Keegan Bradley told one of his Ryder Cup captain’s picks is ideal for foursomes and ‘can do something special’

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With Keegan Bradley announcing his six picks for the Ryder Cup, fans can really start to speculate over the potential pairings which will be put together at Bethpage next month.

Of course, there are some obvious partnerships which Keegan Bradley will be keeping in mind. Scottie Scheffler had success with Russell Henley at last year’s Presidents Cup, while he is great friends with Sam Burns.

Meanwhile, it would be a shock if Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay did not pair up at some stage in New York.

But a number of players will be involved in brand new pairings. Justin Thomas, for example, has spent almost the entirety of his Ryder Cup career playing alongside Jordan Spieth.

Keegan Bradley has been told one player is ideal for foursomes at the Ryder Cup

From the outside, the greater pressure appears to be on putting the right pairings together for foursomes rather than fourballs.

And it seems that one rookie on the American side may be an ideal option for Bradley to put out in the alternate shot sessions.

Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Rex Hoggard noted that Ben Griffin looks to have the potential to be a real ace up the captain’s sleeve.

“I was touching base with one of the numbers guys that are in that universe for the US team and I just asked, ‘give me the stats that you would fixate on if you’re going to make these six picks’. And some of them are pretty obvious. Obviously, you need to drive the ball well, you need to have some distance off the tee, again we know what Bethpage Black is. Being matchplay, you want some good putters. The one stat that stood out to me was approach shots 200 yards or more. Again, this goes to the idea that it’s a big ballpark, it’s a big property,” he said.

“And as I went down the list breaking down statistically each one of these picks, Ben Griffin stood out to me. Strokes gained putting on the PGA Tour this year, he’s 22nd. He’s a really good putter on tour. But he’s 17th on tour for approach shots outside of 200 yards. That makes for a very good alternate shot partner. You’re going to put him in a position where as long as he’s in the fairway, he can do something special with a long iron and he’s proven himself really good with the putter.”

Ben Griffin will be looking to prove that he belongs on the Ryder Cup stage at Bethpage

Griffin was one of the players who seemed to have a real question mark over them before Bradley announced his picks on Wednesday.

While he had won twice this year – including in a team event in New Orleans – his lack of experience on the Ryder Cup stage would have counted against him.

Had Bradley opted to pick himself, it would not have been a surprise to see Griffin be the man to make way. The captain would have surely wanted to play it as safe as possible if he decided to include himself in the side.

But picking Griffin definitely appears to be the right call, particularly based on Hoggard’s comments.

The 29-year-old is someone who does not lack self-belief. He will be absolutely desperate to prove that he belongs on the Ryder Cup stage.