The U.S. Ryder Cup Team might be selling a piece of merchandise that features one of their biggest rivals.
A T-shirt that remained for sale on the official U.S. Ryder Cup online store as of Tuesday features a silhouette of a golfer finishing his swing behind text that reads “USA Ryder Cup 2025.” The Ralph Lauren shirt costs $65 and is available in navy blue and white.
As the U.S. prepares to face Team Europe later this month at the Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., many fans have pointed out that the silhouette on the aforementioned shirt appears to have originated from a photo of Rory McIlroy finishing his swing.
🚨⛳️🐅 #LOOK — Team USA is selling a Ryder Cup shirt ($65) featuring what appears to be a silhouette of Rory McIlroy 👀
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) September 9, 2025
(Via: @IainMacBets) pic.twitter.com/NRqpKspEUF
You can see a side-by-side image of the shirt and McIlroy’s pose here.
McIlroy, of course, is from Northern Ireland and one of Team Europe’s most important players at the Ryder Cup. He was asked about the shirt ahead of the DP World Tour’s BMW Championship in England on Tuesday, and he said he is aware of it.
Though McIlroy thinks the silhouette looks more like Adam Scott (another non-American golfer), he admitted he can see the resemblance to his own finishing pose.
“Yeah, it looks a little similar, I don’t know,” McIlroy said with a wry smile.
Rory McIlroy reacts to a US Ryder Cup tee-shirt that looks like a silhouette of him 👕😅 pic.twitter.com/sJiLbvlS2d
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) September 9, 2025
Neither Ralph Lauren nor the U.S. team have come out and said which golfer was used for the silhouette, which has made fans even more suspicious. It is entirely possible that the people who designed the shirt felt the image of McIlroy worked best and overlooked the fact that McIlroy is part of the other team.
McIlroy was at the center of some serious drama at the last Ryder Cup, so you can expect him to hear plenty of boos at Bethpage Black. There probably will not be many knowledgeable U.S. supporters wearing the T-shirt in question, either.
