Lanny Wadkins: Keegan Bradley made great choice to not play in Ryder Cup | Golf Today | Golf Channel

Lanny Wadkins, 1995 Ryder Cup U.S. captain, shares his thoughts on Keegan Bradley not choosing himself for this year’s Ryder Cup team, Luke Donald serving as captain after leading Europe to victory in 2023 and more. #GolfChannel #GolfToday #RyderCup
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Lanny Wadkins: Keegan Bradley made great choice to not play in Ryder Cup | Golf Today | Golf Channel
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FARMING DALE, NEW YORK. ALL RIGHT, FOLKS, NOW, LOOK AT THE GEMINI RYDER CUP INSIGHT, FEATURING THE WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME EMBER LANNY WADKINS, EIGHT-TIME RYDER CUP TEAM MEMBER AND A STAR OF THE U.S. TEAM, NOTABLY 1983, TEAM’S TIED AT 13, TEN MATCHES COMPLETED, CAME DOWN TO THE FINAL TWO MATCHES ON THE 18th. LANNY WAS THAT THIRD, THE INCHES WOULD WIN THE HOLE. EARNING A PIVOTAL HALF POINT. THE WENT ON TO BE A 14.5-13.5 VICTORY. >> THAT BROKE EUROPEAN HEARTS. LANNY WAS NAMED THE CAPTAIN OF THE U.S. TEAM FOR THE 1995 RYDER CUP AT OAK HILL. THIS TIME, THE EUROPEANS GOT THE BETTER OF LANNY’S TEAM, 14.5-13.5, BUT IT IS QUITE A RECORD LANNY WADKINS BUILT IN THE RYDER CUP OVER THE YEARS. 21.5 POINTS. ONLY ARNOLD PALMER AND BILLY CAP LER HAVE COUPLED ACCUMULATED MO THE BACK TO 1977 WHEN HE MADE HIS DEBUT. AND THE WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAMER JOINS US NOW. LANNY, IT’S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE YOU. AND I’M CURIOUS HOW MUCH THIS CAPTAIN’S JOB HAS CHANGED IN THE 30 YEARS, BECAUSE KEEGAN HAS NOW AN ENTIRE SUPPORT TEAM AROUND HIM. HE HAS GOT A TEAM MANAGER IN JOHN WOOD, ALL OF THESE VICE CAPTAINS. WHAT DID YOU HAVE BACK AT OAK HILL? >> I HAD MY BROTHER, AND I BROUGHT HIM ALONG AS AN ASSISTANT CAPTAIN, MORE TO WATCH THE PLAYERS DURING PRACTICE BECAUSE BOBBY WAS STILL ON TOUR AT THE TIME AND KNEW HOW THEY WERE PLAYING SO I GOT GREAT FEEDBACK AND HONEST FEEDBACK FROM BOBBY. HE WAS A BIG HELP. I’M NOT EVEN SURE THE PGA PAID HIS EXPENSES AT THAT POINT IN TIME. THEN, I FOUND AS THE MASTERS GOT GOING, I NEEDED MORE HELP, AND I ACTUALLY ENLISTED GORDON JOHNSON, WHO WAS THE — AND THE BROTHER OF CRAIG HARMON, AND MY TEACHER, AS ASSISTANT CAPTAINS, KIND OF A — WHETHER TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME AND BASICALLY THEY HELPED ME A WHOLE LOT AS THE WEEK WENT ON. >> LANNY, IT’S INTERESTING, IN THIS MODERN ERA OF RYDER CUPS, I KEEP HEARING THE WORD, CAMARADERIE. THE PLAYERS GETTING TOGETHER, WIVES, DINNERS, MAKING SURE EVERYBODY KIND OF LIKES EACH OTHER AHEAD OF TIME. WAS CAMARADERIE A BIG DISCUSSION POINT ACROSS YOUR EIGHT PLAYINGS OR WAS IT ABOUT SHOWING UP, GETTING THE JOB DONE? >> PRETTY MUCH SHOWING UP, PLAYING, GETTING THE JOB DONE, DAMON. YOU KNOW, WE DIDN’T THINK ABOUT IT. I’M ASSUMING THAT TODAY’S PLAYERS HAVE A BIGGER ISSUE BECAUSE THEY’RE ALL FLYING IN THEIR OWN PRIVATE JETS. WE DIDN’T HAVE THAT LUXURY. SO, WE’RE PROBABLY ALL FLYING BACK IN ECONOMY TOGETHER BACK IN THE DAY. SO, IT WASN’T QUITE THE WAY WE TRAVELED, BUT THAT MAY HAVE BEEN A DIFFERENCE. HAD A LOT OF DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, PARTNERS WHEN I PLAYED. AND GOT ALONG WITH EVERYBODY. AND WE ACTUALLY MADE NEW FRIENDS AT RYDER CUP. SOME OF THE GUYS THAT WE DIDN’T HANG OUT WITH ON TOUR, THAT MADE TEAMS, WE GOT TO KNOW BETTER RYDER CUP WEEK. SO, A LOT OF MY FRIENDSHIPS ON TOUR CAME FROM PLAYING ON THE TEAMS AND MAKING MORE FRIENDS DURING THAT WEEK. >> SO MUCH HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS, LANNY, WITH THE RYDER CUP, NOT LEAST THIS YEAR, NOW THE AMERICAN TEAM’S PLAYERS ARE BEING PAID. WHERE DO YOU FALL ON THAT ISSUE? WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE BEEN PAID AT THAT POINT? OR IS IT JUST A MATTER OF PATRIOTISM FOR YOU AND THAT THE PAYMENT DOESN’T REALLY AND SHOULDN’T MATTER? >> I DON’T THINK THE PAYMENT SHOULD MATTER. I MEAN, I THINK ANY OF THOSE WOULD CUT OFF A LIMB TO PLAY ON THE RYDER CUP TEAM BACK WHEN I PLAYED. WE WANTED TO PLAY SO BADLY, IT NEVER CROSSED OUR MIND TO BE PAID, AT LEAST WHEN I WAS PLAYING. I DON’T THINK ANY OF THE PAY FOR, YOU KNOW, PLAY STUFF CAME ALONG UNTIL AFTER I WAS DONE PLAYING. BUT YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST A MASSIVE HONOR TO REPRESENT YOUR COUNTRY. AND I DID NOT — THE MONEY JUST DIDN’T EVEN ENTER THE EQUATION. >> LANNY, YOU KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO PLAY. YOU KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO CAPTAIN. HOW DO YOU THINK KEEGAN BRADLEY HANDLED THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS AND ULTIMATELY THE DECISION TO CAPTAIN SOLELY AND NOT PLAY? >> I THINK IT WAS A GREAT DECISION ON KEEGAN’S PART. I THINK HE MADE EXACTLY THE RIGHT CHOICE. I THINK KEEGAN’S GOING TO BE A FANTASTIC CAPTAIN. I LOVE HIS ENERGY. WHAT HE BRINGS TO IT. HIS PERSONALITY IS PERFECT PERSONALITY FOR RYDER CUP CAPTAIN. HE’S A FIGHTER. HE’S INTO IT. HE TAKES NO CRAP OFF ANYBODY. I LIKE THAT WITH HIM A LOT. THE JOB IS TOO BIG TO TRY AND PLAY, AND ALSO, KEEGAN’S NOT SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER. I MEAN, LET’S GET RIGHT DOWN TO IT. HAD HE BEEN TIGER WOODS OR SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, MIGHT HAVE BEEN A DIFFERENT DEAL. BUT YOU KNOW, THE SEPARATION — AS GOOD A PLAYER AS KEEGAN IS, THE AMOUNT OF SEPARATION BETWEEN HIM AND, SAY, SAM BURN, IS NOT THAT GREAT. NOT COMPARED TO SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER AND TIGER WOODS. THOSE TWO GUYS, MAYBE A DIFFERENT SITUATION. >> KEEGAN HAD SIX CAPTAINS’ PICKS, LANNY. YOU ONLY HAD TWO BACK IN 1995. WHAT’S THE RIGHT NUMBER? OR WOULD YOU JUST PICK THE ENTIRE TEAM? >> THAT’S A GREAT QUESTION. I DON’T KNOW. ALL THE TEAMS — I GUESS I MADE MINE PERSONAL IN A WAY. I WAS THE PGA CHAMPION AND THE PGA CHAMPION WAS AUTOMATIC. WHEN I WAS ON THE FIRST TEAM FOR THE PLAYOFFS OF THE PGA, DON PAJT TOLD GENE AND MYSELF, WHICHEVER ONE OF US WON WOULD BE ON THE RYDER CUP TEAM. THE PGA CHAMPION WAS AUTOMATIC AND STAYED THAT WAY FOR A WHILE UNTIL THE FIRST CAPTAINS’ PICKS WERE ACTUALLY ’89. RAYMOND FLOYD HAD THE PICKS BUT I WAS THE FIRST PICK ALONG WITH TOM WATSON IN ’89. SO SO, THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THERE WERE CAPTAINS PICKED. SO, I DON’T KNOW. I DID IT BOTH WAYS. CAPTAINS’ PICKS ARE TOUGH. I HAD SO MANY GUYS TO CHOOSE FROM AND ONLY HAVING TWO SPOTS, IT WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS I’VE EVER DONE. >> LANNY, LUKE DONALD GETS THE JOB IN BACK-TO-BACK RYDER CUPS. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OR DISADVANTAGES, YOU THINK, THAT EUROPE WILL HAVE FOR BRINGING BACK THE SAME VOICE, EVEN IF IT WAS A VICTORY A COUPLE YEARS AGO IN ROME? >> I THINK IT’S PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA. I THINK HE’S GOT THE EXPERIENCE OF WINNING. I THINK HE HAS THE CONFIDENCE OF HIS TEAM, WHICH IS PROBABLY FIRST AND FOREMOST. I THINK THAT’S WHAT OUR TEAM IS GOING TO FEEL WITH KEEGAN. I THINK ALL THESE GUYS ARE GOING TO BE — HAVE A LOT OF CONFIDENCE. I THINK HIS — I THINK KEEGAN’S PERSONALITY IS INFECTIOUS. I THINK THE PLAYERS ARE REALLY GOING TO GRAVITATE TO HIM, LEAN ON HIM. HE’S GOING TO BE THE DOMINANT VOICE IN THAT ROOM, AND I THINK THAT’S A PLUS FOR US. THE EUROPEANS, I THINK, ARE GOING TO DO THAT WITH LUKE. >> LANNY, WHEN I LOOK BACK OVER RYDER CUP, OVER THE LAST 30-ODD YEARS, WHEN I THINK OF THE CAPTAINS WHO WERE MOST OBVIOUSLY PAINED BY DEFEAT, I THINK OF YOU, AND I THINK OF HAL SUTTON. WHEN YOU LOOK BACK ON ’95, DO YOU LOOK BACK ON, SAY, WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS DIFFERENTLY OR I MADE A MISTAKE HERE? HOW DO YOU PROCESS IT? >> WELL, I DON’T KNOW THAT I COULD HAVE DONE A WHOLE LOT DIFFERENTLY, AMON. I ALSO HAD A THREE-POINT LEAD WITH 11 MATCHES TO PLAY IN SINGLES. WE HAD DONE A LOT OF THINGS RIGHT LEADING UP TO THE SINGLES MATCHES, AND THE WAY THE SINGLES LINED UP, THE GUYS WERE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE. I HAD SENT WAMON ON FIRST, HE BEAT ALESTAROS. COREY BEAT BERNHARDT LANGER. NICHOLSON WON AT THE END. MAYBE I COULD HAVE PLAYED SOME OF THE OTHER GUYS, MORE MATCHES. I DID MAKE A VERY CONCERTED EFFORT TO GET EVERYBODY INVOLVED IN THE MATCHES, PLAYING AT LEAST TWO, THREE TIMES. YOU KNOW, MAYBE I TRIED TO BE TOO GENEROUS WITH THAT, BUT WE HAD A VERY WELL BALANCED TEAM. I HAD A COUPLE GUYS THAT DIDN’T PLAY UP TO THEIR CAPABILITIES. BUT THAT HAPPENS IN EVERY RYDER CUP. THERE WOULD BE GUYS THAT ARE GOING TO LEAVE, AT BETHPAGE, DISAPPOINTED IN THE WAY THEY PLAYED. AND JUST PART OF IT. IT’S GOLF. >> LANNY, YOU HIT SOME OF THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL SHOTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE RYDER CUP, INCLUDING 1983. I WAS ALWAYS CURIOUS, DID YOU PREPARE DIFFERENTLY FOR RYDER CUP THAN YOU WOULD A MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP OR A STROKE PLAY EVENT? HOW DID YOU GET THE KNIFE SO SHARP, TIME AFTER TIME AFTER TIME IN THE RYDER CUP IN PARTICULAR? >> WELL, I THINK WE JUST TRIED TO KEEP PLAYING. I WAS LUCKY. I PLAYED A LOT OF MATCH PLAYS WITH AMATEURS, SO I HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCE WITH THAT, EVEN THOUGH WHEN I WON THE U.S. AMATEUR, IT WAS METAL PLAY BUT I WON A BUNCH OF OTHER MATCH PLAY TOURNAMENTS. I PLAYED TWO WALKER CUPS SO I HAD AN IDEA OF WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH RYDER CUP. SO, I HAD PLAYED ENOUGH MATCH PLAY TO, YOU KNOW, KNOW HOW TO TAKE IT AND PLAY WITH IT. I ENJOYED IT. I ENJOYED ANYTHING THAT WAS DIFFERENT IN GOLF. WHEN YOU PLAY THE TOUR, YOU’RE PLAYING 72 HOLES, WEEK IN, WEEK OUT, AND IT GETS A LITTLE MONOTONOUS, SO WE HAVE A TEAM EVENT OR A RYDER CUP, SOMETHING THAT’S DIFFERENT, I’VE NOW GOT, IN MY MIND, THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD ON MY SIDE. I LIKE THAT. I GOT TO PLAY WITH AYMOND FLOYD AS MY PARTNER, COREY AS MY PARTNER, PAYNE STEWART, GOING DOWN THE LINE, JUST SOME GUYS THAT COULD REALLY, REALLY PLAY. AND THAT WERE GREAT FRIENDS, AND THEY REMAIN GREAT FRIENDS. >> THERE SEEMS TO BE AN ASSUMPTION THAT THE CROWD WILL BE THE 13th MAN FOR THE AMERICAN TEAM NEXT WEEK. AT BETHPAGE, LANNY, WHICH KIND OF UNDERESTIMATES HOW MANY EUROPEANS ACTUALLY LIVE IN THE TRISTATE AREA HERE AS WELL. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS THAT THE CROWD COULD ACTUALLY CROSS A LINE IN TERMS OF BEHAVIOR? >> WELL, I HOPE NOT. I DON’T THINK THEY EVER HAVE. I THINK MOST PART, THEY’VE BEEN A RALLY. THE CROWDS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ROWDY. I ALWAYS FIND IT VERY INTERESTING THAT WE NEVER SAY A WORD ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO US WHEN WE’RE PLAYING IN EUROPE. I KNOW I HAVE BEEN ON THE 1st TEE AS FAR BACK AS 1985 AND WH THEY INTRODUCED AND HAD IF ENTIRE GRANDSTANDS BOO ME. YOU KNOW, YOU SHOWED THE PICTURE EARLIER IN THE DAY OF A SHOT I’M CHIPPING IN, AT 18, PLAYING WITH PAYNE STEWART AS MY PARTNER IN AN ALTERNATE-SHOT MATCH AND THERE MUST BE FIVE, SIX PEOPLE DEEP BEHIND THE GREEN. EVERYBODY’S GOT THEIR ARMS FOLDED, NOBODY APPLAUDING MY EAGLE CHIP GOING IN. THEY WANTED IT TO MISS. SO, I MEAN, WE GOT THE SAME TREATMENT OVER THERE. WE JUST NEVER COMPLAINED ABOUT IT. SOMETIMES I THINK THE EUROPEANS ARE JUST A BUNCH OF WUSSES AND CAN’T HANDLE THE HEAT. >> LANNY, WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT WEEK? WE JUST HAD TODD AND REX ON, AND WE HAVE KIND OF ALL AGREE THAT THERE ARE SO MANY UNKNOWNS WHEN YOU HAVE THESE TWO GREAT TEAMS, RORY PLAYING GREAT, SCOTTIE PLAYING GREAT, THE NEW YORK METROPOLITAN AREA, WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? >> I THINK THE MATCHES, THE COMPETITION. I’M JUST EXCITED TO SEE A GREAT SET OF MATCHES. I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE’VE SEEN LATELY IS THEY HAVEN’T BEEN ALL THAT CLOSE. I’D LIKE TO SEE A CLOSE RYDER CUP. I THINK IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. I THINK THE TEAMS ARE VERY, VERY EVENLY MATCHED WITH, YOU KNOW, ALL THE WAY DOWN THE LINE. SEEMS LIKE I LIKE THE FORM OUR GUYS ARE IN. THEY ALL SEEM TO PLAY VERY, VERY WELL LAST WEEK. I THINK THEY’RE MOTIVATED. I KNOW THAT WE WERE REALLY, REALLY MOTIVATED IN ’89 OVER THERE. WE TIED AND THEN WE CAME BACK TO KIOWA AND WON IN ’91 AND WE WERE EXTREMELY MOTIVATED, AND I THINK THAT’S A BIG PART OF IT. YOU KNOW, IT’S — DO YOU WANT TO WIN OR DO YOU NOT WANT TO LOSE? I THAT’S THE CHOICE SOME OF THE GUYS HAVE TO MAKE. >> AFTER THAT EUROPEAN VICTORY, THE FIRST ONE IN 28 YEARS, BACK IN 1985, LANNY, THERE SEEMED TO BE A PERIOD OVER THE NEXT 15, 20 YEARS WHERE IT DIDN’T REALLY MATTER WHO WAS THE HOME TEAM AND WHO WAS THE AWAY TEAM. THAT THERE WERE TIGHT MATCHES, BUT THEY COULD FLIP EITHER WAY. WE HAVEN’T HAD AN AWAY TEAM VICTORY SINCE 2012. DO YOU THINK THERE’S ANY PARTICULAR REASON FOR THAT? >> NO, I DON’T KNOW, AMON. I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED, THOUGH, WHEN I PLAYED, I ALWAYS PLAYED — I PLAYED FOUR RYDER CUPS, I THINK, IN EUROPE, AND WE PLAYED ST. ANN’S IN ’77, AND EVERY OTHER TIME WE PLAYED THE BELFRY. SO, YOU KNOW, THE PLAYERS KNEW THE BELFRY WHEN WE WENT BACK IN ’89 AND THEN ’93, WAS FAMILIAR WITH IT. IT WAS NOT ANYTHING SPECIAL. IT WASN’T A LINKS COURSE. SOMETHING WE HADN’T PLAYED, AND I THINK COMING OVER HERE, THERE ARE ENOUGH EUROPEANS PLAYING OVER HERE IN OUR — IN THE U.S. OPEN AND THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, AND ESSENTIALLY, ANY RYDER CUP COURSE OVER HERE IS GOING TO BE SET UP LIKE A U.S. OPEN OR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, SO THEY ALREADY PRETTY MUCH KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN THEY GET HERE. I DON’T THINK THERE ARE GOING TO BE ANY BIG SURPRISES AT BETHPAGE FOR THE EUROPEANS. >> WELL, YOU CAN’T WRITE THE HISTORY OF THE RYDER CUP WITHOUT THE NAME LANNY WADKINS, WHICH