Staff WriterThe fairways of Bethpage Black will see more sequins than spikes on September 24, when the 2025 Ryder Cup All-Star Celebrity Match tees off two days before the main event.
Forget birdies and bogeys—this 10-hole scramble pits Hollywood, music, sport and even the odd frying pan against one another in a spectacle that might make golf’s grumpy purists choke on their pimento cheese.
The contest begins at 7:45 a.m. EST on the Wednesday of Ryder Cup week, winding its way across holes 1, 15, 16, 17 and 18—twice for good measure. Fans won’t miss a trick: live scoring and highlights will be pumped out through RyderCup.com and the Ryder Cup app.
And what a cast list. Team Europe has raided every corner of fame—from the wizarding world to the NBA Hall of Fame. Chef José Andrés swaps a spatula for a sand wedge, while Brooklyn Beckham turns his lens on the greens rather than another Instagram photoshoot.
Harry Potter’s Tom Felton returns to the stage in Broadway’s Cursed Child this autumn, but not before casting a few hooks of his own.
Pau Gasol and Toni Kukoč, basketball royalty, will tower over the rough, while Oliver Phelps—George Weasley himself—preps for a marathon both in New York and on the scorecard.
Throw in Teemu Selänne, the “Finnish Flash,” and Oscar-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Europe’s side reads like a fever dream cooked up at Madame Tussauds.
Across the pond, the U.S. roster looks equally outrageous. Kane Brown, “the future of country music,” will trade his microphone for a driver, while chef Bobby Flay sharpens his knives on par fours.
Noah Kahan brings his folk-pop soul (and mental health advocacy) to the tee, joined by country icon Miranda Lambert. Sport is well represented too: Eli Manning, two-time Super Bowl MVP, looks to launch a few downfield drives; John McEnroe, never one to shy away from controversy, may test the patience of the marshals; and Michael Strahan adds another line to a CV already longer than a major rough cut.
For comic relief, Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost will compete on course and host “T-Mobile Breakfast at Bethpage” throughout Ryder Cup week.
This mash-up of celebrities is more than a circus sideshow. The Ryder Cup All-Star Celebrity Match has become a key warm-up act, sprinkling stardust onto an event already dripping with drama. It’s golf, but with fewer strokes gained and more red-carpet chaos.
Bethpage Black, already notorious for punishing pros, may prove equally unkind to actors, chefs and country singers. Still, for fans lucky enough to be on Long Island—or streaming online—it promises an irresistible cocktail: the game’s greatest stage, one of sport’s fiercest rivalries, and a cast that guarantees entertainment whether they hit fairways or fire hydrants.
So, before Rory and Rahm, Scheffler and Spieth take centre stage, the All-Star curtain-raiser will show us just how universal the game has become. Because at Bethpage this September, golf won’t just be played—it’ll be performed.
