Andrew Novak’s Call with Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley

Andrew Novak received a call from Keegan Bradley confirming he wasn’t on the Ryder Cup team. It was the call he expected, but not the call he hoped for. Novak discusses the call, the team and what he expects from his good friend Ben Griffing at Bethpage.

Welcome back to Any Given Monday, Ryder Cup style. Andrew Novak. Um, let’s start with just I mean, you’re good friends with Ben Griffin. I assume that’s kind of the first thought of the of the team being named. Yeah. Yeah. No, he absolutely earned it. He played awesome awesome golf all year. Um, I think there was some concern in the public that maybe he wasn’t going to make it, but uh yeah, I think especially with how he played in the playoffs, some some really solid finishes. I think he uh pretty much locked it up. I mean, his his play really speaks for itself. How much of the process were you a part of, Andrew? I mean, there was definitely when you after you and Ben played, I mean, you had been playing well up until then after Ben and you won Zurich and you played well after that. There was discussion about you being like getting yourself into the conversation. Did you ever feel like you were in a spot where you could be part of the conversation? Yeah, absolutely. I think the way I played early in the season. I mean, I got myself up in the rankings pretty quickly. Um, you know, Keegan was in my ear a lot, just, you know, pushing me, trying to trying to give me some motivation. And, uh, yeah, I think I was absolutely um, in the picture for for a bit there, especially early in the season. Um, and even if I had a strong finish to the year, I think, uh, you know, I I easily could have been in Ben’s position. It could have been, you know, both of us going. Um, but yeah, I would say uh kind of after the injury at Memorial, like just never never really got the swing back dialed to where it needed to be. Um, missing out on all that practice time. I just, uh, I think the my rhythm got off, my timing got off, and I just struggled to hit the ball um, the back half of the year like I did uh, early season. It just just wasn’t myself. I mean, obviously there’s disappointment, Andrew, but I assume like I mean, you we’ve talked about the last time you were on your pro your career has always been like like this steady climb. You’ve never like you’ve made good leaps exactly how you’re supposed to. I assume uh like with some reflection that this the disappointment of not being able to because of the injury not being able to have a great end of the season and not being able to be part of the conversation on a more a deeper level, but you’ll look at like, hey, this is how my career has gone and in two years if I continue on this path, I I assume you would expect to be a part of the team in 2027. Yeah, it’s like it’s definitely disappointing to miss the team. I wanted to be in Beth Page. I think the fans are going to be unbelievable, but I’m also a team guy. And right now, I’m not one of the best 12 players. Like, I I want to win. And I want those guys. I want Keegan. I want those guys to go win more than I want to be a negative on a team if I don’t feel like I’m hitting the ball well enough right now. I’m not driving the ball well enough right now. So, yeah. I mean, I I I think, you know, I I fully agree with what Keegan’s done. I think um and I mean I told him that on our call like I appreciate all the consideration this year but um I fully understand I just haven’t been playing well enough. I I think um Keegan made it clear from early in the season like you know you got to play well to make this team. There’s a lot of good players trying to do it and uh while I did that early in the season I just I flat out was not playing well enough at the end. I think um I think to your point about going forward I mean I had a great season this year. This was definitely the best season of my career. But if you look at my stats any previous years, I’ve been one of the better ball strikers. Specifically, approach um iron game. Uh most years of my career, I want to say I was probably top 20 strokes gained approach last season. Uh up there in Greens and RG and this year I was way down. I was like 150th in Greens and RG. Um I actually lost strokes gained approach this year for the first time in my entire career. So yeah, I had a great season, but this is nowhere near my ceiling. I I know if I can improve that and bounce that back, I think I’m very confident that, you know, with with how I’ve been putting um with some of the changes I made there, with just my more confident mindset going into tournaments, yeah, I I think I have much more um room for improvement. Um and I’m expecting that next year. When Keegan calls you, I mean, what’s that phone call like, Andrew? So I assume there’s I mean obviously again there’s disappointment but I assume there’s sense of pride that you were even you know like a getting a I know it’s a disappointing phone call but getting one to knowing that you were in the mix at some point yeah I assume has to feel good in in the situation I was in I I knew how the phone call was going to go I I was very appreciative to get one because I had been you know a part of the process for a while I think um so definitely definitely appreciate uh Captain Keegan for that. Um, but yeah, I kind of knew how it was going to go. Um, I kind of probably knew like I don’t think I was probably his toughest call. Um, so, you know, um, I thanked him for it all. And, uh, I definitely understand like, you know, they’re going out trying to win. Um, if if by some miracle he called me and said, “Hey, you’re up.” Like, yeah, I’m I’m going to be ready to go. Like, this is this is a team atmosphere. This is match play. is something that I think I will thrive well in when I get my chance. Um, but yeah, like to earn your way on that team, it takes some special golf and that just wasn’t there at the end of the year for me. How soon after or before had you talked to Ben uh knowing that he got the call that he was on the team? I I text him uh we all got our calls I guess well I think we all got our calls Monday morning. I was texting Ben Monday morning. Um, just just making sure that that he got he got the call up and uh I was sworn to secrecy, but I was aware from Monday morning that he was he was on the team, which obviously I’m very happy about. I think he’s going to crush it out there. He’s got that that kind of mindset. He’s going to he’s going to thrive in that match play, that that kind of atmosphere. Where does where does a writer like I don’t know if you’re goal goal oriented Andrew and I obviously you’re goal oriented I mean like writing down goals and having a list of some sort. Where does where does a RDER Cup in 2027 fall or obviously it was prior to this year being 25 on the 25 team but is that like you know I guess where does it rank if if you’re a goal like so obviously everybody knows what happened last time around on the road. Uh, so this this is a massive RDER cup because you can’t really lose a home rider cup. Like losing a home rider cup is frankly like it is kind of an unacceptable thing. Like you have to defend your home turf. That’s kind of how it’s looked at. Like in general the home team has had the advantage. What the Americans have not been able to do is go to Europe and take one off of them. It has been very hard to win over there. So 2027 I mean how many chances do you get at at road rider cups? They come once every four years. I mean, I I think that would be massive to to be a member of a team that goes over there and wins. I mean, that puts you that puts you up there in history as one of very very few uh golfers that have been able to do that. So, uh yeah, I I would I I’m definitely very interested in making that team. I will definitely be motivated that year. Um, obviously, you know, going to have to play some great golf, but uh, yes, I I absolutely have interest in in being on that team and going and shutting up some European fans. Yeah, fair enough. What from a golf course perspective, how big of an advantage is Beth Page for the Americans? Is it is it I mean, can you how much can you do from a setup standpoint, Andrew, to go to your strength? Is that like Yeah, absolutely. Like like setting up a golf course is part of the reason why home teams have done so well, right? Uh if you look a few years ago like the way the teams were built, the Americans had so many bombers on their team at the time. Uh the Europeans just tightened the fairways, grew up the rough, made it very very brutal if you were missing fairways. This even goes back to uh was it France two times ago maybe? Yeah. Um, and Americans just weren’t hitting fairways and just hacking it out rough the whole time. Now, I do think the teams have actually somewhat flipped. I I think maybe in the past we were looking at the Americans being a little bit more of the bomber team, bomb and gouge. I think a lot of the youth movement on the Europeans is bringing it back a little bit. You’ve got love that pumps it out there. Rasmus hits it very far. You’ve got some of their young players that hit it very far. and the Americans like you’ve got, you know, a Colin or Russell. Yeah. Like these guys aren’t necessarily bombers. They’re much more accurate players. So, I think the teams are much closer as far as like stylistically built. Yeah. Um I I don’t think like I mean I’m sure there are smarter guys uh than me doing this. They they’ll have uh stats guys working on this telling them, you know, hey, we might see a new bunker or two at that stage. They might just start digging stuff out. I don’t know, but they they’ll have it set up in a way that at least benefits them in some way. Maybe um maybe fits their alternate shot like rotation uh you know, a little bit better. Um maybe maybe like right side of 12, you know, that might be a problem for like one of your teams. Maybe they shave that a little bit lower. I have no idea. Like it they’ll set it up in a way that that probably benefits the team uh as best it can. you know Ben the best. Uh Andrew, obviously you guys have won a team event. So, and you like do you have someone that you see on the team as someone that’s going to like work with Ben or how does like how does a a captain pick that no play like for a rookie? I think Ben can work kind of with anyone just because he’s going to bring energy. Um, I think Ben’s pretty comfortable in multiple roles. Like Ben has gained enough distance off the tea if you want to have him in somewhat of your bomber role in a fourball. Like you can do that. Uh, but Ben also has an unbelievable short game. So I’m also comfortable throwing him out there in force if I want to do that because, you know, even if he’s a little out of position, um, you know, that that uh that is an that’s an option that you have there. Um, I don’t know how they’re going to sort the ball situation out and force him and stuff, but that’s, you know, that’s always a thing. They’ll figure it out. Um, I I know how Ben can putt when the pressurees on, I’ve seen it. It’s impressive. Uh, he thrives under that. So, yeah, I’m excited that that first Ben Griffin chip in at the Ryder Cup, though. That’s going to hit hard. Uh, let’s talk alternate shot. I mean, you guys played in the Zurich. How hard is that as a pro? Obviously, this is on another 10 times level because it’s at a Ryder Cup in a in a team plus another team, you know, a bigger team. How hard is that? It’s so out of the ordinary even like at least in in best ball for balls like alternate Yeah. Yeah. Alternate shot has to be so It’s tough. It is very tough. I do think and now maybe this is just kind of my mindset thing. I do think that alternate shot in a RDER Cup atmosphere is maybe slightly easier because it’s match play. Yeah. So, the absolute worst thing that can possibly happen is you lose the hole. That is the worst thing. Like you can’t take a 10 on a hole that does that like ruins your whole tournament. Like nothing like that. The worst thing that can happen is you lo the hole. So I think for alternate shot that kind of eases some you know Zurich one of the biggest things alternate shot there’s water everywhere. There is a lot of water hazards on that course. There’s and with alternate shots that’s that’s stressful especially when you’re coming off you know you play four ball the day before and it’s like oh it’s a little bit more like I can mess like you know I got a partner that’s got me I can take some chances then you got to lock in. So I do think in the match play situation like maybe a little bit easier with alternate shot but obviously pressure of a rider cup you know changes things a little bit there too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. to your point like you pump one out of bounds and obviously not ideal but one down and it’s basically one stroke you got to go get another hole so uh is it do you I mean obviously you feel the pressure of your teammate right like you’re like golf is such a selfish sport that you’re now letting down it’s always been yourself and you just blame yourself but I I assume that’s that’s part of being a good al a good team player is like you got to a get over it and b just be okay with that you’re going to hit some shots at times. Yeah, I think that’s part of what made Ben and I work so well at Zurich is because we’ve played so much golf together and we both trust each other’s short game too. like it one of I mean I hit some I played well that week but I also hit a few terrible shots during the tournament and it just kind of it does become a little bit more of like laugh it off and then your partner’s kind of like hey watch this. Yeah. Sort of thing. Like there is some of that. Like you got to be comfortable in just having fun out there whether you can’t get on each other too much. Uh something happens you kind of laugh it off and just keep going. Like I don’t know. I like Yes. In normal golf like it’s on yourself like blame yourself. But like in alternate shot it kind of is just like that too. Like you still got to move forward. You like you’re not hitting your next shot but you’re hitting the next one after that. So, like you do have to kind of reset quickly and um I do think having a buddy or somebody that you’re very familiar with does help for that just because um understanding each other’s games does I mean it definitely makes a difference. Would you ever go to a Ryder Cup before you make a team? Like would you are you going as a fan? Yeah. Yeah, I I would go. I I’m not um planning on going to this one. But yeah, I I got no issue going as a fan. I think it would be an unbelievable atmosphere to go to. Um but do you mean it’s like to try? No. No. Just like I thought like I didn’t know if it was like the Stanley Cup. Don’t touch the Stanley Cup until you win the Stanley Cup. Like don’t go to the RDER Cup until No, not really. Um the same I mean I’ve gone to the Masters as a fan like Yeah. I it I don’t I don’t think there’s anything necessarily to that. Like if I’m there watching golf as a fan, great. Like I’ll enjoy it. I’m sure the atmosphere is unbelievable. Um but then if I’m there as a player, like that changes things. I mean, you’re you’re a little bit more locked in and and taking it seriously. Definitely appreciating the home fans, but I don’t see an issue with that. Yeah. All right. Uh last question. I know obviously who you’re rooting for, but is it do what’s the the line? Do you think the Americans are winning and is it going to be close? Uh I think Keegan would appreciate me not giving crazy bulletin board material here. Um, but yeah, I mean, I got faith in my boys going out, getting the job done, bringing it home for the US, and rolling some nice momentum in for uh 2027. Do you have like when you’re on the course, I said last question, I lied to Andrew, this is the last question. like as the Ryder Cup gets closer and you play with Europeans, are you is this something you guys talk amongst each other or is it kind of you you talk about it amongst Americans but not not with other teams that get uh have been paired with some Europeans lately and no like no real chirping done there because we’re you know we’re getting to the end of the season we had playoff stuff going on like there’s definitely a focus there but Yeah, there’s definitely in the back of my mind like if I’m paired with somebody like let me go beat this guy. Let me let me see like let me see let me see what he’s got. Let me see if that scared of him. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right, Andrew. I appreciate it. Look forward to you being on the team in 2027 and uh great season, man. It’s awesome to see. Appreciate it. Uh I uh I appreciate it, man. Thanks for the time. Yeah, thanks.