Keegan Bradley with OTT (?!) answer to Ryder Cup question

Keegan Bradley says he thinks about the Ryder Cup 'every second of every day' as the PGA Tour pro staked his claim for Zach Johnson's side.

Ben Smith

16 Aug 2023

Keegan Bradley with OTT (?!) answer to Ryder Cup question

You cannot accuse Keegan Bradley of not having passion when it comes to the Ryder Cup.

The PGA Tour pro still has a chance of automatic qualification for Zach Johnson's United States team.

Only the top six players in the standings will not need to rely on Johnson and his team of vice captains for a pick.

Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark are the only two golfers who have already qualified for the U.S with time to spare.

Bradley has an outside chance of sneaking into the top six but will need a good showing at the BMW Championship and the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake.

Patrick Cantlay, Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka and Max Homa are currently inside the top six.

But elsewhere you have Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Cameron Young, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler and Bradley jockeying for position.

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For Bradley, though, he made a clear case for a captain's pick when he gave an impassioned speech about why he loves the Ryder Cup and what sets him apart from other players when it comes to the dust-up.

The 37-year-old has made two Ryder Cup appearances and tasted defeat on both occasions.

His debut came in 2012 at Medinah where he was partnered with Phil Mickelson during the first three sessions. The duo picked up all three points.

But we all know what happened over the weekend.

And his last appearance came at the 2014 Ryder Cup in Gleneagles.

Bradley played Jamie Donaldson in the singles and the match ended with the Welshman stuffing his approach on No. 15 to seal the cup.

He told reporters before the second leg of the 2023 FedEx Cup playoffs:

"Yeah, the one spot I want to be on is on that Ryder Cup team. Wherever that is on the FedExCup, I'll take it. It's probably going to have to be higher than where I am now.

"I'm very proud of the year that I've had this year. Anytime you finish in the top 10 of the year-end FedEx, you've had a great year.

"There were years where I didn't know if I'd ever get back to this level of golf, so I'm trying to enjoy every second of it. Coming to the -- making it to the BMW Championship is always such a great thing for us players because we've had a great year, and now you're in a 50-person field. They run such an incredible tournament here, and it's a big deal to get here.

"We have so much at stake these next two weeks, whether it's money, whether it's Ryder Cup. There's so much to play for, and that's really exciting."

Watch:

Here's Keegan Bradley explaining how much the Ryder Cup means to him.
"I think about the Ryder Cup every second I'm awake basically" pic.twitter.com/bSELc86l3v
— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) August 16, 2023

So what separates Bradley from the rest of the guys in the mix?

He said:

"I think about the Ryder Cup every second I'm awake basically. My biggest thing right now is trying not to think about it while I'm playing because it's important to me.

"I feel like I could bring some experience to the team. I would personally love to just be on a team with this younger group. All the teams that I've been on, they're all gone. They're all Senior Tour or done playing.

"I find that this younger core of guys to be really a cool group because they seem to really pull for each other, and it would be really fun to be a part of that and to feel -- to be on a Ryder Cup team where my 2012 team they're all gone, and this would be a totally different experience, and every match I've ever played, whether it's Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, I've played with Phil, so it would be interesting to have another partner, see what that's like, and I'd love to play with Zach."

The betting odds for the Ryder Cup teams have now been released.

Bryson DeChambeau's odds with shock you. Our Andy Roberts reckons Mr 58 simply must have a pick.

GolfMagic has also ranked every player's chance of making the '23 side. Take a look here.

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