Keegan Bradley will have a number of interesting decisions to make when it comes to how he uses Bryson DeChambeau, with the LIV Golf star back in the Ryder Cup team after a four-year break.
There is a case to be made that stopping DeChambeau at Bethpage Black is going to be critical for Europe’s chances.
He qualified automatically for the United States despite only earning points from major championships, highlighting just how well he performed in those key events.
The question now is how often Bradley chooses to use him.
Tony Finau’s advice for Keegan Bradley on handling Bryson DeChambeau at the Ryder Cup
DeChambeau is an unusual player, and pairing him up in foursomes is not a simple decision. There is some talk about Cameron Young being a good fit, mainly because they have both used similar golf balls this season.
However, leaving DeChambeau out of the first session would be risky. His presence will have a real impact on the atmosphere in New York, and a strong start from him could set the tone for the US team.
Tony Finau, for instance, believes the California native should definitely be involved from the start. Speaking on Straight Facts Homie, he focused on the opening hole at Bethpage and urged Bradley to put the 32-year-old golfer in early.
“It’s a dogleg right, and this is driver for everybody. Everybody’s going to be sending driver up towards this green. And to me, it’s a crime if we don’t send out Bryson first and let him send this tee shot at the green. It plays downhill about 20 yards and it doglegs, so to the front edge is only about 350, something like that to the front edge which Bryson is very capable of hitting.
“But you can see everyone hitting driver. You’re going to see a lot of birdies right out of the gate on number one. It’s a short hole, guys are going to be chipping into this green, so right out of the gate, you’re going to see action.”
Tony Finau recalls advice Tiger Woods gave him before Ryder Cup debut
Finau knows exactly what it is like to take the first shot at a Ryder Cup. That was his role back in 2018, during his debut at Le Golf National.
He and Brooks Koepka went on to win their match against Justin Rose and Jon Rahm, though he has joked that Tiger Woods did not exactly help him feel more relaxed before they teed off.
Finau once shared the story of what Woods told him during the team meeting the night before their opening match.
“2018 Ryder Cup, Jim Furyk asks me when I want to go, and me and Brooks were going to be paired together. We’re like, ‘yeah we’d like to go first’, and he’s like ‘well, JT and Jordan are going to go first, I’m going to have them lead off, so you guys will go second’. We’re like, ‘great’.
“He ends up coming back to us like, ‘actually, they said if you guys want to go first, you can go first’. So I was like, ‘alright great’. And Brooks comes to me and he’s like, ‘you want to hit the first tee shot?’ ‘No, I’ll give that honour to you’. ‘No, let me rephrase that, you’re going to hit the first tee shot’. Brooks gives me the opportunity to hit the first tee shot, and since we’re the away team in Paris, I’m literally going to be hitting the opening tee shot out of the whole Ryder Cup.
“So Tiger finds this out at the team meeting that night. Tiger looks at me and he’s like, ‘don’t F it up, kid’. That’s all he said. And then he kind of chuckles. Anyway, I go to sleep and all I’m thinking about is that first tee shot.
“I get to the first tee, 10,000 people around, MJ’s there, Michael Phelps, these guys are all there watching. There’s so much energy, and then all of a sudden, as soon as I teed the ball up, you could hear a pin drop. Never experienced anything like it in my life.”
The energy at Le Golf National seven years ago was unforgettable. But this year’s event is expected to reach another level altogether.
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