NAPA, Calif. – Keegan Bradley has not shied away from saying the quiet parts out loud.
“I think we all agree that me being the captain was definitely a shock to everybody,” the U.S. Ryder Cup captain shrugged Wednesday at the Procore Championship.
In 21 starts this year, Bradley finished seventh on this year’s FedExCup points list, won the Travelers Championship and finished 11th on the final U.S. Ryder Cup points standings.
The nature of the Ryder Cup means he will ultimately be judged by the results – nothing more, nothing less.
The PGA wanted outside-the-box and on that front, with the matches looming in two weeks, Bradley is delivering.
NAPA, California. Keegan Bradley hasn’t hesitated to speak the quiet passages aloud.
“I think we all agree that me being the captain was definitely a shock to everybody,” the U. S. On Wednesday at the Procore Championship, the Ryder Cup captain shrugged.
With ten of his twelve players training at Silverado Resort for this month’s games, Bradley has transformed the PGA Tour’s fall opener into an improvised spring training session for Team USA. However, obtaining player support for his pre-game routine doesn’t even come close to addressing the extent of his outlier status.
Choosing Bradley, who is still in the prime of his competitive career at 39, was a very unconventional choice, even for a company that tends to zig when everyone expects to zag. The PGA called for Tom Watson to be the U.S. champion due to similar wild thinking. S. . The team’s 65-year-old captain for the 2014 games.
A decade of player empowerment through numerous committees and task forces resulted from that experiment, which was an utter failure. According to some reports, Bradley represents a turn back toward the opposite direction, away from the supposedly “good ol’ boy” network that had yielded inconsistent outcomes and little of the desired continuity that Europeans cherish.
Last month, Bradley announced his six captain’s picks, a list that omitted his name despite a wealth of evidence and strong support—even in his own team room—that he should play. This was the first test of the PGA’s gamble and a test of Bradley’s resolve.
“His decision to not play is one of the most selfless gestures I’ve witnessed in golf,” Bradley’s longtime friend and vice captain Gary Woodland said. “He’s ranked eleventh, his game is on point, and he’s playing really well, but he genuinely felt that he could be the best captain for this team.”.
“I understand what it means to him because he has talked about it nonstop for the past 15 years. The Ryder Cup is the most important event in his life outside of his family, so it’s incredible that he chooses to stop playing in order to support these guys in other ways. “”.
According to preliminary data, Bradley will eventually lead the team as captain, similar to Paul Azinger in 2008 when the U. A. dissatisfied a European team that many thought ought to have preferred. An indication of player buy-in is the fact that ten of his dozen were in the field at Napa, an event that many of the best players in the game would have probably missed.
Scottie Scheffler, who is participating in the Napa event for the first time, said, “I think it can’t be stated enough how good of a job Keegan’s done for us so far and the energy that he’s brought has been great.”. He keeps the guys motivated and is incredibly well-organized. Everyone can’t wait to get here. We looked at the calendar early in the season to see how we would prepare for the Ryder Cup, and this has been discussed there for a while. “”.
Bradley stated that he was hoping for a captain style more akin to Azinger’s and Jim Furyk’s, who was the 2018 U.S. S. . the captain. The fact that Bradley is a modern leader, however, sets him apart from other recent leaders.
With 21 starts this season, Bradley won the Travelers Championship, placed 11th on the final U.S. team, and finished seventh on the FedExCup points list. S. points standings for the Ryder Cup. Furyk and Zach Johnson, the team’s captains from two years ago in Rome, were among the few recent captains who were well past their competitive prime.
The main thing is that he always stands up for us and prioritizes us in any decision that is made. The team’s most seasoned player, Justin Thomas, stated, “That was a big reason why he’s doing what he’s doing and why we players have respect for him as a captain.”. He is working with us on all of this every single week. If we ask him something and he responds, “Well, we can’t get that done,” it might give him more credibility. You wouldn’t understand, he would say if he weren’t a player. However, he is a player and is aware of it. “”.
Additionally, he knows what is expected of him as an unusual captain. Because of the Ryder Cup, he will be evaluated solely on the basis of the outcome.
However, Bradley’s mission statement now focuses on unconventional thinking. If everyone was “shocked” by his choice to be captain, then his leadership should be just as unique.
Being captain isn’t exactly the norm for the U.S. S. side has finished. Bradley remarked, “I constantly remind myself and the vice captains that we were chosen for this position because we wanted a slight change in our routine.
Bradley is delivering on the PGA’s request for unconventional play, especially with the matches coming up in two weeks.
