They’re anything but par for the course.
As Team USA and Team Europe get ready to tee off at this weekend’s Ryder Cup, golf’s most prestigious showdown, their WAGs — wives and girlfriends — are also stepping into the spotlight.
From college sweethearts and hole-in-one romances, to major fashion moments and influencer-worthy appearances, these fair maidens are bringing style, support — and just a touch of drama — to the fairway at LI’s Bethpage Black Course in Bethpage State Park, starting Friday.
Held every two years, the Ryder Cup pits the best golfers from the US against their European rivals in a no-prize, all-pride team competition. And while the pros are busy trying not to shank under the spotlight, their partners will be bringing their A-game.
With the US and European team rosters locked in, it’s time to meet the Ryde-or-dies behind the power players at this year’s Ryder Cup.
Erica Stoll, Team Europe
Stoll was the subject of major fan debate after she was criticized for being too subdued during husband Rory McIlroy’s Masters win in April.
The furor, which the Irondequoit, NY native has ignored, dates back to 2024 when McIlroy filed for divorce — with the couple reconciling just weeks later, saying their “best future was as a family together.”
McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, met the Upstater at the 2011 Ryder Cup, where she worked behind the scenes for the PGA.
Long before meeting her husband, who she married in 2017, Stoll told her hometown newspaper that it was a dream job, one that she’d wanted since college.
“The way PGA employees present themselves is so admirable and professional. That’s the kind of job I want, and it’s doing something I love,” she told the Democrat and Chronicle in 2008.
Stoll has a private Instagram account and rarely posts.
Meredith Scheffler, Team USA
Scottie Scheffler may be the World No. 1, but his wife, Meredith, has been his No. 1 since high school.
Meredith, who wowed the crowd in a stunning red dress in a “Mom & Dad date night” Instagram post from Tuesday’s Rider Cup Gala, works as a connection liaison for the faith-based nonprofit Behind Every Door, which serves low-income neighborhoods.
The gregarious gal called the job an “empowering” one focused on a quest to “overcome poverty” in an Essential Golf interview.
A longtime golfer herself, Meredith started dating Scottie as a high school senior — but only realized her baller boyfriend was a golf star when she spotted him in a commercial for a big tournament.
Now, a supportive Meredith and their 16-month-old son, Bennett, pop up often in Scottie’s Instagram feed when they join him in a close hug on the green to celebrate his many wins.
Katherine Gaal Fitzpatrick, Team USA
Former Miss New Jersey runner-up and tennis pro Katherine Gaal married Team Europe’s Matt Fitzpatrick in October 2024.
The burgeoning lifestyle and fashion influencer who has attracted nearly 20,000 followers to her Instagram account, brimming with glam snaps from NYC and Wimbledon, with brands like Rolex tagged in her posts.
Known for being a hands-on supporter, she marks her husband’s golf balls with flirty red messages like “MF is cute” and “I love you.”
Caroline Burns, Team USA
Lifelong barely covers the bond between Caroline Burns and her golf champ husband Sam.
“We’ve really known each other forever. I was his first Valentine when we were 5 years old,” she said of her longtime love in a 2019 television interview.”So that’s our sweet story.”
Caroline, a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority at Louisiana State University, earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from LSU and followed up with a 2020 master’s degree in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary,
The couple married in December 2019 — Sam called her “the woman of my dreams” in a celebratory Instagram post — and had their first child, Bear, last April.
Caroline keeps a low social profile — her Instagram account is private — but travels near and far to support her golf champ when he’s on the road.
Kelley Cahill, Team Europe
Golf’s top earner, Jon Rahm, almost had some competition — on the tennis court.
His wife and college sweetheart, Kelley Cahill, is an avid tennis player — having competed in national tournaments in high school. But when she once challenged him to a match with victory in mind, well, she found out he was the champ on the court, too.
“He’s killing forehands … crosscourt zingers, and I’m thinking, ‘This can’t be right,’ ” Cahill recalled in a 2018 interview. “He was so good. I was so upset. I was actually mad for a day or two. We have not stepped foot on a tennis court since.”
Now parents to three young kids — Kepa, Eneko, and baby Alaia — this power couple is building both a family and a legacy.
Clare Craig, Team Europe
Tommy Fleetwood, 33, is married to Clare Craig, 57 — the Brit’s agent-turned-wife and the quiet force behind his success.
Introduced through his brother, Clare was managing his career before love took over. Though initially hesitant due to their 23-year age gap.
“Don’t be stupid,” she said she told him — but he persisted.
The pair married in 2017 and share a son, Frankie, along with Clare’s two children from a previous relationship. While she usually stays out of the spotlight, the pair recently stepped out together before this year’s games.
Jillian Thomas Wisniewski, Team USA
A Kentucky native, Wisniewski dated husband Justin Thomas of the U.S. Team for close to six years before the pair got married.
And she’s proven to be a pro at balancing her career in advertising with her home life — the couple welcomed their first child, Molly Grace, last year — and supporting her husband, who is known for gushing about his wife in interviews.
“She’s…just a great influence on me,” he told People before the couple even tied the knot in a phone-free ceremony in 2022.
“I mean, she truly makes me a better person and every time being around her brings out a better side of me.”
Katherine Zhu, Team USA
Collin Morikawa gives his wife, Katherine Zhu, major credit for his success — even joking with Golf Central that he didn’t start winning in college until she came into his life.
A former collegiate golfer herself, Zhu was born in Vancouver, raised partly in China, and played at Pepperdine University while Morikawa competed for Cal. The couple tied the knot in 2022 after five years of dating.
Emily Braisher, Team Europe
The UK’s Tyrrell Hatton and wife Emily Braisher have brought plenty of personality to the LIV Golf scene since his 2024 switch.
Married in 2021, their big day was anything but smooth — Hatton showed up late, the skies opened up, and their wedding photos were snapped roadside in the rain.
A Nottingham Trent grad, Emily once documented their globe-trotting life in her cutesy “Wife On Tour” blog, though posts have slowed down.
Still, the fun-loving pair continues to make their mark both on and off the fairways.
Jillian Bradley, Team USA
Keegan Bradley’s longtime love and wife, Jillian, has been by his side since 2012 — and he calls her “the real champion” of their family.
Married in 2016, the pair have become fan favorites on Netflix’s Full Swing, where their bond and banter are on full display.
Whether she’s caddying at the Masters or cheering from the sidelines, Jillian is Keegan’s rock on and off the course.
Paige Dean, Team Europe
Austrian golfer Sepp Straka met his now-wife Paige Dean in 2017 — not through love at first sight, but college sports rivalry. He was repping the University of Georgia golf team; she was at Auburn.
Once they were introduced by mutual friends, their story quickly flipped from competition to connection. Straka proposed in a Birmingham wine bar in 2020, and they married the following year.
Paige, a trained accountant and senior acquisitions manager in the veterinary world, gave birth to their son Leo in December 2023 — but the couple keeps family life private.
Diane Antonopoulos, Team Europe
The Greek-born, Chicago-raised beauty met Team Europe Captain Luke Donald while both were students at Northwestern — he was smashing golf records, while she was studying psychology.
The pair were married in a dreamy Santorini wedding in 2007. Nearly two decades and three daughters later, they’re still going strong.
The jet-setting, dedicated mom and sporting spouse has peppered her 16,500-followers-strong Instagram feed with images from numerous cheery #eurosummer jaunts, including stunning stops in France, England, Spain, her native Greece and more.
She signed off an Aug. 9 post with a close eye on the future — and perhaps a victory right around the corner: “Fun fun fun in Mykonos … Now back to reality and the final Ryder Cup preparations.”
Nikki Guidish Cantlay, Team USA
Former fitness model and rising influencer Nikki Guidish and Patrick Cantlay went public in 2021, got engaged in Napa in 2022, and tied the knot in a lavish Roman wedding right after the Ryder Cup in 2023.
Guidish holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of South Florida — and worked as a pharmacist at a Publix supermarket in the Sunshine State, after college.
She’s now regularly seen supporting Cantlay at tournaments — often alongside her fellow PGA wife besties, who make frequent appearances on her busy Instagram account, which boasts around 20,000 followers.
Teil Duncan Henley, Team USA
Russell Henley credits his PGA Tour success to his wife, contemporary artist Teil Duncan Henley.
The Georgia native and Russell met in 2013 and married in 2015. Teil, a talented painter and author with nearly 115,000 Instagram followers, balances her creative career with family life — they have three kids together.
Russell has said he admires her quiet confidence and unwavering belief in herself, qualities that inspire him both on and off the course.
Olivia Peet, Team Europe
Swedish golf phenom Ludvig Åberg is dating British tennis talent Olivia Peet, daughter of ex-pro Chris Peet.
The couple met at Texas Tech, where Olivia played collegiate tennis, and have been going strong since Åberg’s breakout Ryder Cup debut in 2023. Peet loves to share photos of her life on Instagram, where she has 13,000 followers.
The duo calls Florida home, sharing a house in Ponte Vedra, near Jacksonville.
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