In what could be a first for a pre-tournament press conference, Keegan Bradley was asked only briefly on Wednesday about being defending champion of the BMW Championship, and about the course, Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md.
Mostly, Bradley talked about his role as captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, the September event’s course, Bethpage Black, and if he would use a captain’s pick on the current No. 10 player in the Ryder Cup standings.
That player is Bradley, making for a compelling narrative and much speculation as the FedEx Cup playoffs continue this week and lead to the Tour Championship.
The top six players in the Ryder Cup points standings after this week’s tournament will automatically qualify for the squad that faces Team Europe on Sept. 26-28 in Farmingdale, N.Y. Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun and Xander Schaufele have locked up three spots.
Justin Thomas at No. 7, Collin Morikawa and Ben Griffin currently have more points than Bradley, who if he doesn’t automatically qualify, could use one of six captain’s picks on himself after the Tour Championship.
“I’ve been saying all year, you can’t expect to be on the team unless you’re in the top six,” said Bradley, 39. “My goal is to go out there, whether I was Ryder Cup captain or not this week, and play well and play well next week at the Tour Championship as well.
“There’s definitely a lot more on my plate here these next couple of weeks. The Ryder Cup has always been so far away, and now it’s right there. Things are definitely amping up. I still have a lot to prove just as well as everyone around me on the list.”
It’s not common for the team captain to also play. Arnold Palmer was the last playing captain in the biennial contest — in 1963.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, the No. 2 player in the world, said Wednesday that he considers Bradley one of the United States’ 12 best players. But McIlroy also believes there’s too much on the plate — as Bradley might say — of a Ryder Cup team captain during the event to add playing duties.
“(McIlroy) might be right,” Bradley said. “We don’t know. No one knows. Yeah, like everybody’s telling me to start the year that a player can’t be captain and have a good year. For me, I feel like this is one of my best years that I’ve ever had.”
Bradley is currently No. 14 in the FedEx Cup standings and No. 12 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He has eight career wins on the PGA Tour, including the 2024 BMW Championship and this year at the Travelers Championship on June 22. He also had five top-10 finishes and made 17 of 19 cuts.
He has made a habit in his career of asking others for advice who have gone through an experience such as playing in a major, playing the last tee time on Sunday or facing the media. But for this question, no one has personal experience.
“I certainly have a lot of concerns, as well as everybody else, but I have the most incredible vice captains, including Jim Furyk, who’s been on these teams and been captain a bunch of times,” Bradley said. “Quite frankly, I’ve been leaning on them more than any other captain ever anyways, even if I’m not playing.
“We’re ready for this if it happens. I’m not sure it’s going to. I can truly sit here right now and say I don’t know what’s going to happen. I have to look at myself just like any other player trying to make the team. I’m 10th in points right now, and that’s not sixth.”
He has gratitude for his peers’ support no matter his decision, including McIlroy and World No. 1 Scheffler, who said on Wednesday, “I think he’s a guy we’d all love to have on the team. The intensity that he’s brought as a captain — I mean, he has definitely exceeded my expectations as far as a captain. He’s done a great job.”
Rickie Fowler and Patrick Cantlay also joined the chorus of supporting Bradley as a playing captain.
“I can tell you, honestly, it means the world to me to hear that. I haven’t ever really felt that in my career,” Bradley said. “It’s really touching. It really means a lot. I really have — the thing I’ve enjoyed most is getting to know these guys better. I was really a closed-off player for most of my career.
“Getting to know the guys more and getting to learn who they are, and then I think as a golfer, or as an athlete or a businessman, whatever it is, when you feel the respect of your peers, that’s the ultimate. To hear that from two players of that caliber really means a lot.”
–Field Level Media
