Considering Keegan Bradley’s reverence for all things New England, perhaps the words of longtime Patriots coach Bill Belichick come in handy as the will-he-or-won’t-he, should-he-or-shouldn’t-he discussions swirl around the American Ryder Cup captain who may be playing his way onto his own team.
“Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge,” Belichick, whom you may have heard is now the football coach at the University of North Carolina, once said.
Coaches, at least the ones who know what they are doing, say it time and time again: It’s their responsibility to put their players in the best position to win.
That is Bradley’s charge as the American captain, constructing and inspiring the U.S. team to win the Ryder Cup at raucous and rowdy Bethpage Black in September.
History and the world golf ranking suggest the advantage is in Bradley’s corner given the home-course edge that has permeated the event and the fact that seven of the top eight players in the world ranking are American, Bradley included. The European side, however, looks talented, deep and fully capable of ignoring the raw noise sure to come its way on Long Island.
Bradley, with help from his vice captains Jim Furyk, Webb Simpson, Kevin Kisner and Brandt Snedeker along with the studied insights of team manager John Wood, has the freedom to set the structure and tone the way he sees fit knowing he has a solid group to keep him focused on the common goal of winning back the cup.
The simple answer to the Bradley question is this:
If he makes the American team better by playing, then he should play. Take every competitive advantage available, understanding there are enough strong voices around him that should tell him to pick someone else if the situation calls for it.
At this moment, there is no question Bradley should play. Only two players – Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy – have won more PGA Tour events over the last three years than Bradley.
Contrast that with Collin Morikawa, who seems justifiably locked in whether he is an automatic qualifier or not. Morikawa has won once since July 2021 and that was in late 2023. The point is not to single out Morikawa but if recency bias matters, as has been the case in many Ryder Cup selections, Bradley has made his own case.
The role of Ryder Cup captain has taken on an almost saintly stature, particularly on the European side where Paul McGinley and now Luke Donald are like tenured professors.
There is also plenty of golf left to be played before decisions are finalized. The game comes and goes for everyone and should Bradley find himself suddenly searching, he needs to be willing to step back, which he has insisted he would do.
But if he elects to play – assuming he isn’t one of the six automatic qualifiers, which is not out of the question right now – Bradley needs to be able to set aside the inevitable second guessing that would come.
If he plays and the Americans lose, it will forever be about Bradley. But what if Bradley doesn’t add himself to the playing roster and the Americans lose?
This isn’t about potentially losing. Bradley’s role is to think about winning.
The role of Ryder Cup captain has taken on an almost saintly stature, particularly on the European side where Paul McGinley and now Luke Donald are like tenured professors. McGinley has become the Ryder Cup whisperer for the European side and for good reason – he’s insightful, detailed, passionate and experienced.
The same goes for Donald, who is reprising his role after the Europeans’ win in Rome two years ago.
Paul Azinger remains the American model for how to captain a winning Ryder Cup team though Davis Love III and Steve Stricker have hoisted the cup in recent years now that the U.S. side abandoned the practice of picking captains based largely on their career achievements rather than their fit for the job.
Captains can and should have a profound influence and most do, though sometimes for the wrong reasons (Tom Watson’s heavy-handed, old-school style didn’t help him at Gleneagles in 2014). But it’s also true that captains are only as good as their players.
Pádraig Harrington’s European team was overmatched at Whistling Straits four years ago in the same way Furyk’s team was overmatched in Paris in 2018.
Does that make Harrington and Furyk bad captains? Or does it demonstrate the fundamental truth of the Ryder Cup – the team that plays the best and putts the best generally wins.
Stricker gets credit for letting players essentially make their own schedules at Whistling Straits. They ate when they wanted, practiced when they wanted, escaped when they wanted.
Zach Johnson had a similar structure two years ago but didn’t get the same results in Rome.
It’s possible, though not advisable, to put the Ryder Cup on autopilot, relying entirely on the reams of analytics that can break down seemingly every possible scenario from pairings to who plays what brand of golf ball to who prefers chicken over fish.
Tiger Woods did it successfully at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia but that’s different than the Ryder Cup. It is, however, similar in the most basic way – it’s about having players inspired and ready to play.
It’s valuable information to have but a big part of the captain’s job is to sort through that, figure out what matters and trust his gut as much as the numbers. That’s where Bradley can excel.
Wood and the vice captains can handle the details and, should he play, Bradley likely would have one open session both Friday and Saturday to fully play the role of captain.
To this point, Bradley says he has been able to separate his tournament play from his Ryder Cup duties. That would be more difficult at Bethpage if he plays.
The Ryder Cup can be the most emotional event in golf and Bradley thrives on emotion. Bradley getting the call one year ago to be asked to captain the American Ryder Cup team was initially surprising and then it seemed inspired.
It has been complicated by Bradley’s own play, pushing him into a place few probably thought he would be. It’s additive, not a negative.
Having Bradley as a playing captain would create some complications but not enough to keep him from playing if he belongs on the team.
Is Andrew Novak a better pick than Bradley? Is Maverick McNealy? Is Jordan Spieth?
Those questions don’t have to be answered today. But assuming that time comes, Bradley should listen to the players who have qualified, to the people working alongside him and, most importantly, to himself.
Bradley and the Americans may win and they may lose. Just don’t do it with regret.
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Top: Will U.S. captain Keegan Bradley play for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage?
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