The US skipper was speaking ahead of the PGA Tour’s Procore Championship in California, where Séamus Power and 10 of Bradley’s 12-man team, minus LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau and new dad Xander Schauffele, will tee it up.
Shrugging off the favourites tag is part of the job for both captains and while Bradley is bullish about his team’s prospects and Scheffler’s leadership role, he heaped praise on Europe.
Revealing he is “90pc” decided on his pairings, Bradley said: “All I know is that they have, I think, when I look at their team, I see maybe the best European Ryder Cup team ever. “They’re really deep, top to bottom. They’ve got Major champions. Rory [McIlroy] is having a historical year.
“They’re a confident group. They should be. They won the last Ryder Cup. Their team is solid. Luke Donald is maybe the best captain ever, somebody that I’ve always looked up to.”
Bradley is counting on world number one Scheffler, who is still hurting after that five-point defeat in Rome and preparing as he would for a Major.
“Scottie, I think he would hope it comes down to him in singles,” Bradley said. “I bet you he dreams about it.”
Scheffler didn’t win a match in Rome and admitted the “hurt” he felt has inspired his sensational form over the past two years.
“I was fired up and excited to get home and practice,” Scheffler said of 2023, where he halved two and lost two of his four matches, suffering a record 9&7 foursomes defeat with Brooks Koepka to Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg.
“And I think my results since then have proven how much work I put into to my game and to get to the point where I am now. I love my country, and I love the opportunity to be able to represent them, and it hurt a little bit because I didn’t feel like I was as prepared as I could have been.
“So going into this Cup, I’ve put a lot of work into my game over the last couple of years to get ready to go play this event.”
Donald is playing in the BMW PGA at Wentworth, where McIlroy plays with Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry for the first two days in what may be a sign of what lies ahead.
He’s preparing his team to be ready for all eventualities, including the raucous New York crowd and the presence of US President Donald Trump, whose Doonbeg resort has been confirmed as the venue for the Amgen Irish Open from September 10-13 next year.
“It’s not like he’s just going to turn up and we didn’t expect it,” Donald said. “We know he’s going to be there, so it’s fine.”
As for dealing with the notoriously tough New York crowd, he said: “We will have a unified approach amongst the players, the caddies, the wives, everything. Obviously, we’ve been told by the PGA of America that a strong amount of police are going to be there.”
Meanwhile, Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow play the LPGA’s Kroger Queen City Championship in Ohio, while Lauren Walsh, Annabel Wilson, Sara Byrne and Canice Screene play the Swiss Ladies Open.
PGA Championship, 8.30am
Ladies Open Switzerland, 2.30pm
Queen City Championship, 9pm
Procore Championship, 9pm
(All on Sky Sports)
