Keegan Bradley’s time as US Ryder Cup captain has been marked by some tough questions about his leadership, and the criticism has not been easy to ignore.
While it may seem harsh to put all the blame on Bradley, it is clear that he played a part in the team’s struggles. He made some big mistakes, and questionable calls have hurt their chances at Bethpage Black.
The Vermont native has come under fire for pairing Collin Morikawa with Harris English in both Friday and Saturday’s foursomes matches.
Another surprising move was his choice not to play J.J. Spaun in either of the Ryder Cup foursomes sessions, something that left many fans scratching their heads.
This demonstrates the American captain’s significant inexperience. Any true golf enthusiast understands that multiple factors contributed to the European team’s dominance over the Americans this week.
Keegan Bradley may not have been aware of a key Ryder Cup rule
Bradley looked shaken after his team’s heavy defeat on day two at Bethpage, and it showed in his press conference that evening.
After listening to Luke Donald speak just before him, the contrast was clear. One captain seemed at ease with the job, while the other looked anything but.
Johnson Wagner picked up on a particularly troubling comment from Bradley during that media session.
Bradley was asked about Viktor Hovland’s neck injury and how it might affect the singles line-up.
He replied: “No. I – we need to go out there and play this tournament the way it was supposed to be played. I have to go figure this out now. I’m still learning what’s going on.
“I don’t know how that’s going to end up. We’ll see in a few minutes.”
Bradley’s unawareness of the situation made Wagner drop his jaw.
“I want to go back to the comment that Keegan made about this envelope thing. He said, ‘we’re going to play this thing like we intended to’. And by saying that, it made me feel, he’d be on this team if he weren’t the captain, can we agree on that? He has been focusing on his game, and then you listen to Luke Donald talk. Did Keegan not know this rule? It’s been there forever, like did he not realise what he was doing? If Viktor Hovland can’t go because of a neck injury, someone has got to sit and he’s upset because it will be one less full point to win.
“The point I want to make here is that I think we haven’t given enough credit to the captaincy. It’s hard to do while you’re still playing golf at the highest level. He was top 10 in the FedEx Cup, he almost won the Tour Championship. It’s hard to do both.
“Luke Donald has poured everything into this for the past four years now. I want to give Keegan a little bit of grace but I just think this is a moment that sticks out to me.”
The most concerning aspect is that both captains are directed to prepare an envelope at the beginning of the week, each containing the name of one player.
Did Bradley forget or simply not do it? Now, he faces a barrage of uncomfortable questions on Sunday, regardless of the outcome.
Only two players have ever been sidelined by the Ryder Cup ‘envelope’ rule
Introduced in 1979, the ‘envelope’ rule has seen limited application, having been used only twice to date.
With Hovland’s neck issue, the American name inside the envelope could become just the third player ever to miss a singles match because of it.
The first instance occurred at Kiawah Island in 1991, when Steve Pate was unable to play his singles match due to an injury. David Gilford was the name inside Europe’s envelope.
The second followed two years later at the Belfry when Lanny Wadkins sat out after Sam Torrance injured himself sleepwalking.
If Hovland cannot play, attention will turn to whose name is inside the US envelope. Bradley will be hoping the Norwegian is fit because every point will be crucial in the singles matches.
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