Keegan Bradley is facing an increasingly difficult dilemma as the Ryder Cup draws closer.
The 39-year-old was a surprise selection as captain for Team USA and has made it clear he has ambitions of being involved at Bethpage later this year as a player too.
Bradley has insisted that he would not use a captain’s pick on himself, but victory at the Travelers Championship has moved him up to ninth in the standings and provided more evidence that he arguably deserves to be on the team regardless of whether he qualifies automatically or not.
Arnold Palmer in 1963 was the last playing captain at the Ryder Cup.
World number one Scottie Scheffler has already secured his place in New York to take on the Europeans, with Xander Schauffele and US Open winner JJ Spaun set to do likewise.
Bryson DeChambeau is in the top six of the standings despite competing on the LIV tour.
There is work to do for Patrick Cantlay, who is down in 13th, while Jordan Spieth is 22nd and likely to need a captain’s pick if he is to be involved.
How does qualifying for the Ryder Cup work?
Half of the American side will be decided by the qualification standings, with the remaining six places on the team filled with captan’s picks.
The qualification process will conclude following the BMW Championship on August 17, 2025.
LIV players are unable to earn points on their tour and so are relying on their performances in the majors to force their way into contention for automatic selection.
They are, however, able to selected as captain’s picks.
Team USA team rankings
(Players in bold currently qualifying. Q denotes already qualified.)
Position |
Player |
Points |
1 |
Scottie Scheffler (Q) |
27,563.93 |
2 |
Xander Schauffele |
12,472.70 |
3 |
JJ Spaun |
12,271.85 |
4 |
Russell Henley |
11,166.85 |
5 |
Bryson DeChambeau |
10,318.00 |
6 |
Justin Thomas |
9,997.69 |
7 |
Collin Morikawa |
9,482.01 |
8 |
Ben Griffin |
8,432.91 |
9 |
Keegan Bradley |
7,845.22 |
10 |
Harris English |
7,666.53 |
11 |
Maverick McNealy |
7,126.46 |
12 |
Brian Harman |
6,521,26 |
