“Fire the intern”; "Is Rory McIlroy switching sides?” - Fans troll US Ryder Cup for selling tees with silhouette resembling 5x major champ

The 2025 Ryder Cup is all set to be played at the challenging Bethpage Black in a few weeks. Ahead of the tournament in New York, Team USA launched a new shirt that appears to have a silhouette of one of the opposing team's top players.

NUCLR Golf shared an image of Team USA's apparel on X (formerly known as Twitter). The T-shirt appears to have the silhouette of Rory McIlroy in the United States' red, white, and blue colors.

Here's a look at the garment that left fans in a frenzy (via X @NUCLRGolf):

The shirt was created by Ralph Lauren for Team USA's attempt to win the Ryder Cup on home soil this September. A fan joked in the comments section that the intern who pitched the idea of having a shirt with Europe's biggest star should be fired.

The fan wrote (via X @MarkNFT):

"Yikes fire the intern."

Mark

@MarkNFT

@NUCLRGOLF @IainMacBets Yikes fire the intern

NUCLR Golf's podcast also commented on the post, questioning if Rory McIlroy has converted to playing for his rival team. The account commented (via X @NUCLRGolfPod):

"Is Rory switching sides?"

NUCLR GOLF POD

@NUCLRGOLFPOD

@NUCLRGOLF @IainMacBets Is Rory switching sides? @TrackingRory

Another golf enthusiast stated that regardless of whether Ralph Lauren and Team USA had McIlroy's signature finish on their shirt, the price of the garment was outrageous. With the official website retailing the shirt for a whopping $65, a fan wrote (via X @sotdetroit):

"Regardless of the silhouette, it’s a t-shirt for 65 f**king dollars."

Here's a look at a few other fans' reactions to Team USA's most recent merchandise for the upcoming Ryder Cup (via X @NUCLRGolf):

"They’re compromised this is intentional," wrote a fan.

A golf enthusiast commented, "Surely they weren’t this f**king stupid. Euros are going to have a field day with this."

"Gotta agree… sure looks like Rory," stated a fan.

The Ralph Lauren 2025 Ryder Cup Graphic T-Shirt in Refined Navy not only features the silhouette of a golfer that looks similar to the 5-time Major championship winner, but it also has the Team USA emblem and the luxury brand's signature logo of a pony.

---

What are the final Ryder Cup teams?

The teams for the 2025 Ryder Cup have been finalized. With Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald guiding their respective teams, both sides have world-class players on their rosters.

Here's a look at both the teams (via Ryder Cup):

Team USA

Players

• Sam Burns
• Patrick Cantlay
• Bryson DeChambeau
• Harris English
• Ben Griffin
• Russell Henley
• Collin Morikawa
• Xander Schauffele
• J.J. Spaun
• Scottie Scheffler
• Justin Thomas
• Cameron Young

Captain

• Keegan Bradley

Vice Captains

• Jim Furyk
• Kevin Kisner
• Webb Simpson
• Brandt Snedeker
• Gary Woodland

Team Europe

Players

• Ludvig Aberg
• Matt Fitzpatrick
• Tommy Fleetwood
• Tyrrell Hatton
• Rasmus Hojgaard
• Viktor Hovland
• Shane Lowry
• Robert MacIntyre
• Rory McIlroy
• Jon Rahm
• Justin Rose
• Sepp Straka

Captain

• Luke Donald

Vice Captains

• Edoardo Molinari
• Thomas Bjorn
• Jose Maria Olazabal
• Francesco Molinari