I am the captain ... period
Keegan Bradley makes the selfless choice with his RC picks; onus is on them to deliver
Keegan Bradley will focus entirely on being the captain at Bethpage Black (Ryan Lochhead/PGA of America)
Keegan Bradley picked the team over himself, passing on an opportunity to be a playing captain in the Ryder Cup and giving those he chose instead even more reason to rally behind him when the Americans take on Europe next month at Bethpage Black.
After considerable consternation and plenty of debate about Bradley’s own candidacy as a player, he announced six other Americans on Wednesday in a news conference at PGA of America headquarters in Frisco, Texas.
Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cam Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns were named to the team to join automatic qualifiers Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, J.J. Spaun, Russell Henley and Harris English.
Is this the best 12-man American roster without Bradley? (Ryan Lochhead/PGA of America)
There is certainly an argument to be made that the team is weaker without Bradley. He is ranked No. 11 in the Official World Golf Ranking and is the eighth-highest American. He ranks 10th in Data Golf’s statistics.
But ultimately, him playing in the tournament was going to be a huge distraction, one that he wrestled with but also came to terms with far easier than the world was led to believe.
“It’s really strange,” Bradley said. “This whole year has been really strange, to be honest. I’ve been really surprised at the attention this has gotten. I understand the weight and the history and all that comes with it. I was really focused on being the captain all year. I never really considered playing until after [winning] the Travelers.
“It was on the table for a while. I was really wanting to be the best captain I can be. I really feel like this is the best decision that was made. Strange it got so much hype. But the Ryder Cup is a big deal, apparently.”
It’s certainly a much bigger deal than it was in 1963 when Arnold Palmer was the last American player to also serve as captain. Things were considerably different then. as Palmer was only named the captain a few months prior to the Ryder Cup at East Lake in Atlanta. The entire team was chosen via a points system, there were no wild-card picks. All of Europe was not included, just Great Britan & Ireland. The Americans won 23-9, with Palmer playing in all six sessions, going 4-2.
Bradley could have made the argument to play once a day in the afternoon four balls (better ball) and cede some of the captain’s duties while he was on the course to one of his assistants, namely past captain Jim Furyk. But he ended up going the safer route.
“It’s going to be said so many times between now and the end of the Ryder Cup,” Thomas said. “He did and will continue to do whatever he feels is best for the team. And that’s what he did. It’s been a really, really cool process to be part of. The communication and how transparent Keegan has been isn’t something we have experienced before. Probably guys heard things they wouldn’t be expecting to hear. Brutally honest, if you will.
“I think that’s just how he’s approached this entire captaincy. He wants to do whatever is best for the team. He wants to do as well as he possibly can. At the same time, leading us to victory will be cooler than any experience he can have as a player.”
The U.S. team was beaten handily two hears ago in Rome by a European team that will be captained again by Luke Donald, who will most likely have 11 of the 12 players who were with him at Marco Simone. Only Rasmus Højgaard, who made the team at the deadline on points, appears set to be a new player, replacing his twin brother, Nicolai, who was a captain’s pick in Rome.
That puts Europe in a strong position to win an away Ryder Cup for the first time since it did so in 2012 in the “miracle at Medinah.” The U.S. has not won in Europe since 1993.
Bradley, who played on two losing teams in 2012 and 2014, now has 30 days to determine a best course of action as far as pairings.
“It’s been the most incredible year of my life,” Bradley said. “My favorite year as a professional. We went through so much this past year. The thing I cherish the most is the support I got from the fans. People at tournaments, at restaurants, at gas stations. Never thought of that when I was named captain. It’s been the biggest thrill of my life.”
Captain’s picks during press conference call (Ryan Lochhead/PGA of America)
There was plenty of speculation regarding who would have been left off if Bradley had chosen to play himself. Cameron Young, a local New Yorker with significant experience at Bethpage, and Ben Griffin are the only two Ryder Cup rookies to get picked. Sam Burns didn’t distinguish himself as a rookie in Rome, going 1-2-0, and ranked the lowest in points (16th), but he ranks as the best putter on the PGA Tour. Patrick Cantlay ranked 15th in points and hasn’t won a tour event in three years, but he’s a proven commodity in international team play and has forged a strong partnership with Schauffele.
Based on Data Golf stats, Morikawa arguably had the weakest résumé of the candidates but is still the No. 8 player in the world and is one of the best ball strikers with irons on the planet, ranking third on tour in strokes gained approach. Leaving an OWGR top-10 player off the roster would have been unprecedented.
Whether anyone outside of Bradley knows which one he might have left out to play himself, they should all be that much more motivated to make his selflessness and faith in them count.
It’s been 56 years since Jack Nicklaus conceded a short putt to Tony Jacklin on the last hole of the 1969 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale, ensuring a halve of the singles match as well as an overall tie that allowed the Americans to retain the Ryder Cup. Even though Nicklaus didn’t lose anything and Jacklin most likely would have made the 3-foot putt anyway (Nicklaus didn’t want him to risk missing it in front of the Englishman’s home fans), “the Concession” has been hailed as the most selfless act in Ryder Cup history.
Bradley’s concession to step aside as a player is a far more meaningful and generous gesture, especially considering how much Bradley has always wanted to win a Ryder Cup as a player and doing so as a playing captain in the modern era would have been on a high pedestal of Ryder Cup accomplishments.
Every one of his six captain’s picks needs to recognize what he did for them and be motivated accordingly to bring their best games and not let him down.