In just over 24 hours’ time, (Live on Sky Sports at 4pm on Wednesday) Keegan Bradley will end weeks and months of speculation when he announces his six captain’s picks and completes his U.S. Ryder Cup roster.
We have to wait another five days before Luke Donald follows suit and announces his own six European picks, leaving just enough time to properly digest and dissect Bradley’s choices before we repeat the process with Donald in the crosshairs.
So, for the final time, let’s have a stab at getting inside Bradley’s head and guessing who will be on the receiving end of joyous phonecalls and who will mirror Bradley himself two years ago in a moment where Netflix cameras were on hand to witness devastation.
Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau all punched their tickets automatically, but neither Spaun nor Henley have featured in a Ryder Cup before, and of those two, only Henley has Presidents Cup experience having made his debut in 2024.
So, what does that mean in terms of captain’s picks?
Well, it means that Bradley will likely look for Ryder Cup experience. This is good news for Justin Thomas – the first runner-up in the qualification race – and Patrick Cantlay, whose return to form in the FedEx Cup playoffs was timely, to say the least.
Justin Thomas
Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 3
Ryder Cup record: 7-4-2
Thomas would be making his fourth consecutive Ryder Cup appearance, and has a 7-4-2 record. That’s impressive in itself, but even more so when you consider that he’s won all three of his singles matches, beating Rory McIlroy at Le Golf National in 2018, Tyrrell Hatton in 2021, and Sepp Straka in 2023.
His selection in 2023 was controversial given his poor run of form, but his omission this year would be even more controversial.
Verdict: IN
Patrick Cantlay
Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 2
Ryder Cup record: 5-2-1
What was lost in the ‘Hatless Pat’ controversy in 2023 – and you can make up your own mind whether it was baseless rumour or a case of no smoke without fire – is the crucial role Cantlay played in keeping the contest alive, first with his incredible finish to snatch victory alongside Wyndham Clark against Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick on Saturday evening, then in singles against Justin Rose on Sunday morning, getting the first U.S. point.
His ready-made partnership with Xander Schauffele is an easy on for Bradley to resurrect, and his stone-cold demeanour might be just what’s required in the red-hot atmosphere in New York. He’s another certainty.
Verdict: IN
Collin Morikawa
Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 2
Ryder Cup record: 4-3-1
To suggest that Morikawa might not deserve a Ryder Cup place back in March would’ve been a signal that the men in white coats were needed, but since then, his form has been average at best. The Rocket Classic produced his only top-10 finish since The Players Championship, and he finished in the bottom half of the field at East Lake – a course where he had the low-score for 72 holes last year, but lost to Scottie Scheffler by one.
But while his form may not deserve a pick, his pedigree does, and its hard to see Bradley overlooking him in favour of players with a much weaker C.V. and with little-to-no Ryder or Presidents Cup experience.
Verdict: IN
Ben Griffin
Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 0
Ryder Cup record: N/A
Since The Masters, with the exception of Scheffler and Spaun, you can make the case that no American has played better golf than Ben Griffin. A win at the Zurich Classic alongside Andrew Novak, was followed by a first solo victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge, and he’s posted top-10 finishes in both the US Open and the PGA Championship, while adding a runner-up at The Memorial.
He deserves a place, but to quote Clint Eastwood’s William Munny in Unforgiven as he’s about to kill a pleading Sheriff ‘Little Bill’ Daggett, “Deserve’s got nothing to do with it!”
Verdict: IN
Keegan Bradley
Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 2
Ryder Cup record: 4-3-0
Simply put, if Bradley doesn’t pick himself, then Ben Griffin is a certainty. If he does, then it could come down to a two-for-one situation and Griffin may find himself in the shoes Bradley was in two years ago. Bradley, like Griffin, has certainly been among the best dozen American players over the past 12 months, and if he wasn’t team captain, he’d be near-impossible to leave off.
All the sound bites suggest that he desperately wants to pick himself and become the first U.S. playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. But what if it’s all a smokescreen? What if, as captain, he’s already decided that he won’t play and, by sacrificing himself, he’s proving to them that he’s the leader that the United States has been crying out for?
That’s not as fun a prospect as having a playing captain, however, so fingers crossed that the chip on Bradley’s shoulder outweighs the stars and stripes on the other.
Verdict: IN
Cameron Young
Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 0
Ryder Cup record: N/A
A native New Yorker and a power-hitter seemingly tailor-made for Bethpage Black, the main thing working against Young as a Ryder Cup prospect was his inability to produce his best golf when it mattered most and the winning line was in sight.
But he finally got his first PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship just over three weeks ago, and kept up his impressive run of form through the FedEx Playoffs, finishing inside the top five at the St Jude and Tour Championships, and finishing T11 at the BMW Championship.
Ironically, with past Ryder Cup experience seen as a positive, in each of America’s last three Ryder Cup wins, they’ve had a minimum of five Ryder Cup rookies in the 12-man squads, with six at Valhalla in 2008, five at Hazeltine in 2016, and six again at Whistling Straits in 2021. Should Young and Griffin both get chosen alongside Thomas, Cantlay, Bradley and Morikawa, that would leave four.
Verdict: IN
Sam Burns
Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 1
Ryder Cup record: 1-2-0
Despite a disappointing Ryder Cup debut at Marco Simone in 2023, Burns looked poised for a repeat appearance when he hit a rich vein of form in mid-summer, coming close at the U.S. Open at Oakmont and losing the RBC Canadian Open in a playoff. And he’s continuing to play well, finishing T4 at the BMW Championship and T7 at the Tour Championship, but there’s the sense that others, namely Young and Griffin, have done more to earn their places.
Burns’ fate, like all of them, rests in Bradley’s hands, but if the captain opts to be a captain and nothing more, then Burns is likely the 12th man. Having Scottie Scheffler as a best friend doesn’t hurt either, but is it enough to swing the pendulum his way?
VERDICT: OUT
Maverick McNealy
Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 0
Ryder Cup record: N/A
Top-five finishes in big events such as the Genesis Invitational, RBC Heritage, and The Memorial, had McNealy in a strong position, but you got the sense that he had to win to bolster his credentials to the point that he’d get a captain’s pick.
He didn’t, so he won’t.
VERDICT: OUT
Jordan Spieth
Previous Ryder Cup appearances: 5
Ryder Cup record: 8-7-3
Spieth is probably the only player on this list who had to play himself out of the reckoning, rather than play his way into it. Unfortunately for him, he did exactly that by missing out on qualification for the final two FedEx Playoff events.
His last major win came eight years ago, and he can no longer trade on the reputation he built up in his early 20s.
VERDICT: OUT
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