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U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley officially selected his six picks to round out his 12-man team for the biennial competition with Europe at the 45th Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, Sept. 26-28.
For starters, Bradley, 39, did not pick himself and will therefore not be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
"The decision was made a while ago that I wasn't playing," Bradley said during the Wednesday news conference at PGA Frisco. "The last 48 hours, we had the team set. We weren't scrambling at all. This was a really tough decision. I will say, there was a point where I was playing. All these guys stepped up in a major way and played their way on to this team."
Let’s take a look at the six who did get picked and some who were left out.
Thomas made the 2023 team as a captain’s pick based on experience. This time, he finished seventh in points while ending his victory drought in April at the RBC Heritage. Ranked fifth in the world, he finished T-7 at the Tour Championship, one of eight top-10 finishes this season. This will be the fourth Ryder Cup for the 32-year-old Thomas, who holds a lifetime record of 6-2-1.
This marks the third Ryder Cup appearance for Morikawa, who has a record of 4-3-1.
Morikawa finished eighth in the point standings and is ranked eighth in the world. His game has cooled since early in the year when he finished second at the Sentry and Arnold Palmer Invitational. He’s notched just one top 10 since March — at the Rocket Classic in July.
The 29-year-old is a rookie on Team USA after a breakthrough season. Griffin, who quit pro golf and took a 9-to-5 job during COVID, won twice this year and climbed from No. 65 to No. 17 in the world. He ranked No. 8 in the Ryder Cup point standings. He notched eight top 10s this season and has finished inside the top 15 the last 10 times he’s made the cut.
Young finished 14th in the points standing but he’s been one of the hottest golfers of late. The 28-year-old Young won the Wyndham Championship last month and finished fifth, 11th, T-4 in the three FedEx Cup playoff events. He once held the course record of 64 at Bethpage Black en route to winning the N.Y. State Open there as an amateur. He’s improved his putting from No. 145 a year ago in SG: putting to No. 6 on Tour.
Cantlay was at the center of a huge Ryder Cup controversy in 2023 when he reportedly refused to wear a cap unless the U.S. team was paid. He denied the story but was heckled relentlessly in Rome by the European partisan crowd. It didn’t bother him from making a clutch putt at 17 on Saturday to help secure a much-needed point for the U.S. He has teamed well with Xander Schauffele and likely their success together influenced Bradley’s decision to pick Cantlay.
Cantlay ranked 15th in the points standings and has slipped to No. 21 in the world. He finished the playoffs with two top-10 finishes: a T-9 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and T-2 at the Tour Championship.
Cantlay has a Ryder Cup record of 5 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie across his two previous appearances in 2021 and 2023.
Burns finished 16th in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings but has come on strong. He’s No. 22 in the world and has finished T-4 at the BMW and T-7 at the Tour Championship.
This will be his second Ryder Cup. Burns, 29, had a 1-2 record at the 2023 Ryder Cup, losing in foursomes and his singles match against Rory McIlroy. He won a fourball match on Saturday with Collin Morikawa. He’s also played on the last two Presidents Cup teams.
McNealy, 30, finished 10th in points. Known as one of the top putters on the PGA Tour, McNealy won the RSM Classic in November and made his first trip to the Tour Championship this season. Ranked 19th in the world, he finished third at the BMW Championship. This would have been his first Ryder Cup appearance.
The 38-year-old Harman made his Ryder Cup debut in 2023 in Rome and had a record of 2-2. He won earlier this year at the Valero Texas Open and contended into the weekend at the British Open. He’s a gritty competitor who thrives in match play but Bethpage favors the bombers and he didn’t do enough the last few months to show Bradley that he had to have him on the team. He finished 12th in U.S. Ryder Cup team rankings.
It was a banner year for Novak, who improved from 123rd to 30th in the world. He finished 13th in points thanks to a victory with Ben Griffin at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a team event. He finished T-6 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, his best finish since his victory in late April. Novak made the Tour Championship for the first time.
The New Jersey native came from out of nowhere and made a late push for a pick with a victory at the Genesis Scottish Open in July, a third at the British Open and T-10 at the 3M Open. He snuck his way into the Tour Championship and finished T-10. Gotterup ranked 20th in points and 26th in the world.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Keegan Bradley names his six U.S. Ryder Cup captain's picks
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For starters, Bradley, 39, did not pick himself and will therefore not be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
"The decision was made a while ago that I wasn't playing," Bradley said during the Wednesday news conference at PGA Frisco. "The last 48 hours, we had the team set. We weren't scrambling at all. This was a really tough decision. I will say, there was a point where I was playing. All these guys stepped up in a major way and played their way on to this team."
Let’s take a look at the six who did get picked and some who were left out.
The 6 captain's picks for U.S. Ryder Cup team
Justin Thomas
Thomas made the 2023 team as a captain’s pick based on experience. This time, he finished seventh in points while ending his victory drought in April at the RBC Heritage. Ranked fifth in the world, he finished T-7 at the Tour Championship, one of eight top-10 finishes this season. This will be the fourth Ryder Cup for the 32-year-old Thomas, who holds a lifetime record of 6-2-1.
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Collin Morikawa
This marks the third Ryder Cup appearance for Morikawa, who has a record of 4-3-1.
Morikawa finished eighth in the point standings and is ranked eighth in the world. His game has cooled since early in the year when he finished second at the Sentry and Arnold Palmer Invitational. He’s notched just one top 10 since March — at the Rocket Classic in July.
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Ben Griffin
The 29-year-old is a rookie on Team USA after a breakthrough season. Griffin, who quit pro golf and took a 9-to-5 job during COVID, won twice this year and climbed from No. 65 to No. 17 in the world. He ranked No. 8 in the Ryder Cup point standings. He notched eight top 10s this season and has finished inside the top 15 the last 10 times he’s made the cut.
Cameron Young
Young finished 14th in the points standing but he’s been one of the hottest golfers of late. The 28-year-old Young won the Wyndham Championship last month and finished fifth, 11th, T-4 in the three FedEx Cup playoff events. He once held the course record of 64 at Bethpage Black en route to winning the N.Y. State Open there as an amateur. He’s improved his putting from No. 145 a year ago in SG: putting to No. 6 on Tour.
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Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay was at the center of a huge Ryder Cup controversy in 2023 when he reportedly refused to wear a cap unless the U.S. team was paid. He denied the story but was heckled relentlessly in Rome by the European partisan crowd. It didn’t bother him from making a clutch putt at 17 on Saturday to help secure a much-needed point for the U.S. He has teamed well with Xander Schauffele and likely their success together influenced Bradley’s decision to pick Cantlay.
Cantlay ranked 15th in the points standings and has slipped to No. 21 in the world. He finished the playoffs with two top-10 finishes: a T-9 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and T-2 at the Tour Championship.
Cantlay has a Ryder Cup record of 5 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie across his two previous appearances in 2021 and 2023.
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Sam Burns
Burns finished 16th in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings but has come on strong. He’s No. 22 in the world and has finished T-4 at the BMW and T-7 at the Tour Championship.
This will be his second Ryder Cup. Burns, 29, had a 1-2 record at the 2023 Ryder Cup, losing in foursomes and his singles match against Rory McIlroy. He won a fourball match on Saturday with Collin Morikawa. He’s also played on the last two Presidents Cup teams.
Close but no cigar
Maverick McNealy
McNealy, 30, finished 10th in points. Known as one of the top putters on the PGA Tour, McNealy won the RSM Classic in November and made his first trip to the Tour Championship this season. Ranked 19th in the world, he finished third at the BMW Championship. This would have been his first Ryder Cup appearance.
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Brian Harman
The 38-year-old Harman made his Ryder Cup debut in 2023 in Rome and had a record of 2-2. He won earlier this year at the Valero Texas Open and contended into the weekend at the British Open. He’s a gritty competitor who thrives in match play but Bethpage favors the bombers and he didn’t do enough the last few months to show Bradley that he had to have him on the team. He finished 12th in U.S. Ryder Cup team rankings.
Andrew Novak
It was a banner year for Novak, who improved from 123rd to 30th in the world. He finished 13th in points thanks to a victory with Ben Griffin at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a team event. He finished T-6 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, his best finish since his victory in late April. Novak made the Tour Championship for the first time.
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Chris Gotterup
The New Jersey native came from out of nowhere and made a late push for a pick with a victory at the Genesis Scottish Open in July, a third at the British Open and T-10 at the 3M Open. He snuck his way into the Tour Championship and finished T-10. Gotterup ranked 20th in points and 26th in the world.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Keegan Bradley names his six U.S. Ryder Cup captain's picks
Continue reading...
