{"id":80032,"date":"2025-08-20T11:30:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T11:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/80032\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T11:30:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T11:30:07","slug":"a-vote-for-keegan-bradley-as-playing-captain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/80032\/","title":{"rendered":"A vote for Keegan Bradley as playing captain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"Keegan Bradley will soon decide if he will be a playing captain at Bethpage. Ben Jared, PGA Tour via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: \u201cIn Case You Missed It\u201d is a GGP+ feature that highlights a story from Global Golf Post\u2018s Monday magazine.<\/p>\n

We are a little more than a week away from getting the answer to the will-he-or-won\u2019t-he question that has dominated Keegan Bradley\u2019s role as captain of the United States Ryder Cup team, but the discussion won\u2019t end with the announcement of his captain\u2019s picks on Aug. 27.<\/p>\n

Regardless of which way Bradley goes \u2013 and here\u2019s a vote for him being a playing captain though his recent form has seemed to wilt with the summer heat \u2013 the discussion will continue. It will transition to did he do the right thing or not?<\/p>\n

Bradley will ultimately be judged by which side raises the Ryder Cup on the evening of Sept. 28 on Long Island. If the Americans win, Bradley will be canonized for his passionate leadership and admired for either trusting himself enough to be a playing captain or being selfless enough to choose someone else.<\/p>\n

If the Europeans win \u2013 and it looks as if Luke Donald may have a team at Bethpage Black that\u2019s very similar to the one that won easily in Rome two years ago \u2013 Bradley likely becomes the fall guy even if he plays and goes 3-0.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not entirely fair but it\u2019s the nature of the beast.<\/p>\n

Bradley has handled a difficult situation masterfully to this point, understanding the persistent questioning about his intentions, patiently explaining his operational process and seeming to embrace the opportunity rather than struggle with the burden.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Captaining a Ryder Cup team is the honor of a lifetime and Bradley has been an inspired choice, prompting Scottie Scheffler to say, \u201cHe has definitely exceeded my expectations as far as a captain.\u201d<\/p>\n

To a degree, Bradley has already been doing double duty. He\u2019s had one of his best seasons as a player while handling his various captain\u2019s duties, whether it\u2019s chatting up players, slipping notes into their lockers or huddling with his vice captains and team manager about direction and strategy.<\/p>\n

It changes now. The clock is ticking. Decisions are due.<\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy opined last week that he doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s realistic to be a playing captain in the Ryder Cup, saying he\u2019s been approached about doing it and dismissed the idea, citing a handful of legitimate reasons. More than a year ago, McIlroy said the same thing, contending that it\u2019s an either\/or choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just my opinion, but I think it would just be very difficult to do,\u201d McIlroy reiterated last week.<\/p>\n

If there is an easy part to Bradley\u2019s job, it was completed Sunday when the six automatic qualifiers were locked in. Pack the uniforms and swag bags for Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Bryson DeChambeau and Harris English.<\/p>\n

The easy answer for Bradley would be to take himself out of the equation and focus solely on being the captain, spending his days at Bethpage in a cart from dawn to dusk. He can point to what he said when he was announced as captain, vowing to play only if he was an automatic qualifier, but the landscape has shifted.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible that Bradley has been so torn by his impending decision that it has impacted his performance in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

Bradley has talked with captains of other national teams about organization, inspiration and motivation but he finds himself in a rare position.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this instance, there\u2019s no one to call,\u201d Bradley said.<\/p>\n

If there is an easy part to Bradley\u2019s job, it was completed Sunday when the six automatic qualifiers were locked in. Pack the uniforms and swag bags for Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Bryson DeChambeau and Harris English.<\/p>\n

\"\"The coveted Ryder Cup\u00a0 Scott Taetsch, PGA of America<\/p>\n

Go ahead and add Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin and Patrick Cantlay to the team. Morikawa and Cantlay have not been great this year but if the goal is to bring the 12 players who give the Americans the best chance to win, they need to be on the team.<\/p>\n

That leaves two spots. Bradley should take one of those spots, though his play has been flat in recent weeks. If he were not the captain, the discussion about him would be entirely different, endorsing his inclusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019re going to find any or many Americans that are going to argue that he shouldn\u2019t be on the team,\u201d Rickie Fowler said.<\/p>\n

That leaves the final spot for Cameron Young, Sam Burns or \u2013 long shot \u2013 Jordan Spieth and, maybe, Maverick McNealy.<\/p>\n

If it\u2019s about chemistry, go with Spieth. If it\u2019s about putting, go with Young. If it\u2019s about consistency, go with Burns.<\/p>\n

There are, no doubt, mounds of data to support the various players and scenarios being considered. Every aspect of the Ryder Cup can be analyzed at a granular level. Someone probably knows if the Americans play better wearing blue pants or blue shirts.<\/p>\n

The information should not overwhelm instinct and Bradley seems the type to trust his gut. Ultimately, the Ryder Cup is about more than the numbers. It\u2019s about the players and who they are in the moment.<\/p>\n

If Bradley, his lieutenants and his players believe he should play, he has his answer. If it doesn\u2019t feel right to him, he can lead with a clear conscience. The second-guessing by everyone else is already baked into this cake.<\/p>\n

Either way, Bradley finds himself in an enviable position. Intentionally or not, Bradley has operated on the perimeter of the tour\u2019s inner circle. He\u2019s never felt like or been one of the cool kids.<\/p>\n

Now he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really a closed-off player for most of my career,\u201d Bradley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think as a golfer, or as an athlete or a businessman, whatever it is, when you feel the respect of your peers, that\u2019s the ultimate.\u201d<\/p>\n

That shouldn\u2019t change regardless of what his decision is.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2025 Global Golf Post LLC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keegan Bradley will soon decide if he will be a playing captain at Bethpage. Ben Jared, PGA Tour…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,9199,6547,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-80032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-keegan-bradley","tag-ryder-cup","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}