Keegan Bradley rings five-time PGA Tour winner to inform him of Ryder Cup call-up

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With the FedEx Cup Playoffs wrapped up, attention in the golfing world has shifted to next month’s Ryder Cup.

The final event in Rome was remarkable enough to keep fans anticipating this year’s edition after a two-year wait.

Now the buzz is growing even further, with Keegan Bradley potentially taking on the role of playing captain for the United States team.

The six automatic qualifiers for Team USA are already known, but Bradley still needs to confirm his captain’s picks.

According to a recent report, the 39-year-old has already made one fairly surprising decision ahead of the Ryder Cup.

Keegan Bradley selects Sam Burns for USA Ryder Cup team

Bradley has plenty of options to consider for Bethpage, even before deciding whether to include himself in the line-up.

Golfers such as Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Ben Griffin are all in the mix for a spot on the team.

But it looks like his first pick will be Sam Burns, who finished 16th in the qualification standings.

“Sources familiar tell NUCLR GOLF that Sam Burns has received the call from captain Keegan Bradley to play for Team USA at Bethpage Black,” NUCLR GOLF posted on X.

Burns finished T7 at both last weekend’s Tour Championship and the US Open, where he had a strong chance to win late in the tournament.

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Sam Burns’ Ryder Cup record in 2023

Burns has two significant advantages in the race for a Ryder Cup spot, beyond his strong current form.

Firstly, a crucial element in Ryder Cup selection involves potential pairings for the foursomes and fourballs formats. Regarding that, Burns is a close friend and frequent practice partner of Scottie Scheffler.

Beyond that, he already has Ryder Cup experience, despite the fact that his display in Rome did not draw much attention.

Burns and Scheffler lost 4&3 to LIV Golf’s Rahm and Hatton in foursomes but, with Collin Morikawa, he beat Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg 4&3 in fourballs.

Following that, Burns lost 3&1 to Rory McIlroy in Sunday singles.