Keegan Bradley hints at surprising Ryder Cup choices with ‘awful’ phone calls ahead

Keegan Bradley Faces Tough Decisions for Ryder Cup Team

Keegan Bradley understands how challenging the Ryder Cup selections can be.

As a member of the 2023 Ryder Cup team, he has the responsibility of picking six players for the US team’s automatic qualifiers, scheduled for next month at Beth Page.

He has hinted that there may be some surprises before the official roster is revealed on Wednesday.

“Perhaps there are people who think they’ll make the team who won’t,” Bradley shared with Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis after Sunday’s tour championship.

His choices may prove to be even more complicated than those faced by his predecessor, especially since he has the option to select himself.

Bradley admitted to Lewis that he is concerned about making a “bad” choice about which players to leave off the team. “Full Swing” portrayed a poignant moment showing how Europeans left their team during Zach Johnson’s tenure in 2023.

The Vermont native currently sits 11th in the Ryder Cup standings and has had a strong summer, including a win at the Travelers Championship and finishing 7th in the Tour Championship.

The team’s automatic qualifiers include Scotty Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, and Bryson DeChambeau.

Following these qualifiers, players like Justin Thomas, Colin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Maverick McNealy, Bradley himself, Brian Harman, Andrew Novak, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns, Wyndham Clark, and Lucas Glover are also in contention.

“It’s going to be pretty wild,” Bradley said after his round at East Lake. “No matter what we decide, we have to live with it.”

Thomas and Morikawa are seen as strong contenders for solid spots, with Cantlay also regarded as a favorite.

Things get a bit uncertain beyond them, but both Griffin and Burns have performed well this summer, positioning themselves strongly for selection.

The final spot could come down to Young, Bradley, and McNealy.

However, based on Bradley’s remarks about non-top six players, assumptions about the lineup may be premature.

Young has made a substantial push since his first career victory at the Wyndham Championship earlier this month, following it up with two top-five finishes in his last three events.

“I think the recent form is hard to ignore,” Young remarked recently. “This is my home state, and I love this golf course. It’s mostly a major championship venue, and I have a solid record there. I hope [Captain Bradley] is aware of these factors.”