Phil thrilled with partner's RC captaincy
Mickelson surprised but happy with Bradley choice; American exceptionalism at the majors
Phil Mickelson offers thumbs up for Keegan Bradley captain selection (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
The Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black was always penciled in as Phil Mickelson’s captaincy. It just made too much sense.
Mickelson won a PGA Championship at nearby Baltusrol in New Jersey in 2005. He agonizingly lost the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in 2006 with a double bogey at the last, and three more of his record six U.S. Open runner-up finishes came at Shinnecock in 2004 and twice at Bethpage in 2002 and 2009.
Phil Mickelson is from California, but he loved New York and New York loved him back.
Of course, his controversial move to LIV Golf complicated things as far as the Ryder Cup is concerned. Henrik Stenson had his European captaincy in 2023 stripped after signing with LIV Golf. Mickelson himself acknowledged that the upheaval in the game he’s at the very heart of likely meant it was best for him to move on from the idea of ever leading Team USA as its captain.
So Tiger Woods became the odds-on choice to lead the Americans against Europe with Bethpage looming next year. But he filibustered on his decision well past the usual comfort zone of naming a captain. When he finally declined the job, stating he couldn’t give it his full attention — while suggesting he’s open to it in the future — the PGA of America went rogue with its choice.
The Ryder Cup committee said it didn’t take long to agree on Keegan Bradley, a former PGA champion and two-time participant in the Ryder Cup but 10 years removed from the competition. The link to Mickelson? All of Bradley’s team matches in the Ryder Cups at both Medinah in 2012 and Gleneagles in 2014 and Presidents Cups at Muirfield Village in 2013 were played with Phil as his partner. They were successful together, going 4-1 in Ryder Cup appearances and 2-1-1 in Presidents Cup.
Bradley said on Tuesday at his introductory press conference in New York City that he had not spoken to Mickelson and that he has nothing but respect for the six-time major champion, relishing their experience in the Ryder Cup as partners. He also said, when asked directly, that Mickelson is unlikely to be an assistant for him when “he’s a captain.”
Mickelson wasn’t asked specifically about helping Bradley at Bethpage, but he did get a question about the Ryder Cup announcement on Wednesday before this week’s LIV Golf event in Spain.
“I was surprised at the pick, and I think it’s a great pick the more I think about it,” Mickelson said in advance of the LIV Golf Andalucía tournament, which begins Friday at Valderrama. “He played a lot of golf at Bethpage when he went to St. Johns. His passion for the Ryder Cup is greater than just about any player I’ve ever seen. His love for the Ryder Cup is more than anybody I know. I think he’s going to lead with that type of passion.
“I think he’s incredible. I’m really, really happy for him. I think we all are really happy for him knowing how gut-wrenching it was to not be part of the team last year, but to now have the opportunity to lead and go forward I think is great.”
Bradley, 38, was crushed at not getting an at-large pick last year from captain Zach Johnson, who endured considerable criticism in the wake of a 16½-11½ loss to Europe in Rome that saw several of his captain’s pick perform poorly.
The U.S. has won two of the last four Ryder Cups but has not won on the road in more than 30 years.
Bradley and Mickelson went 3-0 as partners at Medinah in 2012 and then infamously sat out the Saturday afternoon session as it was decided it was better to let them rest for the Sunday singles.
That decision has always been second-guessed as the Europeans won their final two four-ball matches of Saturday’s competition and stormed back from a 10-6 deficit to win on Sunday. Both Mickelson and Bradley lost in singles, with Bradley falling to Rory McIlroy — who nearly missed his tee time.
Two years later, the duo went 1-1 on the first day in Gleneagles, and then captain Tom Watson mysteriously benched them for both sessions on Saturday. Mickelson blew up the Ryder Cup process in the aftermath, criticizing Watson’s captaincy and calling for changes.
Those changes led to the formation of a Ryder Cup task force which morphed into a committee that now encompasses the most recent captain and two players, along with three PGA of America executives. It is that committee that selected Bradley, although it diverged from the decade-long plan of promoting assistant captains. Bradley has not been involved in the Ryder Cup since playing in 2014 and has never been as assistant in international team competition.
Ironically, it was Johnson who delivered the news in a cold call June 23 offering Bradley the job.
Bradley said he wants the best 12 players on his team at Bethpage and “I don’t care where they play,” saying he has no issue with LIV players if they are eligible.
“I’m excited for him,” said U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau at the same news conference in Spain. “I think it’s a great opportunity for him, especially as it relates to younger players. He’s going to see that younger threshold, and obviously relate to them a lot more, I would say, because of his age. I mean, what is he, 38 or something like that?
“So yeah, he’s seeing the younger generation game. He’s out there still playing, and competing and it’s great to have some relatability. As far as picking the best players, that’s the right approach and I couldn’t be more happy for him as captain.”
The Americans: Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark and Brooks Koepka have collected the last six consecutive major trophies. (Jeff Haynes/USGA; Darren Carroll/PGAA; Logan Whitton/ANGC; Charlie Crowhurst/R&A; James Gilbert/USGA; Warren Little/Getty Images)
American exceptionalism
Europe may hold the Ryder Cup (and a long home winning streak in that realm), but Americans are owning the majors at the moment.
Heading into the 152nd Open Championship this week at Royal Troon, United States golfers have won six consecutive major championships since Spain’s Jon Rahm claimed the 2023 Masters.
Brooks Koepka, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau have run up the longest streak of American major wins in more than four decades. It marks the sixth time since World War II that U.S. golfers have won six or more consecutive major titles.
The last time Americans won six majors in a row was 1981-82 — Bill Rogers (British Open), Larry Nelson (PGA Championship), Craig Stadler (Masters), Tom Watson (U.S and British Opens) and Raymond Floyd (PGA). Australia’s David Graham (1981 U.S. Open) and Spain’s Seve Ballesteros (1983 Masters) covered each side of that streak.
The longest legitimate streak of American exceptionalism in golf ran 13 consecutive majors from the 1974 PGA Championship won by Lee Trevino to the 1977 PGA won by Lanny Wadkins — a run bookended on both sides with victories by South Africa’s Gary Player at the 1974 Open and 1978 Masters. During that streak, Tom Watson won three times, Jack Nicklaus twice and Trevino, Lou Graham, Raymond Floyd, Jerry Pate, Johnny Miller, Dave Stockton, Hubert Green and Wadkins won once each.
Americans won nine straight from the 1970 British Open to the 1972 U.S. Open, during which Nicklaus completed a slam of his own (1970 British, 1971 PGA, 1972 Masters and U.S. Open) while Trevino won three times and Stockton and Billy Casper once each. Gary Player halted that run as well at the 1972 PGA.
U.S. golfers won seven straight from the 1965 PGA (Dave Marr) to the 1967 U.S. Open (Nicklaus), with the Golden Bear accounting for three of those wins while Casper, Al Geiberger and Gay Brewer added the others.
Another six-win American streak came in 1953-54, when Ben Hogan won three legs of the grand slam (Masters, U.S. and British Opens) in 1953 and Walter Burkemo, Sam Snead and Ed Furgol kept the American run going until Peter Thomson won his first British Open in 1954.
Technically the longest American streak of consecutive major victories is 15 from the 1939 PGA Championship won by Henry Picard to the 1947 U.S. Open won by Lew Worsham, but that run spanned World War II when 14 majors were not conducted (including six British Opens) and players weren’t crossing the Atlantic to play the stateside majors that were staged. So that run has a big fat asterisk on it.
Americans won 10 straight from 1931-1934 (the first year of the Masters tournament) and 10 more from the 1927 British Open won by Bobby Jones to the 1930 U.S. Open where Jones captured the third leg of his “Impregnable Quadrilateral.” Scotland’s Tommy Armour marked the starts of both those streaks with wins at the 1927 U.S. Open and the 1930 PGA and 1931 British Open — all of the Silver Scot’s wins long before he became a U.S. citizen in 1942.
Of course, Scotland was the original dominant home of major champions since they invented the game and held a monopoly on the only major until the U.S. Open started in 1895. Scots won seven straight from the 1903 U.S. Open to the 1906 U.S. Open.
Scotland golfers also won the first 29 British Opens from Willie Park Sr. in 1860 to Willie Park Jr. in 1889. England’s John Ball Jr. was the first to break through that Scottish stranglehold in the 1890 Open at Prestwick.