viktor Hovland, 9 and 7.
The defeat proved historic — the deficit is the largest in tournament history in any format. Scheffler's showing was marked by misplayed putts, missed greens and bogeys galore. The Americans combined to shoot 7-over-par.
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Scheffler wasn’t the first World No. 1 to struggle at the Ryder Cup. According to the PGA Tour, the top-ranked player in the field has won just 38% of their matches since 1937 and finished with a winning record only four times in that span. Padraig Harrington went 0-3-1 as the world No. 1 in 2008, while Dustin Johnson went 3-6 atop the rankings in the 2016 and 2018 tournaments.
Even Tiger Woods found the Ryder Cup a challenge, winning just once in eight appearances and compiling a 13-21-3 record.
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Nevertheless, Scheffler and Koepka's performance in their matchup against Aberg and Hovland was a real low point for Team United States. Scheffler couldn't help but get emotional as the cart dragged him away.
Throwback to the World Number 1 Scottie Scheffler crying after getting a 9&7 beat down with Brooks Koepka by Ludvig Aberg, who was in college 4 months prior to that event, and Viktor Hovland. The Ryder Cup consistently delivers all kinds of shocks!
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) September 23, 2025
pic.twitter.com/ukMZPcuK4g
Scheffler explained his view on the incident — and his 2023 performance as a whole — ahead of the 2025 Ryder Cup.
"When I look back at the '23 Cup, I think I halved two matches and lost two, so I think I left there without winning a single match, and that hurt," Scheffler said. "I think I could have been a little bit sharper at that tournament. That was a learning experience for me."
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