His eponymous website hails him as “more than a champion.” Which is fair if you pay due deference to the nearly 40 tournament victories, the more than nine years he has spent ranked inside the world’s top 10 and take even the briefest glance at Sergio Garcia’s record as part of 10 Ryder Cup teams. Read more…
One by one, in the wake of their opening rounds at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, leading European players lined up to verbalise their own attitudes regarding playing for pay or playing for pride.
Following the Golf Twitter firestorm created earlier this week by the exorbitant Ryder Cup ticket prices, there was a sentiment shared by a handful of folks that the PGA of America would see the firestorm and subsequently “make it right.”
After Bradley helped the American team to its 10th straight win over the International team in the Presidents Cup, he is now on the hot seat as the leader of a US team that was beaten handily by the Luke Donald-led European squad in Rome.
Adam Scott, after 24 years as a pro, does not have many firsts left to tick off. However, the thrill of a Presidents Cup victory continues to elude him.
Reigning PGA champion Xander Schauffele, who has played on the past two US squads and is currently third in the US team rankings, was one of the first to weigh in on Bradley’s appointment – and his Schauffele’s request makes a lot of sense.
As the shock of Bradley’s appointment wanes and the choice settles in, we asked three of our own passionate Ryder Cup watchers, John Huggan, Dave Shedloski and Luke Kerr-Dineen, to answer five lingering questions about the selection.
What do we make of the surprise announcement? Golf Digest writers Joel Beall (thumbs up) and Shane Ryan (thumbs down) give their opinions on Bradley’s captaincy.
As things stand, the regulations for Ryder Cup eligibility provide a possible pathway into the team that competes on the road at Bethpage Black for Rahm and any other European player currently plying his trade on the LIV Golf League.