The PGA Tour wins FedEx Cup champions every season and tee-offs on Thursday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
World No. 1 golfer Scotty Schaeffler will not start his stroke this time. The tour changed format again as all 30 golfers evenly launched the traditional 72-hole tournament.
It’s even more at risk for many golfers teeing up it in East Lake with their 45th Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York, more than a month away.
Six golfers have already formed a US team: Schaffler, US Open Winner JJ Spaun, two-time major champion Xander Schauffele, Liv Golf League captain Bryson Dechambeau, PGA Tour veterans Rusesell Henley and Harris English.
US team captain Keegan Bradley will make six captain choices on August 27th, three days after the final round of the Tour Championship.
Will Bradley choose to play for Beth Page Black? Who is the rock who makes a team? Who is the golfer flying under the radar for one of the coveted spots?
Should Bradley choose himself?
Mark Schlabach: I think Bradley will ultimately choose himself. Because he is one of America’s greatest golfers now.
The six golfers mentioned above participated in the team with points. I think Justin Thomas, Morakawa and Patrick Cantrey are probably rocks to make teams. JT has played better than the other two this season, and Morikawa’s game is a bit confusing. Cantrey was not consistent either, but he has no denying success in the Ryder Cup.
It leaves potentially three open spots, and I think it’s hard to find three golfers who are more suitable than Bradley now. He should have joined the European-smoked team at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, a suburb of Rome in 2023. He is extremely competitive, frequently playing Bethpage Black during his college career at St. John’s, with New York fans trying to take root with the Northeast man.
Bradley’s results have not been great since he won the Travelers Championship, a signature event, but he played better in the BMW Championship with a tie that was 17th place and competed in the Tour Championship.
Pair Uggs: In a way, Keegan and the US Team Overlord find themselves in their own worst-case scenario. Among the other Ryder Cups, Keegan (now 10th in the ranking) will be an interesting decision for the captain. Even before he sees what he does in the Tour Championship, you can make the claim he should be, and you can make the claim that he should choose a few other players before him.
The problem, of course, is that Keegan is making that decision. And after going back to what he said at the beginning of the process (that he wouldn’t make a team unless he qualifies), following his victory at the traveler, all the signs refer to choosing him. He also had players who might have made a team like Patrick Cantray. Also, players who don’t like Ricky Fowler discussed him.
All of it has accumulated in situations where “if it is, it would be terrible if you didn’t.” As Rory McIlroy pointed out, playing the captain is a very difficult (and perhaps impossible) task, and if Keegan chooses himself, it could add a double stack of pressure to Keegan’s plate, as well as the top storyline and talking points could come up towards the event.
If I was rooting for a US team, I probably wouldn’t want Keegan to choose myself, but most fans seem to want the result accurately. Either way, I’ll bring some popcorn.
Do you agree with Rory that you can’t become a captain?
Schlabach: Last week, Rory revealed that he declined the opportunity for the European team to become captain at the next Ryder Cup held in Ireland’s Adale Manor in 2027.
When it comes to team meetings, media duties, opening ceremonies, and more, there is no doubt that the Ryder Cup captain’s shoulder will be in charge of countless responsibilities. However, once Bradley chooses his team, it can also be argued that the most difficult part of his job is finished. He has assessed golfers over the past two years, pondering statistics and analysis, and building team friendships. The team schedule and dinner plans are already set.
McIlroy said playing captain would undermine the team’s ability to deploy the best lineup in each session. He argued that the play captain could not compete in both sessions in one day, as he had to fulfill his duties as a leader.
If Bradley and his playing partners end up defeating European pairings 4 and 3 in a Friday morning session, I don’t think there will be any questions he will return to the course in the afternoon. I think Bradley has enough confidence to run things with his vice captains Jim Furik, Gary Woodland, Kevin Kissner, Webb Simpson and Blunt Snedeker.
Golfers under the radar to build teams?
Schlabach: Three golfers from the University of Georgia – US English and Henry and European Cep Straca will play for Beth Page Black. I think we can argue that the fourth Brian Herman is worthy of being there too.
The former Open Championship winner won his fourth PGA Tour victory at the Valero Texas Open in April, finishing 10th in the Open at the Royal Portrush. He came in third in RBC legacy and eighth in travellers.
Herman is 12th in the points heading into this week’s Tour Championship, and perhaps needs another strong finish to seriously consider it. He is a great matchplay rival as a junior, making his Ryder Cup debut at Marco Simone 2-2.
Sam Burns looked out after seeing the 16th point, but he took the momentum by finishing fourth in the BMW Championship. Burns won the final edition of the 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and cannot be overlooked in the Ryder Cup.
uggetti: I think Maverick McNerry is the one who really made a strong point on the US side that it’s a pick that’s not overly discussed.
McNealy hasn’t won the Tour this year, but he has been one of the more consistent players this season, tallying 10 top 25 finishes, including seven top 10 and runner-ups. McNealy is the top 25 players in OWGR and the top 30 players per Datagolf. He is currently the 13th best American in the stroke, which took third place at BMW this week, and 11th in the Ryder Cup position.
The Stanford alumni is by no means a sure pick, but he has a shot that will leave a strong impression on Keegan & Co when he first appeared in the Tour Championship, which came from one of his best performances of the season.
More importantly, are you having a recent experience with the form or the rider cup?
uggetti: The answer is obviously both, but I think the experience of the Ryder Cup would slightly outweigh the recent form if each of those factors were on the other side of the seesaw. Matchplay is not part of the PGA Tour, you have to play that format with the energy of the thousands of fans that surround you. Sometimes it’s said to not be overwhelmed at the moment because you’ve already experienced it. That’s why players like Kantrey and Morikawa are likely to nod their heads despite not playing their best golf these days.
Who are the six picks on the US team and why?
Schlabach: As mentioned above, I think Thomas, Morikawa and Kantrey are almost rocky to make teams, leaving behind a small number of golfers competing in three spots. Entering East Lake, Cameron Young has the most momentum as he suits his recent shape, putting and course. He knocked it a mile away from the tee and is from New York.
If Bradley doesn’t choose himself, he’ll probably end up with Ben Griffin, McNeely, Chris Gotterup, Burns and Herman for one or two spots. If I’m Bradley, I’ll choose either Burns or Herman depending on what happens in East Lake this week.
uggetti: At this moment, the six players I have chosen, and to be clear, I don’t think this is the one Keegan would choose – Justin Thomas, Ben Griffin, Morikawa, Patrick Cantrey, Cam Young and Chris Gotterup.
In my opinion, the first four are not Brenners, but rather are thinking of a combination of past history and recent forms at the event. Thomas, Morakawa and Cantray have played enough to make Eastlake, but benefit from the former, but have embodied the latter over Griffin, the strength of this season, winning twice (addling top 10) and continuing to back up plate tournaments after the tournament.
The last two picks are the toughest and there’s probably a drama. Keegan doesn’t think he could reasonably choose Young, who leveled his play and made the Tour Championship, as well as his first PGA Tour victory recently. Needless to say, it goes without saying how well his game fits Beth Page.
Gotterup is a complete wildcard. He barely made the Tour Championship a week after BMW. He was shining during his swing overseas, but if you do, you might not get enough tape. Conversely, that’s why he might be the right kind of pick.
The chances for the American team aren’t about how good Gotterup is or not at Bethpage, but they were able to add the kind of bonus energy the team needs from the 12th member, just like Bob Macintyre did with the Rome Euro. The opposite argument would say that Bradley would add it if he was the 12th guy, but choosing gotterup accomplishes something else: it becomes the captain of Bradley.