Ryan Lavner names the brilliant putter he would take as 12th man for the Ryder Cup instead of Keegan Bradley

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Six of the 12 American Ryder Cup players have now been confirmed, with Keegan Bradley set to finalise his team very shortly.

Automatic qualifiers Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun and Xander Schauffele have been joined by Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau.

Their confirmations come following the conclusion of the BMW Championship, with Bradley now able to add to the list with six captain’s picks.

The US Ryder Cup leader is set to announce those picks after the Tour Championship, which returns to East Lake next week.

Bradley has been involved in the FedExCup Playoffs this month, finishing T44 and T17 at the St. Jude Championship and BMW Championship respectively.

Brilliant putter wanted on American Ryder Cup team instead of Keegan Bradley

Bradley could play at the Ryder Cup, but Ryan Lavner believes there is another player deserving of a place ahead of the captain.

Lavner said of the current situation on Golf Channel: “He comes with complications that the other players don’t come with.

“It does certainly feel like the pendulum has swung from Keegan has got to be on the team to now it seems increasingly likely that Keegan would potentially leave himself off of the team.

READ MORE: What Keegan Bradley said about being playing captain at the Ryder Cup when asked last year at the BMW Championship

“I say that because of an emergence of one player who I think is a really interesting case because he has been so quiet over these past couple of months.

“To me that player is Sam Burns. Here’s why I think Sam Burns is a really interesting pick potentially for that 12th spot.

“Yes, he has been really quiet since he blew that 54-hole lead at the US Open. Shot 78 in that final round.

“He has had at least prior to the BMW, just one top 25 finish since. However, he just finishes fourth at the BMW. He is the second-best putter on the PGA Tour.

“I think most importantly, because you are looking at a team, that is certainly bringing some newcomers on to it.

“Sam Burns went 3-0 last year in team play at the Presidents Cup. Two of his partners were Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa, it was not Scottie Scheffler, he was with Russell Henley, who I would expect to run it back this time at Bethpage Black as well.

“Those are two players I would expect to be on this year’s US Ryder Cup team so when you are looking at potential pairings and you have a dearth of those potentially.

“It’s nice to have a player like Sam Burns who has been there and done it. He has played in the last three cup teams, you know he can handle it.

“If he has another good week at East Lake I can easily make the case for Sam Burns as that final pick as opposed to a Keegan Bradley, based on what was just his win at the Travelers Championship and not much else in 2025.”

Sam Burns 2025 PGA Tour putting stats ahead of potential Ryder Cup appearance

Burns is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, but his last success came at the 2023 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.

This season, he’s made 20 cuts from his 23 starts, with one runner-up finish and five top-10 finishes so far.

But his putting certainly does stand out, with Burns second for total putting in 2025 and first for strokes gained putting.

Such stats should really help his chances of a spot at Bethpage Black, as will his previous Ryder Cup experience.

He made his debut at Marco Simone in Rome in 2023, finishing with a 1-2-0 record as he lost his singles match with Rory McIlroy.

Burns was a Zach Johnson captain’s pick for Italy last time out, but it remains to be seen if Bradley will follow suit in New York.