Schupak: The Keegan Bradley captaincy conundrum heats up
Tuesday's virtual press conference to announce Brandt Snedeker as U.S. team captain for the 2026 Presidents Cup went swimmingly for one of the better (and fastest) talkers in golf with two exceptions.
For starters, at one point he needed to quench his thirst with a swig of water because he was coughing profusely, or as he put it, 'Man, I'm choking already.'
Advertisement
He rallied and no one had to perform mouth to mouth but the second issue with his press conference was more of his doing — his most interesting response had to do with the Ryder Cup and not the Presidents Cup. It surfaced when Snedeker, who is going to be a U.S. Ryder Cup vice captain in September, was asked about Keegan Bradley potentially being a playing captain at Bethpage Black when the Americans attempt to win back the Cup.
'I think everybody on the team wants Keegan to play great and make the team," Snedeker said. "I think that's something that the players have spoken about quite openly that they think Keegan is one of the 12 best players in the world now on the American side, and he needs to go prove that and play great leading up to the majors in the summer."
NEW YORK: Keegan Bradley of The United States speaks at a press conference during the Ryder Cup 2024 Year to Go Media Event at The Times Center on October 08, 2024. (Photo by)
There hasn't been a U.S. playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963, and there's good reason for that: the job has become too big for both roles – though Tiger Woods might argue otherwise as he showed it can be done at the 2019 Presidents Cup. Bradley, who is 38 but will turn 39 before the Ryder Cup in late September, ranks No. 19 in the world and No. 22 in the current U.S. Ryder Cup standings. Why does Snedeker think Bradley, who won the clinching point of the 2024 Presidents Cup in Montreal, should be on the team?
Advertisement
'The way he played last year at the Presidents Cup really showed that this guy is built for team competitions. He's a great guy in the team room. He played fantastic,' Snedeker explained. 'A big reason why we were able to pull it out in Montreal was the way he played. I think the guys loved seeing his (fire inside). They got to see his competitiveness come through. They're seeing that now as his way as a captain and the amount of care he has for these things comes through with the way he plays and the way he captains and the way he talks about it.'
Since the day in July when Bradley was named Ryder Cup captain, he has frequently said he if he qualifies on merit in the top 6 he will play but he doesn't want to put himself in a position where he has to pick himself. How would that play out? Snedeker, who is joined by Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner and Webb Simpson as vice captains, shed some light on how it could work.
"With regards to who would be the captain in that scenario, we have four other guys in the room right now that are perfectly capable of it, and I'm sure there will be some collaboration between all of us to take over that role for Keegan even though this is going to be Keegan's team," Snedeker said. "Our job as assistant captains will be to make sure that we carry out his wishes and carry out the team thing the way he wants it done."
But Snedeker also conceded that if Bradley were to make the team, he would have to relinquish many, if not all, of the captain duties to one of his lieutenants.
Advertisement
"I don't think it's possible to be able to do both just with how much stuff goes into being a captain,' Snedeker said. 'I think Keegan will probably lean on Jim [Furyk], obviously, who's going to be in that room as well. There's a bunch of guys that can step up and hopefully fill that void."
Asked whether Bradley would be one of his 12 picks right now if he were in the captain role, Snedeker passed on adding fuel to the fire to this bewildering question.
'Luckily, I'm not,' he said. 'There's a lot of golf (to be played). We have been on a bunch of calls talking about this. The amount of points still left out there for the Ryder Cup team right now is a lot. It's over 40 percent to 50 percent of the Ryder Cup points are still available. There's a lot that's going to change.'
He added: 'He's got to play great golf the rest of the year. I know he will. He's working hard at it. We'll see how it all shakes out.'
Advertisement
It's certainly something to monitor, adding intrigue to this year's selection process and something that could prove pivotal to Team USA's chances to regain the Cup.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: The next 3 months will determine if Keegan Bradley captains or plays
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
an hour ago
US concedes 4 first-half goals, falls to Switzerland 4-0 for first 4-game losing streak since 2007
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The United States gave up four goals in the first half and looked unprepared for next year's World Cup, getting routed by Switzerland 4-0 in a friendly on Tuesday night as the Americans lost their fourth straight game for the first time since 2007. Dan Ndoye scored in the 13th minute, Michel Aebischer in the 23rd, Breel Embolo in the 33rd and Johan Manzambi in the 36th. The Americans failed to put a shot on target and have lost four consecutive home games for the third time and first since 1988. Switzerland won its third straight match and extended the U.S. winless streak against European opponents to eight games since 2021. Fans at Geodis Park booed loudly as the U.S. gave up four goals by the 40th minute for the first time since Nov. 9, 1980, at Mexico and the first time ever at home, according to Opta. The match was played one year and one day before the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the U.S. starts. Going into their CONCACAF Gold Cup opener against Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, the Americans are 5-5 under Mauricio Pochettino, who took over after first-round elimination last year's Copa America led the U.S. Soccer Federation to fire coach Gregg Berhalter. Ndoye burst behind Nate Harriel to run onto a through pass for the first goal; Manzambi dribbled past Max Arfsten along the endline to leave Aebischer with a tap-in for the second; goalkeeper Matt Turner spilled Ricardo Rodriguez's shot to leave Embolo an open net for the third; and a mix-up when Quinn Sullivan passed to Sebastian Berhalter as the former coach's son slipped created a giveaway that led to Manzambi's first international goal. The U.S. had not lost four straight games since a five-game skid in 2007. The Americans were missing Christian Pulisic (wanted time off); Yunus Musah (personal reason not disclosed); Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna (headed to the Club World Cup); Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams and Folarin Balogun (injured); and Sergiño Dest (regaining fitness). Turner played his first game for club or country since March 23. Berhalter started in his debut, and Brenden and Paxten Aaronson became the fourth set of brothers to start for the U.S., and the first since George and Louis Nanchoff in 1979. Pochettino made nine changes from Saturday's 2-1 loss to Turkey, keeping only Arfsten and midfielder Johnny Cardoso. The U.S. made five changes to start the second half and Damion Downs made his debut in the 75th minute.
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
McIntosh just misses breaking oldest women's record by blink of an eye
VICTORIA - Summer McIntosh came within a blink of an eye of breaking swimming's oldest women's world record at the Bell Canadian Swimming Trials on Tuesday night. With a sold-out crowd's cheers ringing in her ears, the 18-year-old from Toronto swam the 200-metre butterfly in 2:02.26 — just .45 off the record of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009. She also shaved .76 off her own Canadian record and notched the second fastest time in history in the event. Meanwhile, four new swimmers earned selection to Team Canada for this summer's World Aquatics Championships. McIntosh was pleased with her swim but also believes the record remains within her grasp. 'I think this world record is the hardest one to get,' said McIntosh, who has set two world records and four Canadian records in four days. 'I'm just so happy with the 2:02 low tonight. I didn't know if that was possible for me.' McIntosh was on world record pace when she made the final turn for home. 'I was kind of upset with myself with the finish,' she said. 'My last stroke was just a little bit wonky. I can definitely find the other little deficiencies through the race. 'The fact I'm knocking on the door on that world record is really encouraging. That's the one world record I never thought I would even come close to. To be pretty close to it is pretty wild.' McIntosh won the 200-m individual medley on Monday in 2:05.70, lowering the time of 2:06.12 set by Hungary's Katinka Hosszu that stood for nearly 10 years. She opened the trials winning the 400-m freestyle in 3:54.18 Saturday, breaking the old mark of 3:55.38 held by Australia's Ariarne Titmus. She broke her own Canadian record in the 800-m freestyle Sunday. Her time of 8:05.07 shaved almost five seconds off her own Canadian record and was the third fastest time ever, 0.95 of a second off the world record American legend Katie Ledecky set in May. Ilya Kharun of Montreal picked up his second victory of the trials, winning the men's 200-m butterfly in 1:53.41. Kharun earned a bronze medal in the 200 fly at the Paris 2024 Olympics, setting a Canadian record time. It was the first medal ever for a Canadian in the event. Kharun said the race remains a learning curve for him. 'I'm really glad how it's progressing,' said Kharun, who swam a personal best time to win the 100 fly on Sunday. 'I think it should be a lot better once we get some more work in.' It was an emotional moment for Toronto's Ruslan Gaziev who won the men's 100-m freestyle in 48.37 seconds. That was under Swimming Canada's secondary standard of 48.82. Gaziev is returning to swimming after serving an 18-month suspension due to an anti-doping rule violation regarding keeping his whereabouts information fully up-to-date. 'I'm just happy I won,' said the 25-year-old. 'I'm honestly proud of myself and how I've handled the struggles I've had. I feel like I've really built up my resilience.' Antoine Sauve of Montreal's CAMO club was second in the men's 100 in 48.42. Toronto's Josh Liendo was third in 48.62 followed by Filip Senc-Samardzic of Toronto in 49.13. Liendo had already earned selection in two events (100 fly and 50 free) while Sauve and Senc-Samardzic added their names to the list. Three-time Olympian Penny Oleksiak of Toronto won her second event of the trials, taking the women's 100 free in 54.03, well under the AQUA A standard of 54.25. She swam a personal best to win the 50 free on Monday. 'I think I had a lot more in that race,' said Oleksiak, the owner of seven Olympic medals. 'I'm excited to get back into training and just getting faster for the summer.' The top four finishers in the men's and women's 100 freestyle events will be selected to join Team Canada at this summer's World Aquatics Championships. Finishing second in the women's 100 free was Kelowna's Taylor Ruck in 54.41, followed by Brooklyn Douthwright of Riverview, N.B., in 54.74 and Ingrid Wilm of the High Performance Centre—Vancouver in 55.15. Ruck (100-m) and Wilm (50-m) had already earned selection in backstroke events, while Douthwright earned her spot for the first time. STRONG NIGHT FOR PARA SWIMMERS Para swimmers enjoyed another strong night with Alyssa Smyth, Nicholas Bennett and Sebastian Massabie all setting Canadian records. Katie Cosgriffe won the multi-class women's 100-m butterfly in 1:07.61, a time the S10 swimmer from the Oakville Aquatic Club believes she can improve on. 'There's lots of technical ways that I can be a lot faster,' she said. 'I have to work on my speed in general.' Alyssa Smyth of the Orangeville Otters Swim Club was second in the race in an S13 Canadian record time of 1:06.42. A mix-up resulted in Smyth arriving at the pool late. She didn't have time for a warm-up before her race. 'There was a lot of adrenalin,' said Smyth. 'I thought to make the best of the situation I would just try the best I could. It went pretty well.' Fernando Lu of Langley's Olympian Swimming won two races. The S10 swimmer started the evening taking the multi-class 100-m butterfly in 58.20 seconds then the 50-m freestyle in 24.44. 'It went well for me tonight,' said Lu who reached two finals at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. 'I feel more energized than ever. I'm really happy with the way I've recovered from the past races.' Massabie of the Pacific Sea Wolves broke the S5 Canadian record twice in the 50 freestyle. He swam 36.22 seconds in the morning preliminaries then 35.42 in the final. He broke the Canadian record in the S5 50-m butterfly twice on Monday. Nicholas Bennett, an S14 swimmer with the Red Deer Catalina Swim Club, swam 57.50 to lower his own Canadian record in the 100-m butterfly. The six-day trials, which run through Thursday, have attracted more than 700 swimmers to Saanich Commonwealth Place in Victoria. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mary Lou Retton fined $100, speaks out following DUI arrest
The Brief Mary Lou Retton pleaded no contest to a DUI charge after a May traffic stop in her hometown and was fined $100 as a first-time offender. Police said she smelled of alcohol, slurred her words, and failed a sobriety test; wine was found in her vehicle. Retton took full responsibility, apologized publicly, and said she was committed to personal growth after the incident. FAIRMONT, W. Va. - Olympic gymnastics legend Mary Lou Retton on Tuesday entered a no contest plea to driving under the influence stemming from a traffic stop and arrest in her homtown in West Virginia last month. A Marion County judge fined Retton $100, consistent with sentencing guidelines for first-time, non-aggravated offenses, her attorney Edmund J. Rollo said in a statement. What they're saying In a statement released through her attorney, the 57-year-old Retton said she took full responsibility for her actions. "What happened was completely unacceptable. I make no excuses," she said. "To my family, friends and my fans: I have let you down, and for that I am deeply sorry. I am determined to learn and grow from this experience, and I am committed to making positive changes in my life. I truly appreciate your concern, encouragement and continued support." Dig deeper Fairmont police stopped Retton on May 17 following a report about a person in a Porsche driving erratically. According to the criminal complaint, Retton smelled of alcohol and was slurring her words, and she failed a field sobriety test. Officers also reported observing a container of wine in the passenger seat. EARLIER: Olympic legend Mary Lou Retton arrested on DUI charge, records show Retton was charged with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or drugs on May 17, according to Marion County court records. She was released from jail after posting a personal recognizance bond of $1,500. The backstory Retton was 16 when she became the first American female gymnast to win the all-around title at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The native of Fairmont, West Virginia, also won two silver and two bronze medals at those Summer Games to help bring gymnastics — a sport long dominated by eastern European powers like Romania and the Soviet Union — into the mainstream in the U.S. RELATED:Mary Lou Retton says she's a 'fighter' as she recuperates at home following pneumonia scare Retton became the first woman to be featured on the front of a Wheaties cereal box. She retired from competitive gymnastics in 1986 and did numerous commercial endorsements. She also made several film and television appearances, including a stint on "Dancing with the Stars." She and her husband, Shannon Kelley, divorced in 2018. After she retired from gymnastics, Retton became a motivational speaker and frequently shared messages about the benefits of proper nutrition and exercise. In 2023, Retton's family disclosed she was recuperating from a rare form of pneumonia that landed her in intensive care. Doctors found her oxygen levels dangerously low. Her medical team considered putting her on a ventilator as her conditioned worsened. Retton went on oxygen treatment and, after weeks in the hospital, improved enough to be sent home. The Source The Associated Press, FOX News contributed to this story. This story was reported from Los Angeles.
