Ryder Cup hopefuls sweat Keegan Bradley’s decision

Justin Thomas knows this feeling, but this time is very different from the last minute.

In 2023, Thomas missed the FedEx Cup playoffs and had to sweat for three weeks before being told by Captain Zach Johnson that he would head to Rome as a member of the Ryder Cup. Although Thomas still has to rely on the captain’s draft pick this year (this time Keegan Bradley), he is in a better place after finding the wilderness and returning to his highest form.

“I know I need a lot of luck,” Thomas said Sunday his 2023 wait. “I’m going to say much more than I need now. I wish my chances felt much better. It feels like I’ve always been, and I’m so happy.”

Bradley will present the captain’s draft pick on Wednesday, with Thomas entering the next 24 to 48 hours, confident that he will be part of the Bethpage Black team in September, given that the current form includes a victory in the RBC legacy.

“It’s different,” Thomas said, comparing that wait to the painful stretch of 2023. “Obviously, I think it’s seventh or eighth or something like that and it feels like I’ve done a great job in the team in the past, but obviously everything will happen, but I feel good, but I feel good.”

The 2025 Ryder Cup is vaguely visible throughout the golf season. Each game has questions about rankings, potential teammates, courses, etc. These problems will only intensify because summer has begun.

Six automatic qualifiers for Team USA were locked last week, with Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Harris English, Russell Henley, JJ Spaun and Bryson DeChambeau winning the field. This leaves Bradley with six attractions, who may use his own on Wednesday’s selection.

Thomas is the biggest contender and is almost certainly a lock to become the team. Another potential captain’s draft pick faces two days of tension before giving a thumbs up or giving a thumbs up from Bradley.

“It’s definitely behind my head,” Collin Morikawa said after finishing T19 at East Lake. “It’s hard to put it aside. I haven’t performed well yet, but I think I’m important to that team. Hopefully I’ll get a positive call from Keegan. Look, at the end of the day, he’s going to do what’s best for the team and we’re going to really see a part of me. Yes.”

Ben Griffin’s career years include winning in the Charles Schwab Challenge and Zurich Classic Team Tournament. Griffin is ranked ninth on the U.S. points list and hopes he will make his Ryder Cup debut next month, but knows things may not go. The only way to ensure you join the team is to get into the top six.

“I feel like I’ll get questions about the Ryder Cup every day,” Griffin said on Sunday. “It’s definitely an extra stress for me, and it’s more important than what I think.

“It’s going to be an anxious 24 to 48 hours. I won’t say the stress is so much because I feel so lucky to be stressed. But, absolutely rush to see if I’ve won a place on that team, or if Keegan believes me. I know I’m able to handle some big moments this season. I know I know that on that stage at Bethpage, I can recover from Bethpage and I can start now, practice for 48 hours now, practice now.

Cameron Young is the top player on the 2023 list, who was led to Rome by Zach Johnson. It was a fuel snub that evoked Young, who played his best golf in the past month, including his first professional victory at the Wyndham Championship.

The New York native won the 2017 New York State Open at Bethpage Black, and he firmly believes this time it will be enough to win a place.

“Either way, obviously I really, really want to form that team,” Young said after finishing T4 at East Lake. “If I think this call is wrong, it’s going to be a difficult thing. I feel like I’ve done everything you can ask me to form that team and then if you look back, it’s really half a season.”

Like Young, Sam Burns will sweat over the next two days as Bradley makes the decision. But Burns was the star of the US Presidents Cup winner defeating international players last year, but won the international game 1-2-0 in Rome and he was happy with any decision he made.

“It’s going to be a 24-hour or 48-hour long,” Burns said.[I have] 100% trust in Keegan. I know any decision he makes will be the one he thinks is best for the team. Ultimately, I am Team USA. If I were on the team, it was awesome. I can only like it more. If I weren’t, I would cheer them on. ”

Besides being fascinating, Bradley participated in the discussion, becoming the first competition since Arnold Palmer in 1963. It was a difficult decision – the decision that would shape his captain’s draft pick and the last oney determine who leaves home. As the year progressed, it was a dilemma that plagued Bradley, and he was glad that one was almost over – even if he still didn’t have the clarity he was looking for.

“I think no matter what decision I make here, I can easily take other ways, anyway,” Bradley said on Sunday. “The only thing I care about is that on Sunday of the Ryder Cup, we won the Ryder Cup. Then, I will know that I made the right decision. Until then, I won’t know. It’s going to be very crazy. No matter what decision we make, we have to live with it. I love the guys on the team. I love our players.”

For Bradley, the painful 24 to 48 hours loom. Then, it’s time to finally put all the conversations into bed.