U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley believes he would be able to balance the roles of being a captain and a player at this September’s Ryder Cup.
The 39-year-old has been a hot topic in recent days following his triumph at last weekend’s Travelers Championship where he produced a sublime comeback to overhaul England’s Tommy Fleetwood with talk now of the American potentially becoming the first playing-captain in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
His victory in Connecticut helped him jump up to ninth in the U.S. team qualifying standings with only the top six as of 17 August cemented with automatic qualification, sparking discussion on if he would be able to commit to both the playing and captaincy roles if he were to qualify. The eight-time PGA TOUR winner said he would be open to a playing captain role.
Speaking after his Travelers Championship success, Bradley said: “I mean, listen, this [winning] changes the story a little bit,” Bradley said in his victory press conference. “I never would have thought about playing if I hadn’t won. This definitely opens the door to play.
“I don’t know if I’m going to do it or not, but I certainly have to take a pretty hard look at what’s best for the team and we’ll see. It’s still June, so we’ve still got a long way to go.”
Bradley will take part in this weekend’s Rocket Mortgage Classic as he looks to continue climbing up the qualifying standings but insists he is only concentrated on keeping momentum going in Detroit.
“For me, the only time I can escape the Ryder Cup thoughts are when I’m inside the ropes,” Bradley said on Wednesday.
“I’m able to escape the Ryder Cup a little bit when I get inside the ropes.
“When I leave those ropes, like when I go this afternoon, I have some Ryder Cup stuff I have to do. … I think one of the things I’ve managed well this year is once I’m inside those ropes, I’m a player.”
World No. 5 Collin Morikawa, who is placed just outside the top six in the qualifying standings, has backed Bradley to take on the roles simultaneously.
“Right now he’s playing as one of the best Americans and one of the best golfers in the world,” Morikawa said.
“I’m sure there’s already contingencies to be put in place because it’s not like it wasn’t a possibility that that could happen.
“I’m not saying there’s been bad captains but he cares so much about the team and he cares so much about representing the United States that it like bleeds out of him and it bleeds into us and that just motivates me more.”
The Ryder Cup will take place between 26-28 September at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.