Keegan Bradley says what he’s just learnt about Scottie Scheffler after being on his team at the Presidents Cup

Add as preferred source on Google

Few American players will find this Presidents Cup experience more valuable than Keegan Bradley, with the 38-year-old returning to the fold after a decade away from team competition.

Keegan Bradley forced his way into Jim Furyk’s team for the Presidents Cup after already being announced as a vice-captain for Royal Montreal. His victory at the BMW Championship surely played a big role in Bradley getting the captain’s pick.

But of course, there is extra significance in Bradley being in the team after he was named as captain for next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage. It was a huge curveball from the PGA of America to turn to Bradley, so he may well feel that he has got more work to do than most considering that he has probably not thought too much about the position previously.

So this will be an important week for the 2011 PGA champion. And of course, one of the big challenges he may face in New York next year is getting the best out of Scottie Scheffler, with the world number one’s record in team events, so far, looking particularly poor.

Keegan Bradley shares what he’s learnt about Scottie Scheffler

Speaking in his press conference ahead of the opening day of the Presidents Cup, Bradley shared what he has seen from the 28-year-old over the past few days.

“What I’ve learned about Scottie is how friendly he is, how quick he is to sit with the new guy on the bus, how quick he is to tell a joke, be just a good teammate. I think that’s tough to do as the number one player in the world, and the number one player in the world like he is, like dominant. Just how approachable and what a great guy he is,” he said.

A brilliant team spirit

Scheffler has been almost robotic in his play throughout the year, going on to win eight times worldwide and putting together a resume that most players would love to have across an entire career.

So it is great to hear what players feel he is like behind the scenes. Scheffler was not too convinced after Sam Burns named him the class clown of the American team. And having that fantastic team spirit is only going to help this team.

The Europeans, particularly, have found real success positioning themselves as the underdogs in Ryder Cups. It has certainly helped create a fantastic bond between their players down the years. And the Internationals seem to be on a similar path.

With six of the top 11 players in the world, it is hard to pitch the Americans as underdogs, but there does appear to be a humility within their top players, including Scheffler, which prevents complacency.