Keegan Bradley understands this competition in a way the President – and many Americans – clearly do not
We waited a while for the call to come. On the line from Washington DC, Donald Trump, President of the United States. Go ahead Mr President, what’s your question? It didn’t happen, but that it might have was on everybody’s mind at PGA headquarters in Texas, where US captain Keegan Bradley announced his six picks to complete his 12-man team for next month’s Ryder cup at Bethpage Black in New York.
Perhaps Bradley’s phone will ring in the coming days. “Hey, Keegan, it’s Donald. What the hell? You shudda picked yourself. What were you thinking? Ben Griffin? Sam Burns? Come on. Not in your league. You shudda let me pick the team. I’m very good at picking teams, Keegan. Picked a lot of teams, good teams, winning teams. I’m a winner, Keegan. And I’ll make you a winner, too, if you let me.”
Trump, a native New Yorker and avid golfer, advised on his social media platform Truth Social that he would be on site for the opening day of competition. Clearly the Ryder Cup needs his presence not only to validate the event but to enhance the USA’s chances. In his post, Trump went big on advice: “Keegan Bradley should definitely be on the American Ryder Cup team – as captain! He is an amazing guy.”
Bradley confessed to surprise at the presidential intervention and appeared perplexed over the protocols. “That was surreal. I’ve been blown away by the support, when you get the support of the President, it’s surreal, I appreciate it, I hope you’re not disappointed. When you see that, you wonder how you got to that point your life.”
Quite. Bradley said the idea that he might play as captain only briefly flickered after pipping Tommy Fleetwood to the Travelers Championship in June, but the notion did not endure. “All these guys stepped and played their way into the team. It was a difficult decision but one I’m happy with.
USA’s Ryder Cup team
Automatic qualifiers:
Scottie Scheffler
JJ Spaun
Xander Schauffele
Russell Henley
Harris English
Bryson DeChambeau
Captain’s picks:
Justin Thomas
Collin Morikawa
Ben Griffin
Cameron Young
Patrick Cantlay
Sam Burns
“I grew up wanting to play Ryder Cups and fighting alongside these guys. But I was chosen to be captain and my ultimate goal was to be the best captain I could be. If I felt the team was better with me on that, I would do that. But I feel I can best serve the guys this way. It is strange the decision got so much hype but the Ryder Cup is a big deal apparently.”
Irony aside, Bradley understood the impossibility of the dual role. Arnold Palmer for the USA in 1963 was the last captain on either side to tee it up. The Ryder Cup was a minor event in those days, routinely won by the USA and as such an afterthought for broadcasters.
Its status was transformed by the inclusion of European players from 1979, replacing Great Britain and Ireland. Since 1995 Europe have won 10 of the 14 Ryder Cups and would have fancied their chances all the more had Bradley picked himself.
Rory McIlroy made plain his view last week at the concluding tournament of the PGA Tour season that playing was not possible for captains given the wider responsibilities involved. Ultimately Bradley placed the team ideal above his personal desires and in doing so struck a note the USA has struggled to grasp in the past.
It will surprise none that Trump was pushing the playing agenda since for him the pursuit of individual glory is all. Trump’s mere presence at an already amped event has the potential to disrupt if not undermine the collective endeavour of the American team on the opening day of competition.
Bring it on, says European captain Luke Donald, who announces his six picks on Monday.
