ATLANTA — It would have been impossible for Keegan Bradley to not pick up on the irony.
When he arrived at East Lake Golf Club this week to register for the Tour Championship, he did so at a place in the clubhouse called the Captain’s Room.
It is a shrine to Arnold Palmer, the last playing captain in U.S. Ryder Cup history, when it was played here at East Lake in 1963. Among other mementos in the room is Palmer’s golf bag from that week, when he captained the team to a 23-9 victory and went 4-2 as a player.
“All of his stuff from 1963 is in there, his bag—it’s pretty surreal looking at it,” Bradley said. “I wish he was alive and I could call him. If I had one thing I wish I could call Arnold and talk to him because I think he’d have some great advice for me.”
Palmer might very well say that Bradley should play. The seven-time major winner who died in 2016 competed in the Ryder Cup in a different era, when the intensity was far less than it is today. As playing captain, Palmer played in all six matches when the format had two Sunday singles sessions.
He also didn’t have to pick himself because there were no picks. In 1963, the entire team was chosen based on the points list at the time immediately following the PGA Championship. The Ryder Cup wasn’t until October but Palmer wasn’t even named captain until two months prior.
A far different time.
Contrast that to Bradley, who is calling his decision this week when the six at-large picks are made as “the biggest decision” of his life.
A question to consider for Bradley and his assistants, who include Jim Furyk, is would he be part of the team if there were no captaincy issue? Having won the Travelers Championship in June, put up a good fight at the Tour Championship—where he tied for seventh and shot the low round of the day on Saturday, a 63—and having started the week ranked 13th in the Official World Golf Ranking, it is almost certain that a veteran player with his credentials would be picked.
The captaincy is making it a far more intricate dilemma, one that Bradley, 39, has been dealing with since he was surprisingly named the captain in July 2024.
“I’m very well aware of that, no matter what decision I make, I’m going to be defined by this decision,” Bradley said. “Every captain has to make really tough decisions. This is just a really unique decision. It’s just because of my age. If Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson or Jim Furyk was appointed captain at my age, they wouldn’t have had to this [because they’d likely have been easily on the team]. It’s just luck of the draw.
“Normally when you win you’re the best captain ever. When you lose you’re worst captain ever. I’ve been a part of that. It’s going to be controversial no matter how we do it. I know that. It’s the biggest decision of my life.”
Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau are the six automatic qualifiers.
The next two spots on the points list are Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa, who are generally expected to be picked.
After that the decision is far from easy. To not pick Bradley means that there is a belief that four players among Ben Griffin, Maverick McNealy Brian Harman, Andrew Novak, Cam Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns should be picked over him
Perhaps that is true based on matchups and possible pairings. Cantlay, who contended at the Tour Championship but has not won in more than three years, brings a good bit of team experience and an overall winning record to the discussion. He’s also never lost in singles in five team events for the U.S.
Burns is probably the best putter statistically and has been mentioned as a possibility as a Scheffler partner, although Henley fared well in that role last year at the Presidents Cup. Young has played very well recently, is a strong putter and has experience at Bethpage, which might ultimately get him on the team.
Griffin and McNealy have no team experience, nor does Novak.
“It’s difficult because I want to put the team in the best position to win the Ryder Cup,” Bradley said. “So there’s sort of an unknown of—Arnold Palmer did it in 1963, but it’s a totally different tournament now.
“It’s just a heavy decision. All the picks are tough. Captain is going to be judged on who they pick. Pretty strange thing to pick yourself. It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for a long time, and I just want to make sure we make the right one.”
For what it’s worth, Palmer was playing in just his second Ryder Cup in 1963 despite having won six majors to that point. Jack Nicklaus, who won two majors that year and three overall, was not on the team because he had yet to become a full member of the PGA of America, a process that required much longer than today. Nicklaus didn’t play in a Ryder Cup until 1969.
Palmer went on to play in six Ryder Cups, but never before the Great Britain & Ireland team was expanded to all of Europe. He went 22–8–2 overall.
It’s reasonable to assume that Palmer, given his swagger and style, would have loved to see Bradley play on his own team and would fully support it. We will know the answer Wednesday although Bradley said there is no clarity yet.
“No, because I think no matter what decision that I make here, I could have gone the other way easily, no matter what,” he said. “The only thing I care about is on Sunday of the Ryder Cup, that we win the Ryder Cup. Then I’ll know I made the right decision.
“Until then, I won’t know. It’s going to be pretty wild. Whatever decision we make, we’re going to have to live with it. I love the guys on our team. They’re all playing great. It’s just really something else. It’s awesome.”
Perhaps Bradley will defer to his 7-year-old son, Logan, who accompanied him to a chat with reporters late Sunday. At one point, Keegan playfully asked Logan if dad should play in the Ryder Cup.
A thumbs-up signal was the reply.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as All That Remains for Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley Is to Make a Decision.
