Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Team USA will have home-course advantage when the Ryder Cup heads to Bethpage Black, and plenty of fans will be rocking the apparel Ralph Lauren whipped up for the event. However, that line of merch somehow includes a shirt that was seemingly based on a picture of Rory McIlroy.
The rosters for the 2025 Ryder Cup have been locked in for a couple of weeks, and the squads representing the United States and Europe will both be boasting some incredibly formidable talent when the biannual showdown heads back to American soil for the affair that will kick off at Bethpage Black on September 26th.
Ralph Lauren has been whipping up the uniforms for Team USA since it became their official designer in 2012 (Italy’s Loro Piana is tasked with outfitting the Europeans), and the brand has also unveiled a line of merchandise for American fans who want to support the squad that will be hoping to avenge its loss at Marco Simone in 2023.
However, it appears someone failed to do their due diligence before approving a design that looks to be inspired by the best non-American player on the planet.
A Team USA shirt that Ralph Lauren designed for the Ryder Cup seemingly features a silhouette of Rory McIlroy
If you’re not a diehard golf fan, you might be under the impression that most players have a virtually identical swing. That’s not necessarily an egregious assessment, but there are a number of tells that help set some of the most notable names apart from the rest of the pack.
For example, Scottie Scheffler has a reputation for swinging out of his shoes and dragging his feet when he takes a hack, while Rory McIlroy has a fairly signature finish on his drives that results in the club ending up near the top of his shoulders after he follows through.
That particular pose bears an uncanny resemblance to the one emblazoned on the front of a t-shirt that’s currently for sale on the official Ryder Cup shop for Team USA, which made the rounds online after a number of golf fans noticed it sure looked like the Northern Irishman who currently occupies the second spot in the Official World Golf Ranking served as the basis for the silhouette of the golfer behind the “USA RYDER CUP 2025” logo.
The Official U.S. Ryder Cup Shop
There’s also a smoking gun, as the design in question was all but certainly based on a picture of McIlroy that was snapped at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in 2022.
Getty Image
According to Sky Sports, McIlroy said he could definitely see the similarity when the shirt was brought to his attention ahead of this week’s BMW PGA Championship in England, noting, “It looks more like Adam Scott than me, but yeah, it looks a little similar” and adding he wouldn’t hate seeing it while roaming the links at Bethpage.
The shirt is still for sale as of this writing, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see it taken down at some point in the near future.