Keegan Bradley will captain Team USA at next month’s Ryder Cup and has been tipped to play and skipper – a move he’s been told to avoid at all costs by a legendary figure in the game
Keegan Bradley will captain Team USA, but is also being tipped to play given his form(Image: Getty Images)
Former European Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance has told Keegan Bradley that being a player captain at next month’s tournament would be the “worst decision ever” in the history of the competition.
Bradley has long been down as the man to lead the United States as they bid to regain the trophy. Their effort will take place at Bethpage in New York, but the tournament has coincided with a huge career resurgence for the home captain.
Bradley claimed his only major when he won the US PGA Championship in 2011 but his form over recent months has seen him rise into the top 10. It has him ranked higher than several of the players who would qualify, which has seen many insist he has to play.
The 39-year-old has claimed recently that he “will do what is best for the US Ryder Cup team” and is still none the wiser as to whether he’ll take the rogue move of playing and captaining.
America are bidding to avoid a repeat of the Miracle of Medinah – which remains the only home Ryder Cup loss in two decades – and Torrance insists Bradley would be making a huge blunder by playing.
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He said on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast: “It would be the worst decision a captain has ever made if he was a playing captain. I don’t believe you can do it. There are things the captain has to do. He has to put the pairings in Friday and Saturday and he’s the only player in the American team that can talk to his team.
“You can’t have someone else going onto the 16th saying ‘he hit a five-iron, he hit a six-iron’ – it’s only the captain that can do that. He also can’t glean enough information about his other teams that he’s had out that morning to get out in the afternoon.
Ex-Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance has cautioned Keegan Bradley against taking on both roles
“It’s a very difficult scenario. I mean, he should play, but the proper thing to do is play and give the right of captaincy to Furyk or someone else.”
Bradley has selected his vice-captains and picked an array of talent, which include the 2018 skipper Jim Furyk. Alongside him he also has Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, Kevin Kisner and Gary Woodland.
The US currently have five of the top six ranked golfers in the world with Rory McIlroy the only man flying the flag for the Europeans. Four of those have already qualified for the Ryder Cup team with the likes of Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun and Russell Henley looking to exact revenge for the Americans.
