The Keegan Bradley-Ryder Cup mess gets messier with every birdie putt he holes

It was once an idea of ridicule; a stretch of the imagination.

“His own game will deteriorate as captain,” we all said. “He told us he won’t pick himself,” we cried.

Now it is now time to get real.

We can forget Keegan Bradley saying that he wouldn’t pick himself when first getting the US Ryder Cup captaincy last year.

He eradicated this statement, or as good as, in the hours following his victory at the Travelers Championship, where he birdied the final hole to win and rip Tommy Fleetwood‘s heart from his chest, who had led for most of the event.

“This changes the story a little bit. I never would have thought about playing if I hadn’t won. This definitely opens the door to play. I don’t know if I’m going to do it or not, but I certainly have to take a pretty hard look at what’s best for the team, and we’ll see.”

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Even if he hadn’t won his eighth PGA Tour title at TPC River Highlands, a runner-up finish would have demonstrated enough that he is one of the best Americans in the game.

After that event, he was ranked seventh in the world, ninth in the US Ryder Cup rankings and 17th in Data Golf, which orders players based on statistics and accounts for the likes of Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm in the LIV Golf League.

If we put Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and DeChambeau to one side, as they are definitely going to play at Bethpage for America, this leaves nine spots to play for.

I’d be shocked if Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley and Justin Thomas didn’t line up to face Europe, too. That leaves six spots up for grabs. Objectively, there are not six better US players right now performing better than Bradley.

The media crowded around Bradley after the second round of The 153rd Open as he ended his poor run of missed cuts at golf’s oldest major in emphatic fashion. He shot a 67 on Friday at Portrush to burst into the top 20.

“Certainly, if I won I’d be in the top 6 in points,” he said when NCG asked if he could internally accept himself on his own team with a good performance at The Open.

“I want to make sure I put the team in the best position to play. I have to really figure out how this would work. But I’ve got great vice captains. Jim Furyk is, like, the best. He knows how to do this. Sneds and Webb and Gary, they’re a great team to lean on.”

If he weren’t the captain and tasked with leading team strategy, plus the bells and whistles that come with that role, you could start writing his name on the lockers in the US team room already.

While we all questioned the PGA of America’s choice of captain when it was announced on July 8 last year, Bradley has now revealed that this chaos and confusion, whereby he would have to juggle playing and leadership duties, was the plan all along.

“When the PGA of America called me, and Zach Johnson (2023 US Ryder Cup captain) was on the call, and Seth Waugh (former PGA of America CEO) was the person who called me – And the first thing he said was, ‘We want you to be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer (1963 Ryder Cup)’, which is a heavy burden.

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“I’m also fortunate, if Tiger or Phil or these guys got a captaincy at my age, they would have done it the same way. I’ve just been lucky enough to be asked to do this at a younger age.”

What is utterly baffling about the entire situation is that he is desperately trying to play well and play on his own team. It would be like Mikel Arteta training intensely in the next weeks and months to get in his own Arsenal line-up to face Manchester United.

It isn’t beyond doubt that he automatically qualifies either. Surrounding him in the rankings are Ben Griffin, Harris English, Maverick McNealy, Brian Harman and Andrew Novak.

Except Claret Jug-owner Harman, no one can tell me, even with the burden of captaincy, that those players are better options than Bradley – a two-time Ryder Cupper and a major champion himself.

The man has a suitcase from the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah, which he hasn’t opened and won’t until he wins a Ryder Cup, for crying out loud. He doesn’t take this tournament lightly, having lost both times he’s played.

The putts that he holed and the shots he made in the heat of battle in Connecticut to sink Fleetwood were hit with passion and determination – two traits required to succeed at the Ryder Cup and two traits US players often fail to show, especially on away soil.

It isn’t a debate anymore. Keegan Bradley is one of the best US players in the game and must play at the Ryder Cup if they want to avoid being embarrassed by Europe again.

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Could you see a Keegan Bradley playing captain role? Do you think a Keegan Bradley playing captain scenario would work? What do you make of the whole Keegan Bradley Ryder Cup conundrum? Tell us on X!