US Ryder Cup vice captain on Keegan Bradley snub? "He's not tight with them"

Ryder Cup vice captain Fred Couples says Keegan Bradley 'not being tight' with other golfers factored into the American being snubbed by Zach Johnson.

Ben Smith

31 Aug 2023

US Ryder Cup vice captain on Keegan Bradley snub? "He's not tight with them" — US Ryder Cup vice captain on Keegan Bradley snub? "He's not tight with…

Fred Couples says Keegan Bradley 'not being tight' with other golfers on the US Ryder Cup team factored into not being a captain's pick.

Couples was left with egg on his face on 29 August after US skipper Zach Johnson named his six picks for the dust-up in Rome next month.

The 63-year-old had previously been quoted as saying that Cameron Young and Max Homa would be on the plane to Italy no matter what.

Homa qualified automatically and has already expressed his desire to be paired with Collin Morikawa.

But Young was left out, prompting Johnson to confront what Couples previously said. Apparently, the comment was made 'in jest'.

One man who had hoped he had done more than enough to earn his spot in the red, white and blue is Bradley.

He started the 2022-2023 season in style, winning the ZOZO Championship in Japan.

With Team USA now complete, who do we think will win the Ryder Cup?
— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) August 29, 2023

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Ryder Cup 2023: Has Zach Johnson picked his best side? We discuss...

Bradley followed that win with a second place finish at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

He then won the Travelers Championship in June which he had hoped was enough to warrant inclusion.

Bradley did miss two cuts in the majors, at the U.S. Open and the Open, but posted top-30 finishes at the PGA Championship and the Masters.

But it was not to be and Johnson picked Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Morikawa.

Bradley reacted by saying he was 'super bummed' to miss out then posted this:

This is my suitcase from 2012 Ryder Cup that I haven’t opened since that Sunday. I promised myself I wouldn’t open it till I won a Ryder Cup. ⁣
⁣
That week changed my prospective on golf forever. The Ryder Cup suddenly became very important to me. pic.twitter.com/RFN6mqeiWH
— Keegan Bradley (@Keegan_Bradley) August 30, 2023

Now Couples has told Golf Digest:

"I saw Keegan Bradley's statement. I left him off the team [as 2011 Presidents Cup captain] when he won a PGA. It's the harshest thing you can do to a guy.

"I feel like it's the players' team, but you can't have guys telling the captain 'here's who I want, should be on it,' unless you're a Jordan Spieth or a Scottie Scheffler, or a [Patrick] Cantlay."

"Now they're picking other guys that may not have the record of Keegan, but they pair them up perfectly.

"I like Keegan. He's an older guy, and he's not in tight with them. If that had 20 percent to do with it, I won't argue that."

As for Bradley, he has said he is proud of the effort he put in trying to make the side.

"I'm gonna be watching and pulling as hard as I can for them," Bradley wrote on X.

Johnson's European counterpart Luke Donald will announce his captain's picks on 4 September.

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