When Team USA last celebrated Ryder Cup success, Scottie Scheffler held a very different role to the expectation he faces in this year's contest at Bethpage Black.
Scheffler has won 19 PGA Tour titles - including four majors - over the past four seasons, having previously used the Ryder Cup as a springboard to become the dominant force in the men's game.
He made his Ryder Cup debut during the United States' record-breaking 2021 victory at Whistling Straits, where he was handed a captain's pick despite - at that stage - sitting outside the world's top 20 and having never won on the PGA Tour.
"I think it was fairly obvious I was probably the last guy on the team," Scheffler admitted ahead of this year's contest, live from September 26-28 on SportNews. "I hadn't won on Tour, I was the youngest member of the team and I remember getting the phone call.
"I didn't know if he [Steve Stricker, captain] was going to call me and give me really bad news or really good news. It's weird preparing for something you don't know if it's going to be amazing or if it's just going to absolutely break your heart. But it was a great phone call - I was very emotional."
Scheffler took full advantage of his rookie appearance for Team USA, forming an unbeaten fourballs partnership with Bryson DeChambeau before thrashing the then world No 1 Jon Rahm - who had been unbeaten in the first two days - in the Sunday singles.
Those 2.5 points from three matches helped them secure a 19-9 win over Europe, the biggest victory margin in the modern era, with Scheffler taking the plaudits for his role in regaining the trophy for Team USA, ahead of him enjoying individual success in the years to come.
Scheffler made his PGA Tour breakthrough title the following February and won three of his next five events - including a maiden major title at The Masters, rapidly pushing him to world No 1 and making him the superstar of the American team heading into the next Ryder Cup.
He failed to live up to his pre-event billing in Rome, returning just one point from his four matches in Team USA's 16.5-11.5 defeat, where he was reduced to tears for his record-breaking 9&7 loss alongside Brooks Koepka to Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Ã…berg in the Saturday foursomes.
"I think anytime you have tough losses, it can go one of two ways," Scheffler admitted. "It can be something that you can use for something good, or it can kind of break you down.
"Over time, playing professional golf, you're going to have great wins and you're going to have great losses. When I look back at the 2023 Ryder Cup, I think I halved two matches and lost two, so I left there without winning a single match and that hurt.
"It hurt a little bit because I didn't feel like I was as prepared as I could have been. So going into this [2025] Ryder Cup, I've put a lot of work into my game over the last couple years to get ready and to go play this event."
Scheffler has been ever-present as world No 1 since that Ryder Cup loss, winning nine times worldwide the following season and claiming two major titles - among five PGA Tour titles - so far this year.
The 29-year-old will look to take his continued consistent brilliance into the Ryder Cup, where captain Keegan Bradley is confident his 'generational talent' can embrace the pressure to perform for Team USA.
"When you're the best player on their team, when you're Rory [McIlroy] or you're Tiger [Woods] or Phil [Mickelson] or whoever, you carry a big burden for your team," Bradley said. "I think that happens with Michael Jordan, Tom Brady.
"These guys are built for it, and I think that they, in a sick way, they look forward to it. They want that pressure - and not everyone wants that. People can say they do, but not everyone wants it.
"Scottie, I think he would hope that it comes down to him in singles. I bet he like dreams about it. That kind of separates Scottie from the rest of the guys."
Bradley has publicly praised the four-time major champion's willingness "to do literally whatever it takes for us to win the Ryder Cup," and his importance in the team room, although Scheffler has played down having any additional responsibility.
"My role on the team in 2021 is the same role as it is now," Scheffler insisted. "When my number gets called and it's time to go out and play, my job is to go out and win a point and I think that's how we approach things."
Scheffler has finished no worse than eighth in his last 15 worldwide starts and heads into the Ryder Cup off the back of an impressive victory at the Procore Championship, where he was one of 10 Team USA players featuring, with the task now to take that week-to-week brilliance into a team environment.
"I know he got beat 9&7 in Italy, but Scheffler is just something a bit ridiculous," Dame Laura Davies told SportNews. "He's a generational player and that's the pressure, isn't it? You also found with Tiger Woods.
"Tiger never really was a great Ryder Cup golfer because of that mantle of 'well, I've got to win five out of five', or 'if I only play four, I've got to win three and a half or four points' from that. You're playing against world-class players and it's not as easy.
"I mean, over 72 holes, Scottie Scheffler's by far the best this year, or the last three years. But over 18 holes, you could shoot eight under and lose. That's why the Ryder Cup and match play is so exciting, because it levels out the playing field to a certain extent."
The last five Ryder Cups have seen the home side win by five points or more, although a tighter contest is expected this time around. A vociferous pro-American crowd in New York will be calling for Scheffler to deliver.
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Live build-up to the opening day's action will begin live from 9am from Friday September 26 on SportNews Golf, with full coverage from midday ahead of the first tee shot at 12.10pm. Not got Sky? or
