It is probably not an overstatement to suggest that how successful Keegan Bradley is in getting the best out of Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler will go a very long way in determining whether Team USA lift the Ryder Cup on Sunday.
It is hard to imagine Scottie Scheffler not playing all five sessions at Bethpage – unless Team USA boast a huge lead going into Saturday afternoon – but there is arguably much more of a question mark over how much Bryson DeChambeau will play.
DeChambeau has done a brilliant job of integrating himself into the team. The 32-year-old is making his first appearance in either the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup since 2021 this week.
But some have questioned putting DeChambeau out in the foursomes. He plays a different golf ball to the majority of the team, while his style is unique. And he is something of an outsider given that he plies his trade on LIV Golf.
Keegan Bradley tipped to put Bryson DeChambeau with a surprise partner at the Ryder Cup
But many of his teammates have been hugely impressed by DeChambeau. And it seems that Keegan Bradley may have a surprise up his sleeve when it comes to how he uses the two-time US Open winner.
DeChambeau has been grouped with Ben Griffin, Cameron Young and Justin Thomas for practice sessions throughout the week. And speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Ryan Lavner suggested that he thinks DeChambeau is on course to go out in the first session – alongside a player he would not have paired him with.
“I think the one big surprise is what Keegan Bradley is going to do with Bryson DeChambeau, who is indisputably one of the best players on that American side,” he said.
“Historically Bryson has only played fourballs. As better ball, let him go and rile up the crowd and make those birdies and let his partner feed off that energy and see how he does.
“He has had mixed success with that. He did partner successfully with Scottie Scheffler in 2021, but other than that it has been a mixed bag.
“What I have seen so far for the week at Bethpage Black is that Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas have been partnered together on that US pod.
“I did not see that partnership coming, but I have come around to the idea that I think I actually like it.
I really like the Bryson/Ben Griffin four balls, but when you look at Bryson’s pre-eminent driving and look at what Justin Thomas does better than almost anybody else on the PGA Tour, it is his wedge play. Particularly that range from 100-150 yards.
“If Bryson can tee off with reckless abandon, because there is not much punishment, he can rip it as far and hard as he possibly can, particularly on that first hole. It makes a lot of sense to partner with a player like Justin Thomas and both of those players have been putting very well in 2025. That to me has been the biggest revelation so far. I did not necessarily think we were going to see Bryson in the alternate shot format. I think we are and it sounds like we might even be seeing him first.”
What Justin Thomas once admitted to getting wrong about Bryson DeChambeau
Thomas has played the large majority of his Ryder Cup golf alongside Jordan Spieth. In fact, his only other partner was Patrick Cantlay, with the pair playing on Friday morning at Whistling Straits.
So he is someone Bradley would have thought a lot about in the last few weeks.
Interestingly, Thomas was one of the players who admitted being wrong about DeChambeau when he became a major champion in 2020.
Of course, DeChambeau produced one of the most noteworthy major championship performances in the modern era at Winged Foot five years ago as he won by six at the US Open.
And Thomas conceded that he did not expect DeChambeau’s plan to bulk up to reap such rewards.
“I’m the first to admit that I didn’t think it was going to work that well and I didn’t necessarily agree with what he was doing,” he said.
“But he’s proven it. He’s just won a major at one of the hardest golf courses in the world.
“As far as he hits it, as strong as he’s gotten, as much weight as he’s put on, he putts the c–p out of it to be perfectly honest.
“He’s getting some of us out here to try to find that extra gear. He’s going to continue to work hard and try to get stronger.”
It feels like a big gamble to put the pair together this week, if that is what Bradley decides to do. However, Europe would be naive to write DeChambeau off at any stage regardless of who he is partnered with.
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