USA captain Keegan Bradley has not picked himself on the Ryder Cup team, instead giving wildcard picks to Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns next month in Bethpage Black.
In one of the most anticipated captain’s picks announcement’s in the history of the biennial contest, the big talking point was if Bradley would select himself to be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer sixty two years ago after a superb season that saw him win, finish in the top-10 five times and reach a career-high 7th in the world rankings.
After missing out in agonising fashion to Thomas in 2023, Bradley has drafted in the two-time PGA champion for his fourth Ryder Cup, making him the most experienced member for the Stars and Stripes this year.
Morikawa, Cantlay and Burns also add a wealth of experience while Ben Griffin and New York native Cameron Young have been given maiden appearances at Bethpage, joining automatic qualifiers JJ Spaun and Russell Henley as the US rookies.
Bradley has not made a Ryder Cup appearance as a player since 2014 and arguably should have been a wildcard pick for Rome two years ago. But despite being one of the best twelve American players on form this season – 11th on points – he feels the best decision for the team was that he restrict his role to the backroom.
“The decision was made a while ago that I wasn’t playing. The last 48 hours we had the team set we weren’t scrambling at all,” said Bradley.
“This was a really tough decision there was a point this year where I was playing but these guys stepped up in a major way and played their way onto this team that’s something I wanted and something I am really proud of. This is a decision I am really happy with and I am really happy with these six players… I’m glad it’s over.
“I grew up wanting to play Ryder Cups and fighting alongside these guys. It broke my heart not to play because you work forever to make these teams. But I was chosen to be captain and my ultimate goal to start this thing was to be the best captain I could be and this is how I felt like I could do this. If we got to this point and I felt like the team was better with me on it I would do that. I was going to do whatever is best for this team. I know 100% certainly that this is the right choice.
“These six guys played incredibly coming down the stretch this year and made my decision a lot easier.”
Maverick McNealy is a notable omission from the team after he finished tenth in the standings, four places above Young, five above Cantlay and six above Burns while he was also third at the BMW Championship but was T23 at the Tour Championship.
TEAM USA IN FULL
Scottie Scheffler
JJ Spaun
Bryson DeChambeau
Russell Henley
Harris English
Xander Schauffele
Justin Thomas
Ben Griffin
Collin Morikawa
Cameron Young
Patrick Cantlay
Sam Burns
