After 82 PGA Tour wins, you’d think Tiger Woods would be a force to be reckoned with in the Ryder Cup. The same goes for Phil Mickelson, who has 45 championships to his name. They were two of the most dominant players of the 21st century, but their record for Team U.S. was abysmal to say the least. Tiger was 12-21-3, and Phil was 18-22-7. And Mickelson’s former long-term caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, shed some light on their terrible performance and why Scottie Scheffler won’t suffer the same fate.

Mackay joined the Golf Channel for an exclusive pre-Ryder Cup interview to discuss his former boss and their dynamic with Woods. During one of the segments, he was asked why Mickelson and Woods performed so terribly in the Ryder Cup and why Scottie Scheffler hasn’t had a tough time in the tournament. Mackay told the analyst, “When you talk about them playing specifically together as they did in ’04, I tell people all the time, if you went and had dinner with Tiger and Phil, you will leave that dinner thinking to yourself, well that was fascinating, but boy are those two guys different.”

While both of them dominated the course, they had a very different approach to the game. Tiger was always more calculated and methodical. He worked hard to develop every aspect of his game and knew how to adapt in every situation. The Open Championship 2006 win at Royal Liverpool was a prime example of that. However, as far as Mickelson goes, even Woods had admitted that he was much more naturally gifted. Not that Phil didn’t work hard on his game. But his natural abilities made his approach a lot different than that of the Big Cat. Hence, their pairing was a recipe for disaster in the 2004 Ryder Cup. They lost both the matches they played on Friday.

Coming back to the interview, Mackay then explained why Scheffler won’t face that problem in the Ryder Cup: “I’m certainly not worried about Scottie Scheffler because I think they found his partner in Russell Henley. I’m a little concerned about Russell’s length off the tee this week. This is a big golf course. He’s not a particularly long hitter. But he is a gutsy, gutsy player who makes big putts at big moments. I think he’s Scottie’s guy.”

Henley and Scheffler have already proven themselves to be a clinical pairing. They were outstanding together during the 2024 Presidents Cup, where their win inspired the American side to go for the big win and retain the title. With Russell’s amazing form in 2025 (10 top-ten finishes, including a win), he will certainly be able to do a lot more than play a supporting role for Scottie at Bethpage this time around. That will make their pairing a huge threat for Team Europe.

However, just having a great pairing of Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley in your team won’t get the job done for Team U.S. Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay suggests that the squad will have to plan ahead for a lot of things and rely on the captain to make the right decisions to ensure the world’s #1 is used efficiently.

Jim Mackay reveals why Keegan Bradley will have to use Scottie Scheffler & Co. properly

Having a strong pairing like Scottie Scheffler & Russell Henley means Keegan Bradley can guarantee 5 points for Team U.S.. But only if he uses their team perfectly. He can’t have them go up against the best of Team Europe and risk losing even one of those points. They can’t face the weakest picks of Luke Donald as well, or their abilities will be put to waste.

Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay said, “You can’t speak enough about how important the captain’s role is this week. I used to think when I got started, you just roll these guys out there and you let them decide ultimately what’s going to happen. But there’s so much more than people might think in terms of the captain’s role. And I think Keegan’s been doing one heck of a job for the U.S. side.”

Just by not picking himself as a Captain’s Pick, Keegan Bradley has convinced everyone about his commitment to leading the squad to victory. His next job is to ensure that the right mix of players is on the field at Bethpage to ensure maximum effectiveness. Bryson DeChambeau has been heavily criticized for being an incompatible player for alternate shots by the analyst. If Bradley thinks it’s wise to make him skip the matches, then he should make that decision. He could also decide to give limited match time to other out-of-form players. In the end, the Team U.S. captain’s job will be to do what’s best for them to win in New York. Anything else will be forgotten & forgiven.