Team USA may have lost the last two Ryder Cups, but they are building real momentum for the future.

Captain Jim Furyk admitted his team are the underdogs heading into Adare Manor next year, but recent weeks have shown that they’ll be no pushovers. They have a strong cast of emerging young stars coming through their ranks. 

Jackson Koivun has burst onto the scene at 21, effectively winning the Presidents Cup for his country with a Sunday win over Si Woo Kim. Meanwhile, Jacob Brideman has won twice this season, and Michael Brennan has done the same. Things are looking good for the future of American golf.

But to counter this young American surge, the last few weeks have shown Luke Donald that he has an out-and-out superstar in the making.

Eugenio Chacarra is Team Europe’s next superstar

He’s had a phenomenal season on the DP World Tour, but in the last few weeks, Eugenio Chacarra has shown that he’s ready to compete with the biggest stars on the planet. He’s had two top-five finishes in his last two events, and now leads the DP World India Championship after two rounds.

Chacarra is producing these results under immense pressure. He has emerged as a new contender for the Race to Dubai title alongside Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed. This looked to be a two-horse race all year long, but now Chacarra is firmly in the mix.

This was much-needed for Donald’s Europe. At Bethpage Black, he selected 11 of the same 12 players from the Rome event, but some of his key players simply aren’t performing at the moment.

Who will be the most surprising name to play at the 2027 Ryder Cup?

There are already a number of outside candidates to make the two teams at Adare Manor

Justin Rose is completely out of sorts; Sepp Straka has struggled for form throughout 2026, and even the team’s superstar, Jon Rahm, is in the worst form of his professional career.

Alex Fitzpatrick’s rise in 2026 was a nice boost for the team, but Europe has been looking for someone to rival Koivun for years, and in Chacarra, it looks like they’ve found exactly that.

As one of the most passionate players on tour he looks to have the mentality to compete in Ryder Cups like some of the Spanish greats before him, and if he wins the Race to Dubai title over McIlroy and Reed, it will be a major statement a year ahead of the Ryder Cup.