“I was chosen to do this job, to do it maybe a little differently as well,” Keegan Bradley said recently. There is a saying that is as true in golf as it is in life: it’s never too late to do the right thing. Bradley has taken that to heart in his short but already memorable tenure as US Ryder Cup captain. Every single move of his suggests that he’s a man who’s intent on fixing the mistakes of the past. Some that involved him, and others that scarred American Ryder Cup history. The latest example of this came with the way Bradley handled the dreaded “bad news” calls.
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For decades, the sting of being left off a Ryder Cup roster has been one of the game’s coldest truths. Bradley knows that feeling too well. NBC’s Brad Faxon, who will be in the booth next week analysing the game, revealed that Captain America had a system in place to avoid the kind of public humiliation he himself went through two years ago. Instead of dragging players through a long drawn wait, Bradley strategically structured his calls. Sunday conversations carried the bad news, and Monday was reserved for the ultimate “you’re in!” call. His aim was simple. He did not want any player to suffer through the public rejection that he went through two years ago.
Back in 2023, Keegan Bradley had to live through what can arguably be the most awkward scenario. The night before the incident, then US captain Zach Johnson had told everyone that he would be calling in the morning to reveal his picks. The next day, moments before Bradley received a call from Johnson, he found out that the Netflix crew for Full Swing would be reaching his place in a while. Like anyone, Bradley thought it to be a good sign.
The Patrick Reed snub
Keegan Bradley has been facing some heat for leaving Patrick Reed off his Ryder Cup roster. Reed’s Ryder Cup record has been impressive (7-3-2), and is highlighted by a fiery win over Rory McIlroy in the unforgettable duel in Hazeltine back in 2016. His recent form hasn’t been spectacular, but he did manage to flip the narrative at the BMW PGA Championship with a T3 finish on the back of rounds of 69-68-69-66. He outplayed every European Ryder Cup representative in the field and racked up more than 20 birdies! So, it’s obvious that critics might question Bradley’s decision.
With Bryson DeChambeau as the lone LIV golfer making the cut, Keegan Bradley’s omission of Reed feels glaring to many. Supporters are pointing to Luke Donald’s call to bring Alex Noren as a vice-captain after his big win at Wentworth, and they want Bradley to follow suit. The question now is whether the US captain will stick firmly to his own blueprint or respond to outside pressure by finding Reed a role within the setup, even if it’s not as a player.