The next edition of the Ryder Cup is scheduled for Bethpage Black in late September. While that is still over four months away, US captain Keegan Bradley is already heavily into preparations for the team’s attempt to reclaim the trophy it lost to Luke Donald’s Europeans in 2023.
Earlier in the month, he hosted a Ryder Cup dinner, where players from both sides of men’s golf’s great divide between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf were present.
Two years ago, that would have been controversial given a truce hadn’t yet been called between the two rivals, while Brooks Koepka was the only LIV Golfer who eventually made his way to Marco Simone in Italy for the match. However, this time around, Bradley doesn’t see an issue with where a player’s loyalty lies, as long as he is good enough to make the team.
In the build-up to the PGA Championship, Bradley told reporters: “Yeah, we invited Brooks and Bryson, and they were in there on points and they played on previous teams. It was great to have them there
“This Ryder Cup and what comes with this, no one cares about what's going on in this side PGA Tour-LIV. We're trying to put the best team together. It could mean there's one LIV guy, two LIV guys, it doesn't matter. We'll see how this year shakes out. It was really, great to have them together with all the guys. It's been a while since we've been able to do that.”
While that may be the case, selecting the best team could be a problem, considering many of his most likely options reside on one circuit or the other. However, Bradley isn’t fazed by that, and believes, even with less data to go on for LIV Golf players, form on the League offers a compelling argument for consideration.
He added: “Listen, we've got - these guys are playing in all four of the Majors, so we'll have that. These guys, a lot of them are up in these leaderboards every Major. We'll see how the year shapes out.
“The data is a little less at LIV. We don't have quite the same stats that we have out here, but we have some. We know winning and contending on any tour at any level is difficult. I don't care where you play. I played the mini-tours. Winning there was difficult. Winning on the LIV is difficult. You can see guys - winning a LIV event is a big deal.”
Bradley, who is one of 156 players in the field at Quail Hollow this week, then reflected on his own career. He admitted his competitive edge in the early part of it, when he struggled to bond with his peers, is one of his regrets – and that’s something he’s learned from as he gets to know his potential Ryder Cup team.
He explained: “Yes. I really regret early parts of my career - who knows, maybe it helped me play well. I wouldn't know if I did it differently. But I look up to a lot of these guys in the way that they treat each other, in that they are genuinely happy for their friend that wins or plays well. I never really felt that. I was always like wanting to beat everybody.
“I think it's been great for me to get around those guys and feel that sort of joy that they have for their friends. As the captain now, I see a guy like Justin Thomas win, and I feel like I'm in the car cheering, like it's just so fun for me to have that feeling. I sort of feel like a big brother to a lot of these guys. I thank them for helping me see that side. I think it's a much better way to go about life on the Tour.”
