We are just days away from the Ryder Cup getting underway at Bethpage Black and Keegan Bradley has given us a first glimpse at the pairings he could go with.
There is a lot of pressure on the USA captain to get things right from day one and with a new-look team compared to 2023, Bradley has decisions to make.
Right now, there is a feeling that the European pairings are locked in compared to Team USA, where Bradley knows he’ll need to potentially experiment to get the best from his squad.
Indeed, there has been talk in the build-up of Scottie Scheffler going out alongside Bryson DeChambeau in what would be a majorly exciting pairing.
However, ahead of the opening tee shots on Friday, it seems Bradley could be going in another direction.
Keegan Bradley chooses his practice groups ahead of the Ryder Cup
The US team has enough talent that really, any two players should be able to play with each other.
However, in an interesting turn of events in the practice rounds starting today, Keegan Bradley has chosen some interesting quarters to go out and get used to the course.
And crucially, it looks like we won’t be seeing the Scheffler and DeChambeau pairing so many are craving.
As we can see, it looks like DeChambeau will be out there with Ben Griffin or Justin Thomas, while Cam Young is also among the four.
The four pairings tipped to lead Team USA out at Bethpage Black
Only Keegan Bradley and his vice-captains will know who is going out on Friday but that doesn’t stop people making bold predictions.
Indeed, former player Tripp Isenhour only recently suggested the four he’d go with. However, he’ll be disappointed given he picked the pairing of Bryson and Scottie.
“I love throwing Scheffler and DeChambeau together. That’s a tough out! You throw them out first. First of all, you can put anybody with Scottie in four-ball, in foursomes you have to be a little more discreet but you still have a lot of leeway as a captain when you put somebody with Scottie Scheffler,” Isenhour said on .
“I think Cantlay and Schauffele. They are good friends and they are tough. I know Xander has not driven the ball as well this year, but he is driving the ball better and he is doing everything else fine. Cantlay is that guy, we saw what he did against Rory in singles.
“Then I love Justin Thomas and Sam Burns. I really like the combination, of putting Justin with a really, really good putter in Sam Burns. I think that would be a great one.”
It is expected that world number one Scheffler will go out first but beyond that, it’s tougher to call.
Either way, we are very nearly there and come Friday, New York will be at fever pitch as the players await that all-important first tee shot.
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