The biggest question after the events of Bethpage was: Was Keegan Bradley the right choice to lead Team U.S.? Tactically, he had no response against Team Europe’s onslaught on Friday & Saturday. Despite an emphatic effort on Sunday, Bradley admitted that he will never “get over” what occurred in New York. But Xander Schauffele might have a solution to his problems.

In the thick of things, he saw everything unravel in the Team U.S. dressing. So when Gary Williams asked him about what changes he would make in the captaincy system, he had the perfect response.

During the 5 Clubs podcast, Schauffele told Williams, “Maybe having some sort of organization formed. It could be USA Golf. Just to have some familiar faces giving similar advice in these team functions.”

Xander seems to suggest that, apart from the Ryder Cup captains & vice captains, the PGA of America could also have an advisory team to discuss the strategy. Something similar to what the Ryder Cup Europe group does for Team Europe. It could include former captains & experienced Ryder Cup players.

Strategy is one area where Team Europe had an upper hand going into Bethpage. They understood their strength lies in group events. Hence, they focused their attention completely on dominating on Friday & Saturday.

In fact, even Luke Donald admitted after the end of the fourball on Saturday that Team U.S. will be difficult to beat in the Singles matches. Even after the end of the tournament, he acknowledged that he expected the American side to challenge them, but just didn’t expect them to push this hard.

Coming back to Schauffele’s interview, he also talked about how challenging the role of captaincy is. He said that if given the opportunity, he would prefer being the vice captain, which looked a lot more. However, he complimented the 2018 Ryder Cup Team U.S. captain’s efforts. Schauffele admitted, “Jim was grinding the whole time.”

This suggests that Keegan Bradley had only Jim Furyk helping him with strategy. Other vice captains were looking after the 12-man squad. Furyk’s dedication to the role comes from his experience playing under Jack Nicklaus, as he admitted recently.

Interestingly, the kind of support Xander Schauffele is seeking for his captains is exactly what Luke Donald received at Bethpage. And he didn’t need another organization for that.

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Do Xander Schauffele & Co. need to contribute to their captain?

On the field, Xander Schauffele proved his doubters wrong as he was one of the strongest performers for Team U.S. He scored 3 out of the possible 4 points and helped his team close the gap. However, his definition of what a vice captain is supposed to do seemed quite surprising.

He mentioned that, apart from Jim Furyk, the other Team U.S. vice captains were more involved in player management than strategizing with Keegan Bradley. This is a stark contrast to the environment developed in the Team Europe dressing room.

Luke Donald had the support of all his vice captains when it came to strategy. From team picks to pairings, every vice captain was involved in the decision-making at every stage of the process.

Apart from Donald, the vice captain and data analytics expert, Edoardo Molinari is also given a lot of credit for his expert advice. The team also had a strategic adviser in Paul McGinley, who worked closely with the team.

Apart from on-course strategy, Donald and his squad ensured the squad was well prepared for their trip to New York. He prepared them for the abuse of VR headsets. The English veteran also improved the beddings, blocked the lights, and changed the shampoos of their hotel rooms to ensure they get adequate rest.

Such attention to finer details shows Luke Donald & Co.’s dedication to helping their team. Team U.S. needs that level of commitment from its leaders if it wants to compete with the Europeans at Adare Manor in 2027.