Keegan Bradley faces Ryder Cup dilemma as US Team Captain's form causes awkward situation

Daily Record

2 days ago

United States skipper in form to be a player and not a captain
Captain Keegan Bradley is making life tricky for himself and ex-Ryder Cup star Brad Faxon says he's perfect to play at Bethpage.
The 38-year-old was selected to be skipper in September as the United States aim to rip back the trophy they lost to Europe in Rome.
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However, Bradley's form on the course continues to push him towards the awkward situation of being a potential member of the 12-man team.
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The 38-year-old is producing another top-class showing at The Memorial and sits in a tie for fourth heading into the final round.
Bradley has veterans Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker as assistants available to step up to the captain's role and, although he says he won't pick himself, Faxon, who played in 1995 and 1997, says he has to be a contender if he keeps up current form.
Rory McIlroy 's putting coach said: 'I've always thought this Keegan Bradley story is remarkable, 38 years old, the youngest captain since Arnold [Palmer] back in 1963. And, you know, he got that call from Seth Waugh last year to be the captain and it surprised him.
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'He always says, look, I'm only going to play if I finish in the top six. Well, if he made it into the top 12, he would be picked by any other captain, certainly.
"And if Seth had called him not to tell him, hey you're going to be the Ryder Cup captain, if he said, look, would you rather be captain or rather play at Bethpage, he'd say, play all day, wouldn't he?
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'So I think Keegan needs to be like: I could be a big part of this team. And Keegan's a guy that he's versatile, he can play either format because he's such a good hitter of the ball. And he can play with any other player.
'There are certain times when you make a pick where that particular player is only good in one format, or only is good with one or two other players.
"I think Captain Bradley would be a great player and you could easily say to any of those assistant captains, you can be the captain, let me play. And the PGA America would surely give him that spot.'
Bradley is delighted with his work at Muirfield Village and said: 'I feel like I got myself back in the tournament. Proud of the way I played.'
Faxon believes Bradley is going to face a tough job at Bethpage whether he is captain or playing due to the strength of Luke Donald' s European side.
Speaking on the Smylie Show, he said: 'How does the LIV golfers, how do they be part of the team? You think about Jon Rahm, Tyrell Hatton adding to the European team, the firepower that they have and I think they'll be the deeper of the teams, it looks like.'