It is now difficult to imagine Keegan Bradley not making his return to the Ryder Cup team as a player later this year following his victory at the Travelers Championship on Sunday.
Keegan Bradley still finds himself 10th in the qualification standings for the Ryder Cup. And while he has previously spoken of being unlikely to pick himself, the manner of his victory at TPC River Highlands makes it incredibly hard to imagine Bradley not playing at Bethpage in September.
Bradley not only won the final signature event before the Ryder Cup, but it was impossible to ignore the reception he received in Connecticut. Tommy Fleetwood is one of the most popular players on the PGA Tour, but the majority of the fans seemingly wanted to see Bradley get the job done.
Perhaps we are prisoners of the moment, but Bradley seems to have punched his ticket to being a Ryder Cup player after more than a decade away. Of course, that comes with its own issues.
Mistake at the Presidents Cup may be about to come back and haunt Keegan Bradley ahead of the Ryder Cup
While the PGA of America told Bradley that they wanted him to be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1962 when they appointed him last year, they must have considered how difficult it would be for the 39-year-old to tackle both roles.
The Ryder Cup has become the biggest event in the sport. It seems to be all the captains can think about for at least 18 months. So expecting Bradley to handle the demands of captaincy and playing seems somewhat naive.
With that, it could be argued one decision made ahead of the 2024 Presidents Cup is now looking like a real mistake which may be about to come back and haunt Team USA in September.
Following the news that he would captain the Ryder Cup team in 2025, Bradley was named as one of Jim Furyk‘s vice-captains for Royal Montreal. It was a smart move to give Bradley that look behind the curtain in an event that the Americans have dominated over the years.
However, with Bradley also earning a captain’s pick, the decision was taken to have Brandt Snedeker replace him as a vice-captain.
Bradley was superb in Canada as USA won quite comfortably. It felt significant that he was the man to seal the winning point against the Internationals.
You can understand Furyk’s decision to replace Bradley as a vice-captain. He was a losing captain at the 2018 Ryder Cup, and USA have only ever lost one Presidents Cup, so he may have been wary of taking any risks which could backfire.
But that week was arguably a perfect opportunity for Bradley to see if he could handle being a player and having a backroom role.
Ryder Cup role uncertainty does Keegan Bradley no favours at all
Obviously, nothing could properly prepare him for captaining the US Ryder Cup team at Bethpage. But if he did find being a player and vice-captain too much that week in Canada, then clearly, everyone would have known that there was no possibility of him being a playing captain in New York.
As things stand, Bradley has one foot in the team as a player after his win at the Travelers Championship. You would imagine that he will be in the side as long as his form does not drop off a cliff in the coming weeks.
But there does appear to be uncertainty over the full extent of his role. That will surely not do the US side many favours.
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