Captain courageous? Puh-leeze
Bradley simply did his job, but is Team USA better for it? Stray Shots picks apart picks
Did Keegan Bradley do what the PGA of America hired him to do? (Ryan Lochhead/PGA of America)
Platitudes were coming quicker than dark beer at Oktoberfest — selfless, sacrificing, noble …
These words were used by journalists to describe U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley’s decision not to pick himself to be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963 at East Lake.
With six players already on his team automatically by points — Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau — the 39-year-old captain selected another six in a press conference at the home of the PGA of America in Frisco, Texas.
The big story coming into Wednesday’s announcement was whether or not Bradley, the eighth-highest ranked American in the Official World Golf Ranking, would select himself and take a chance at making playing captain history.
Bradley said he was tempted to do so. If the other players on the bubble hadn’t played better, he might have.
However, those in the discussion did step up over the last month or so, making his decision to leave himself off the playing roster much easier. He then selected Justin Thomas, Ben Griffin, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Young and Sam Burns.
Bradley did his job, as he saw it, picking the best six to join the six that qualified on points. So why are we giving him all this adulation for doing his job?
When Bradley took the captain’s gig after Tiger Woods passed on the opportunity, Bradley was coming off one of the biggest Ryder Cup snubs in the event’s history.
U.S. captain Zach Johnson didn’t see a place in 2023 for Bradley in Rome, even though Bradley was clearly playing better than some of the picks that Johnson made.
When Johnson’s team went 0-4 in Friday morning foursomes, the need for players with more heart was apparent. Bradley would have fit that bill, but was at home in Florida — watching instead of playing.
The decisive loss in Italy will not be easily forgotten, and while Bradley was not a member of the team he was part of the Italy story nonetheless.
So, Bradley knew what Ryder Cup disappointment feels like. And we learned, too, the shock and awe that Bradley felt when Netflix showed the call by Johnson to Bradley on its “Full Swing” series.