The increasing likelihood of US Ryder Cup Keegan Bradley playing at the upcoming Bethpage Black match has reportedly led to an agreement with Team Europe that will make the dual role more viable.
Per The Telegraph’s Golf Correspondent James Corrigan, European counterpart Luke Donald has reportedly given the nod to change a “captain’s agreement” that previously only allowed the captains to interact with the players when a match is in progress
That’s a situation that would clearly hinder Bradley in sessions where he plays.
According to the report, Bradley approached Donald with a view to addinga clause into the agreement that will allow one of his vice-captains to act as the de facto captain in matches involving Bradley.
A source told The Telegraph: “Keegan can only change the overarching contract with Luke and Ryder Cup Europe’s approval… Keegan went to Luke with this clause and Luke generously agreed. We don’t want any bad blood between the camps.”
The Europeans are reportedly keen to avoid ill-feeling developing between the teams
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Ever since Bradley was appointed to the role a year ago, there has been speculation as to whether he would take on a player-captain brief given his strong form. That suggestion has only grown more likely as time has progressed.
When he was appointed, Bradley was ranked 19th in the world, although with the extraordinary depth of US talent, it perhaps seemed something of an outside chance that it would come to pass.
That is no longer the case. Since then, Bradley has collected his seventh and eighth PGA Tour wins, at the 2024 BMW Championship and at June’s Travelers Championship.
Keegan Bradley’s excellent form means he could take on a player-captain role
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Not only has that propelled him to a career-high world ranking of seventh, but he is also 10th in the Ryder Cup rankings.
Meanwhile, a host of candidates who would have looked more obvious picks for a place a year ago, including Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka, all trail the 39-year-old.
As things stand, Bradley wouldn’t be an automatic qualifier for the team, with only the top six in the rankings taking those places.
Currently, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, JJ Spaun, Russell Henley,
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