The weeks leading up to the 2023 Ryder Cup have generated a lot of controversy over Team USA captain Zach Johnson’s choice of Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler over Keegan Bradley, leading Team USA captain Zach Johnson to question how that was even possible.
However, less than a year after being overlooked for the Rome tournament, Bradley surprised the entire golf world by being named captain of the team for next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York.
But Thomas, who has an impressive record in European match play, exposed the truth about Bradley’s captaincy after the first round of the Genesis Scottish Open when he led early by one stroke.
“Obviously I like the decision and I think it’s the best way to change direction,” Thomas said.
“I think this is the start of a whole new opportunity and I don’t think there’s any captain who knows the players and their game better than the one who plays with us at the highest level every week.”
When the Ryder Cup begins next September, Bradley will be the youngest captain since Arnold Palmer, who was player-captain at East Lake in 1963. That’s a marked departure from the PGA’s recent policy of selecting older major champions in their mid-to-late 40s to lead Team USA. But since 2000, Europeans have dominated the Americans, winning eight of the 12 Ryder Cups, including two in the United States.
Something needed to change, so the powers that be chose Bradley, who admitted last year that “I think about the Ryder Cup every waking second” to be the man in charge.
“My goal is to select the best captain,” Thomas added. Sean Zack of Golf.com.
“I don’t want to make it seem like you have to fit into a certain background. You don’t have to fit into a right mould, whatever it may be. I mean, who is our best captain right now? It doesn’t matter what they’ve done. Will the players be excited to play under him? Will he get along with everyone? That’s what it all comes down to.”
Judging by the reactions so far from Phil Mickelson to Bryson DeChambeau to Tiger Woods to Thomas, the American powers that be approved of the decision to name Bradley captain. As Rory McIlroy said in Scotland, time will tell if the move pays off, but Team USA needed a spark, and no one has more passion, enthusiasm and desire for the Ryder Cup than Bradley himself.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
