The USA Ryder Cup team looks anything but settled as we head towards crunch time for Keegan Bradley – so could this be an opportunity to making sweeping changes?
Let’s face it, the PGA of America have already gone further left of left field than we’d ever expect – picking Bradley as captain in the first place was an eye catching selection.
Apparently doing so in the hope that he’d be a playing captain is truly eyebrow raising. So since they’ve already gone out on a limb why not let the skipper start a real changing of the guard?
Only two of the team that played in Rome are currently in the automatic qualifying spots, with just four in the top 10, meaning several big names are set to miss out on the Ryder Cup.
And while Bryson DeChambeau will make the team, fellow LIV golfers like Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson have been way off their best.
US Open champion JJ Spaun has already qualified and the consistent Russell Henley look set to join him as a rookie, while Justin Thomas has a win this year so will surely get the nod sitting just outside the automatic spots.
Bradley need to decide whether he’ll play himself, and while you’d usually expect Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Brian Harman and Jordan Spieth to be included they’ve not exactly pressed their claims this year.
And with home advantage being huge in the Ryder Cup, and a New York home advantage set to be even bigger than usual, why shouldn’t Bradley take a few risks on rookies of the likes of Cameron Young, Ben Griffin, Andrew Novak, Maverick McNealy and even Chris Gotterup?
Experienced Ryder Cup stars in danger
(Image credit: Getty Images)
First the ‘old guard’ – and I’m already ruling out Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau and Max Homa from the list. Homa was excellent in Rome but has just not managed to show enough to get into the conversation.
Collin Morikawa was unbeaten at Whistling Straits but went 1-3 in Rome, and despite being World No.6 he’s clearly been struggling with his game and has cut a frustrated figure while changing caddies and having angry exchanges with the media.
He should be a no-brainer, but could there be just enough doubt about his current mentality in what will be the most high-pressure environment in the sport?
Patrick Cantlay has a great 5-2-1 Ryder Cup record and as a…
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