The 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black might be the first where the captains have received as much attention as the players.
That’s because the PGA of America’s decision to ask Keegan Bradley to lead the United States team has come under scrutiny.
Bradley had the chance to make himself a playing captain but ultimately decided against it after some other players’ form improved.
The 39-year-old’s first big decision at Bethpage Black was to name his foursomes pairings for Friday morning.
A PGA Tour winner was surprised by one of Bradley’s choices, which has turned out to be a significant mistake.
Michael Kim ‘surprised’ by Harris English and Collin Morikawa pairing
Bradley announced the following pairings for the Friday morning foursomes session: Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley, Collin Morikawa and Harris English, and Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
Three of the four pairings were fairly predictable, but nobody expected Morikawa and English to play together.
Michael Kim, who won last week’s French Open on the DP World Tour, was certainly “surprised” by the move.
“I am, like everyone, surprised by the Harris English and Collin Morikawa pairing,” Kim said during a live stream on Friday morning.
“Data Golf ranked them last out of all the possible pairings. Maybe they’ve been playing really well in the practice rounds.
“It does seem like Europe favours the data side. Everything is way more backed by data. The US has plenty of stats guys, too.”
Collin Morikawa and Harris English were embarrassed by Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood
Kim made an interesting suggestion that Team Europe are more interested in the data than the United States team.
Bradley clearly ignored the statistics with his decision to pair Morikawa and English, but maybe he should have paid more attention to them.
Morikawa and English struggled mightily against Europe’s strongest pairing, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood.
They found themselves four holes down after the front nine at Bethpage Black and never looked like winning the match.
It seems unlikely that Morikawa and English will team up again this weekend after such an underwhelming performance.
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