'Delicious' story brewing for U.S. Ryder Cup team
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Newsweek
22 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Rory McIlroy Gives Nod to Potential Ryder Cup Underdog
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. It's no secret that Rory McIlroy is a powerful voice on the European side of the Ryder Cup. For this reason, his every word on the matter resonates throughout the golf world, and if it bears a player's name, even more so. That's exactly what happened after the second round of the BMW Championship, with several potential European Ryder Cup team members controlling the top of the leaderboard. McIlroy expressed his satisfaction with players like Robert MacIntyre, Viktor Hovland, and Ludvig Aberg, but took the opportunity to mention one who may not be in many people's plans. "It's good to see Bob (MacIntyre), Ludvig (Aberg), Viktor Hovland), Tommy (Fleetwood), even Harry Hall, that maybe got a chance to play in the team. Yeah, it bodes well for a few weeks' time." Regarding Hall, he added: "I played with Harry in his first start as a pro at the Dunhill Links a few years ago. I know him a little bit. Really nice player, great rhythm to his golf swing, and he's sort of done it a different way. He went over to UNLV (University of Nevada-Las Vegas) and did it that way. But he's become a very consistent player, so we'll see what happens." Rory McIlory of Northern Ireland plays his tee shot on the 18th hole watched by his playing partner Harry Hall of England on the 18th hole during the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links... Rory McIlory of Northern Ireland plays his tee shot on the 18th hole watched by his playing partner Harry Hall of England on the 18th hole during the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews on September 29, 2019 in St Andrews, United Kingdom. MoreHall started the third round of the BMW Championship tied for eighth with a score of 5-under. The Englishman is currently ranked 19th in the European Ryder Cup Team rankings, so a strong result at Caves Valley would put him squarely in the conversation for Luke Donald's free picks. Hall has two more chances to continue earning points and move even closer to a spot on the team. His performance at the BMW Championship is poised to take him to the PGA Tour's Tour Championship for the first time in his career. Two weeks later, he will play the DP World Tour's British Masters, which closes the eligibility period for the European team. After this iconic tournament hosted by Nick Faldo at The Belfry, the six direct qualifiers will be determined. Shortly following, Donald is expected to announce his six free picks. Hall owes his current status as a Ryder Cup contender to his strong season on the PGA Tour. In 23 tournaments, he has only missed three cuts, with 13 top-25 finishes and four top-10s. His best result of the year so far has been a T6 finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Hall has never played in the Ryder Cup, although he has experience in team events, having played in the Arnold Palmer Cup and the Walker Cup during his amateur career. He has played professionally since 2019 and on the PGA Tour since 2023, where his best result is one win. More Golf: Scottie Scheffler shows his edge amid 'ridiculous' Ryder Cup questions
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Should Keegan Bradley be a playing captain at the Ryder Cup? This writer says no
Golf might be trying to tell Keegan Bradley something. Before Justin Rose and J.J. Spaun went to a sudden-death playoff Aug. 10 in an exciting finale to the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind, Bradley had long since signed his scorecard. Bradley was never in the mix in Memphis. He opened 72-70 and finished at 2-under-par, which tied for 44nd. Not terrible, but in a field of the sport's 69 best players, he was average. He's been average since June 22, when he won a thrilling Travelers Championship on the final hole. The victory amplified speculation that Bradley, already confirmed as this year's U.S. Ryder Cup captain, might use one of the six captain's picks on himself when finalizing the 12-man team that'll face Team Europe at Bethpage Black on Sept. 26-28. It's a uniquely fascinating decision, and it's still out there for Bradley to soon make. As of an Aug. 3 update, he was No. 10 in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings, and he was No. 10 in the World Golf Rankings. He can easily claim to be one of the top 12 American golfers in the world. Were he not already on board to manage this Ryder Cup team, he'd likely get picked by someone else to play on it. Bradley could play anyway. He could also remain the captain. But he shouldn't be allowed to do both. Why would the U.S. team willingly put itself at a clear — and wholly avoidable — disadvantage by having one person take on both managerial and playing roles? Bradley may be confident that he could handle both, but there's no reason the PGA of America should want him, or anyone else, to try. Playing captains were a thing of Ryder Cups past, but there's good reason you haven't seen one since Arnold Palmer in 1963. The pressure of playing in a Ryder Cup in 2025 is more than enough without having to also pick teams and lineups and keep everyone happy in a locker room of tempestuous, millionaire golfers who are unaccustomed to team competition. Easy as it has been for older golfers on both sides to want to step up and play captain, it has proven very difficult to do this job well. One of Bradley's assistants, Jim Furyk, did it well in captaining the U.S. to a Presidents Cup victory last year in Canada. Furyk could seamlessly take over at Bethpage if Bradley wants to play. And if not Furyk, Nashville's Brandt Snedeker would be another convenient choice. Snedeker, an assistant for this Ryder Cup, is set to captain the 2026 Presidents Cup team. Either would be preferable to someone taking this on while playing. Doing both would court disaster for the U.S. team, and the Euros know it. In July, The Telegraph (England) reported that European captain Luke Donald gave a thumbs-up to a rule change, requested by Bradley, that would allow one of the U.S. team's assistants to act as captain on the golf course if Bradley is playing. Of course, Donald agreed. I'd imagine he did so joyfully. If I were leading the European team, I'd love the idea of Bradley foolishly embracing the burden of both roles. This is an enormous Ryder Cup for the U.S. team. The Americans went to Italy in 2023, and Donald's European team outplayed them thoroughly. In the past couple of years, the European side has grown stronger on paper. Welcoming Donald back as captain was a good idea, too, and there's reason to think the U.S. is about to have its hands full at Bethpage. Bradley was an unorthodox choice for U.S. captain because he's only 39 and still playing well. The decision probably had to do with paying him back for being famously snubbed by 2023 captain Zach Johnson, an emotional development that was documented by the Netflix golf series 'Full Swing.' Bradley told reporters at his introductory news conference accepting the captaincy that he would play only if he was an automatic top-six qualifier. He won't (quite) get to the top six, but he's close enough to where he has been encouraged to perhaps go back on that initial plan.w This recent dip in form could be enough to sway him and do what's best for everyone by serving as full-time U.S. captain and picking six other golfers. Here's hoping that's the case. OK. So who should Bradley pick for U.S. Ryder Cup team? Glad you asked. Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa, major winners and Ryder Cup veterans, were No. 7 and No. 8 in the team standings as of Aug. 3. They are easy inclusions. Ben Griffin (No. 9) missed back-to-back cuts in July, but one of those was against cartoonishly low scores at the John Deere Classic and the other was overseas at The Open Championship. Prior to July, Griffin had finished T-14 or better in six consecutive tournaments, including the PGA (T-8) and U.S. Open (T-10). It's easy to pick a guy who has been playing that well. Patrick Cantlay has proven repeatedly that he's a stone-cold killer in the Ryder Cup. I don't care where he's ranked (No. 14). He'd be on my team. And I'll point out that Cameron Young (No. 15), who is making a strong late push, reached the finals of the defunct World Golf match-play event in 2023, beating Rory McIlroy in the semis to get there. Who beat Young 6 and 5 in that final? Sam Burns (No. 16). Burns and Young each rank among the PGA Tour's best in Strokes Gained: Putting. Nothing matters more in match play than putting. Those two would round out my six. Gentry Estes is the sports columnist for the Nashville Tennessean, part of the USA Today Network. He can be reached at gestes@ and hang out with him on Bluesky @
USA Today
7 hours ago
- USA Today
‘Different': Kevin Durant on Alperen Sengun's elite play for Turkey
Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun were both Western Conference All-Stars last season, and they're now teammates in Houston. This week, Durant is watching his co-star shine in European play. As they gear up for the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket 2025 competition, Turkey lost Friday's preparation match versus Germany by two points. It was part of the DBB SuperCup and effectively a road game for the Turkish squad, since the game was played in Munich. But that narrow defeat certainly wasn't the fault of Alperen Sengun, an NBA All-Star center with the Houston Rockets. In under 32 minutes played, Sengun led the way with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists while making 8-of-11 shots (72.7%) and 7-of-9 free throws (77.8%). That total included a number of highlight moves, most notably a crossover spin from the perimeter that led to a running dunk. It's not a move that is seen frequently from big men, but Sengun isn't a normal big man. One person who noticed was new Rockets teammate Kevin Durant, a future Hall of Famer and former Most Valuable Player (MVP). Responding to a clip of the move, Durant simply summed it up with one word. 'Different.' Durant was responding to an X user who asked if any other big men were able to move as fluidly in space. The list is quite small, and it's a unique skill set that Durant will try to help Sengun maximize once training camp opens for the 2025-26 Rockets next month. More: Rockets star Alperen Sengun to play for Turkey in FIBA EuroBasket 2025
