Keegan Bradley at the Summit for the Ryder Cup: Player Captain?
Keegan Bradley is in contention to become the first playing captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 62 years. He still has two FedEx Cup playoff tournaments left to solidify his position. Ryder Cup veterans like Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler believe Bradley has already shown enough on the course this season to deserve a spot on the 12-player team that will face the European team at Bethpage Black, New York, from September 26-28. Bradley, 39, would be the youngest American captain since Arnold Palmer, who was player-captain in 1963. Currently, Bradley holds the tenth position in the U.S. team’s points standings, after winning the Travelers Championship, a signature event, on June 22. Since then, he hasn’t finished in the top 30 in four starts. He has accumulated five top 10s and nine top 25s in 19 appearances.Scottie Scheffler, the world’s number one golfer, along with J.J. Spaun and Xander Schauffele, have already secured their place on the team. The top six golfers in points after this week’s BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club will make the team. Russell Henley, Bryson DeChambeau, and Harris English are currently in the top six. Bradley previously mentioned that DeChambeau will be on the team, and Henley and English seem almost certain to play at Bethpage Black, regardless of their position in points. Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Bradley, Maverick McNealy, and Andrew Novak complete the current top 12. Bradley will select six captain’s picks on August 27, three days after the Tour Championship at East Lake. Bradley has wavered on whether he would pick himself as a captain’s pick, after previously saying he would only compete if he qualified for the team on points. After winning the Travelers Championship, Bradley stated that he would select himself if “I feel like I’m going to help the team.”“Yes, I would choose him too,” commented Fowler, who has participated in five Ryder Cups. “I think it would be difficult to find many Americans who would argue otherwise.”
Rickie Fowler
Cantlay, who competed in the last two Ryder Cups, was one of the few bright spots for the U.S. team in their defeat to the Europeans in 2023. He had a 2-2 record and provided an emotional boost. Brian Harman, Cameron Young, Cantlay, and other golfers are also considered in contention for spots on the team. “Fortunately, I’m not in that situation,” Cantlay expressed when asked if he would choose himself as a player-captain. “Keegan, however, is in that situation. If I were the captain, I would choose Keegan. I think he’s played great.” If Bradley were to choose himself with a captain’s pick, he would have to delegate some of his responsibilities in managing the U.S. team. He would likely hand over some of the tasks to Jim Furyk, one of his five vice-captains. “I think he has a lot of responsibility that week,” Cantlay said. “So if he feels like he can play golf like a normal week, given all his other responsibilities, I’m just saying if I were the captain, I think he’s definitely one of the best American players, and his results have shown that.”“I know I’m maybe getting to the position in points where I could think, ‘Is this a place where I shouldn’t pick myself?’” Fowler said. “I feel like a lot of times there’s only one or two [golfers] that maybe fluctuate based on the people that maybe were inside the top 12 in points that maybe aren’t picked.
Rickie Fowler
