Keegan Bradley’s win at the Travelers Championship in June sparked immediate talk about him becoming the Ryder Cup’s first playing captain since 1963.
When Bradley was named USA captain for Bethpage, he was already ranked inside the top 20 in the world.
His victory at last year’s BMW Championship proved that taking on the captaincy role wasn’t going to sidetrack his game.
That win, combined with his strong form throughout this season, made it look like a spot on his own Ryder Cup team was all but guaranteed.
Ryan Lavner points out Keegan Bradley’s options to avoid picking himself for the Ryder Cup
At 39, Bradley is still inside the top 12 of the Ryder Cup standings. That alone makes it hard to ignore him, but balancing captaincy with playing duties remains a significant challenge.
If Bradley chooses not to play, there’s also the fact that several Americans lower down the rankings are starting to hit form. That could make his decision a bit easier.
Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Ryan Lavner suggested there’s no longer a need for Bradley to take on both roles.
“I think overall this is why I thought it was so silly to crowd Keegan Bradley after he won that signature event over Tommy Fleetwood,” he said.
“At that point there were still three months to go in the process and claiming just because Keegan Bradley moved inside the top 10 in the world rankings, just because he had moved in the top 10 in the US team standings and just because he won a signature event, it should not have put him automatically on the team and then in a position to be a playing captain.
“Think about what has happened in the three months since then. Chris Gotterup has arrived, he won the second strongest regular season event on the PGA Tour in Scottish Open and followed it up with a third place finish in his very first Open Championship. Also had an opportunity to win at 3M.
“Now you have Cam Young winning the Wyndham Championship. I think there is probably 10 players on that US team who are all but locks. Barring some sort of injury, barring their form completely falling off the face of August, I would put 10 players on that team. Then you have a conversation where it’s a Cam Young, Chris Gotterup, Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns or Keegan Bradley himself.
“Is Keegan Bradley that much of a difference maker that you have to put him on that team? I would argue no.
“And I think Chris Gotterup now, in addition to a resurgent Cam Young, I think really makes the decision actually easier for Keegan Bradley to step away, be the captain and let some of these other players assume the playing role full stop.”
Keegan Bradley backed to return as Ryder Cup captain
There are plenty of arguments in favour of giving Bradley a spot on the Ryder Cup team.
He has victories over the last four years on the PGA Tour, and his previous Ryder Cup appearances were impressive, especially when he partnered with Phil Mickelson in 2012.
While his past event performances are debatable, his current strong play and energy are undeniable assets.
Trevor Immelman, a captain familiar with the pressures of the role, has publicly supported Bradley’s inclusion, stating he deserves to play despite his additional responsibilities. Such strong endorsement is hard to disregard.
“In my opinion, he is for sure one of the top eight American golfers in the world and he should be playing. But I just know from my experience captaining one of those teams in the Presidents Cup, golly, it would be so hard to be captain, all of those responsibilities, and then play at the same time,” Immelman said.
No matter what decision Bradley makes about his own involvement on the course, if things go wrong for Team USA, it will inevitably become a major talking point.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
