Will Maverick McNealy, Ben Griffin make Keegan Bradley’s U.S. Ryder Cup team? | Golf Channel Podcast

Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner discuss the six golfers who have officially qualified for captain Keegan Bradley’s U.S. Ryder Cup team, debating if Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin and Maverick McNealy will make the final squad. #GolfChannel #Golf #RyderCup #KeeganBradley #MaverickMcNealy
» Subscribe to Golf Channel: https://www.youtube.com/golfchannel?sub_confirmation=1
» For the latest news around golf: https://www.nbcsports.com/golf

Welcome to Golf Channel’s official YouTube channel. We are the #1 destination for everything golf — 24/7. Find golf instruction tips, sneak peeks to our original series, news and tournament coverage. We are part of the NBC Sports Group.

Discover what else Golf Channel has to offer:
Live Coverage on Peacock: https://peacocktv.smart.link/v82e9dl56
Live Scores: http://bit.ly/GCScores
TV Schedule: https://www.nbcsports.com/watch/schedule
Instructional Tips: https://www.golfpass.com/learn
Golf Course Reviews: http://bit.ly/GCCourseReviews

Will Maverick McNealy, Ben Griffin make Keegan Bradley’s U.S. Ryder Cup team? | Golf Channel Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/golfchannel?sub_confirmation=1

You could make the argument, Rex, that the Scotty Bobby Mack duel that we had at Cave Valley was actually sort of like the least important storyline, which is something uh a little bit odd to say, a little bit absurd to say in the second playoff event, but you had sort of more storylines just like you had them at in Memphis. Let’s start with the RDER Cup in the automatic qualifying, which ended after the BMW championship. There was actually no movement among those top six players. They stay the same as they did last week. It’s Scotty Sheffller. It’s JJ Spawn. It’s Xander Schoffley. It’s Bryson Nambo. It’s Harris English. And it’s Russell Hemley. Those are your six automatic qualifiers for the US RDER Cup team. Team Europe’s six automatic qualifiers will be determined after this week’s British Masters on the DP World Choice. That’s why we’re focusing focusing right now on the Americans. What did you learn about the other players who are in the mix? Because keep in mind this week’s tour championship is the final chance to audition and impress US captain Keegan Bradley. Well, twofold. One of them, Maverick McNeely certainly showed us something. And he had probably hadn’t been playing his best golf coming in to this week. And I think it’s safe to say that that this was largely with the Ryder Cup on his mind. And every captain’s going to say the same thing. Every captain’s going to tell you that this is not a one week or a two week essentially playoff qualifier for the Ryder Cup. This is a two-year cycle. you need to factor in so many different things. However, there’s a reason why they wait so late in the process to to pick to make these selections now. It’s the Billy Horchel rule from a few years ago where you want the hottest hand. And I can imagine a scenario where I don’t know where Maverick McNeel actually falls on the big board that’s in Keegan Bradley’s war room right now. But my guess is he’s inside. He is probably one of those six picks coming up. I mean, I guess we can sit and b it back and forth. However, if he has one another good week at East Lake, I don’t know how you keep him off the team. There there was a couple other I think Ben Griffin was fascinating because he’s sort of in that limbo, that no man’s land, and he talked about after his round today the idea that he wanted to come in and actually try to lock up one of those automatic qualifying spots. I don’t even know if it was statistic or mathematically possible ma I depending on how he would finish. I guess if he’d won maybe finish second, but I think it was on a lot of guys minds. I don’t think there’s clarity. But if you’re going to look at one small piece of movement, again, very small sample size. Keegan Bradley, who had been hovering at 10th, slipped to 11th. And I’m not sure what that means. I still would argue that he is still among the top 12 Americans by any measurement, by any metrics. But I I think there is maybe a sliver of doubt now that wasn’t there a few weeks ago. Ben Griffin said that he overdosed Have you ever done that in the final round? Uh, I have not, as you can tell by my sure physical physique. I’ve never overdosed uh on on creatine. I I think Ben Griffin’s point was was well taken that you sort of want to take the guesswork out of it, particularly in a player who’s going to be a Ryder Cup rookie. You don’t want to have to be a pick. You just sort want to take matters into your own hands and be among the top uh six qualifiers. I do think Ben Griffin is going to be on that team. I don’t think it’s particularly close. So, in one sense, Rex, I think after the BMW, we have clarity. On the other hand, I think that we have like complete pandemonium potential and and just complete and utter chaos like Justin Thomas, Comma, Ben Griffin. To me, those three players should be considered locks for that US Rder Cup team. I would now throw Cam Young in a very similar category, including that win in the Windom Championship. He now has three consecutive top 11 finishes uh on the PJ tour. He’s playing the type of golf that you want out of a quote unquote hot player. and obviously has the great course fit at Beth Paige Black as well. Patrick Kentley I would also throw in that category largely. Yes, he’s been playing better of late. His record is not quite as bad as we mentioned on the Wednesday podcast as people are sort of dogging him for. You also look at his match play record 156 and one in Rder Cups and President’s Cups over the past couple years. So I think in that sense you do have clarity. Other than that Rex like it’s chaos. It’s it’s potential anarchy. like what do you do with that last spot? You mentioned Maverick McNeely who has sort of been hovering inside the top 12 in points. He didn’t play well in the major championships even though he had three top five finishes in the signature events. He’s certainly become a more well-rounded player as a matter of fact McNeely over the past couple years, but you really don’t know where he is on Keegan Bradley’s radar. You look at a player like Chris Goddup, who I’ve certainly been stumping for since the Scottish Open open championship double uh in in July. He has now finished outside the top 30 in back-to-back events in the playoffs. Just barely snuck inside the top 30 to get to the East Lake for the tour championship so he could at least potentially audition one more time. Andrew Novak, who has been one of the breakout performers this year, he was dead last in the field at the BMW Championship. Brian Harmon who’s sort of right there at least points-wise. He’s not a good fit for Beth Paige Black. Jordan Spe didn’t even make the BMW championship. So, you probably have to consider him out. And Keegan Bradley, although he tied for 17th at the BMW, he has done next to nothing since he won in very surprising fashion at the Travelers Championship. Had Keegan not won the Travelers, I think he would have been 15th in the point standings. And all of a sudden, this isn’t even really a a conversation where he could potentially be a playing captain if we’re taking his own words at face value. Where do you go if you’re Keegan Bradley and you sit here on August 18th? Well, and I I’m not quite sure I 100% agree with what you said. I think you pick Justin Thomas, Colin Morawa, Ben Griffith, and Matt McNeely as locks right now. So, that would be 10. Nope. Nope. Not Patrick Can and and Cam Young. And Cam Cam Young. Yeah. So, I’m I’m sitting there cleareyed with 11 picks on that US Router Cup team and I have nowhere nowhere to go with that 12. And and you don’t think Keegan Bradley is going to be that 12 because I still strongly believe that Keegan’s going to end up being that. And it and it was a fascinating back and forth. I think it was a little gamemanship coming from Roy Maroy, but I think there was a little bit of truth in there as well when he spoke with the media at the BMW about the idea that you can’t do both in the modern era. He said he’d actually been approached by officials from the European tour about just the concept of maybe doing both. I think it would make sense because two years from now be played at a dare manner and Ireland. You would imagine Rory’s probably going to be a lock as a captain if he wants to do that. But the way he’s playing right now, he’s still going to be in line. I think this year’s Ryder Cup probably could go a long way that if Keegan is some sort of a playing captain and it goes well, then maybe that changes his mind. But I tend to agree with what Rory said that I don’t think in the modern era you can pull off both. And Rory actually broke it down really to the studs. I mean to the bare bones with the idea that this is beyond all the things that the captain has to do. Like let’s don’t ignore the fact that there are speeches, there are meetings, there’s media, there’s so many just countless things that a captain has to do. But the one strategically that I think Rory pointed out that was worth visiting is that if you make yourself a pick, Keegan makes himself a pick, essentially you’re picking someone that can only play one team match on Friday and one team match on Saturday. Why would a would a captain tie his hands like that? Because at some point, Keegan’s going to have to captain. He can’t be on the golf course all day long. And then once you go into Sunday, once you start thinking about the logistics of does he go first, does he go last? Does he put himself in the middle of the lineup? Like that that makes no sense to me. So I I’m 100% on board that I don’t think it is a good idea. I don’t think it’s going to work out well if he makes himself a playing captain. All of those things being said, I do think he is one of those picks and I would tend to agree with the 11 that you’ve thrown out there. So my simplest answer is I don’t know how again go back to any metric you want to go by write a cup points list world rankings data golf which is what we always fall down strokes gain total everything that we use to measure golfers he is by he is inside the top 12 American players but he also comes with complications that the other players don’t come with it does certainly feel like the pendulum has swung from Keegan’s got to be on the team to now it seems increasingly likely that Keegan would potentially leave himself off of the team. And I say that because of an emergence of one player that I have not mentioned who I think is a really interesting case because he has been so quiet over these past couple months. He wasn’t quiet at Caves Valley. To me, that player is Sam Burns. And here’s why I think that Sam Burns is a really interesting pick potentially for that 12th spot. Yes, he’s been very quiet since he blew that blew that 54 hole lead at the US Open. Shot 78 in that final round. has had at least prior to the BMW, just one top 25 finish since. However, then just finishes fourth, the BMW. He’s the second best putter on the PGA Tour. And I think most importantly, because you’re looking at a team that is certainly bringing some newcomers onto it. Sam Burns, Rex, went three and 0 last year in team play at the President’s Cup. two of his partners paired with Patrick Kentlay and Colin Morawa. It was not Sky Sheffer. Sky Sheffield was with Russell Henley who I would expect to run it back this time around at Beth Paige Black as well. Those are two players in my opinion who are going to be on this US Ryder Cup team. And so when you’re looking at potential pairings and you have sort of a der of those potentially Scotty Sheffer, Russell Henley, Xander Shoffley, Patrick Kentlay. It’s nice to have a player like Sam Burns who has been there and done it. He’s played in the last three cup teams. You know, he can handle it. If he has another good week at East Lake, I could I could easily make the case for Sam Burns as a final pick as opposed to it to a Keegan Bradley based on what was just his win at the Travelers Championship and not much else in 2025. Again, I think the biggest danger when it comes down to this, and we do this every year, either for the RDA cup or the President’s Cup, it’s you’re always going to be a prisoner of the moment. I don’t think you can lean into the idea that this is all this is a two-year rolling cycle and the idea that it’s going to come down to two 70ole 72 whole tournaments to essentially decide who gets that last pick is a little unrealistic. Now I I know we just had the conversation about there’s a reason why they pushed it back. You want to get the hottest hand and I think the Europeans also have sort of an intriguing option here. Luke Donald has some options he can go with when it comes to picking someone based on how they’re playing right now. I’m not against the Sam Burns pick. Certainly, he could fit into that team room. And at this point, my guess is Keegan Bradley is starting to look at give me exactly what the teams are going to look like. Like, all right, I’ve waited now for two years. What exactly what give give me some pairings? Give me some options. How are we going to work this? How’s every how the all the pegs going to go into the riot holes? I just don’t think he has done enough over the other players on that list, specifically Keegan Bradley, if you’re going to lean into Patrick Kentlay and Cam Young. And I’m not 100% in on those two either. I think both of those would be a bit of a stretch as well. However, PG of America picked Keegan because I think they want him to think outside the box. He was certainly an outside of the box selection as a captain. So, you would expect the same thing when he makes his picks. Something tells me Rex, we’re going to be talking more about this on the Wednesday podcast and certainly a next podcast following the Tour Championship because Keegan Bradley will make his picks a week from Wednesday. His six picks for the US Router Cup team. Can’t wait to debate that and plenty more.