Keegan Bradley faces immense pressure as he hopes to avoid becoming the first American captain to lose a home Ryder Cup in over a decade.
He’s already made difficult decisions before the tournament has even begun. Keegan Bradley chose not to select himself as playing captain for America’s Ryder Cup team. He also decided to bring four rookies to New York, as well as two underperforming players, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa.
As a first-time captain, Bradley is stepping into unknown territory. He has no experience of which pairings work best, beyond the extensive research he has done prior to the championship. That’s unlike Europe’s Luke Donald, who won in Rome two years ago and brings all but one player back.
He can lean on the experience of past American captains, however, and two-time Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson offered Bradley some advice on how to select his pairings at Bethpage Black.
Keegan Bradley should ‘fly by the seat of his pants’ on Ryder Cup pairings
Ryder Cups are notoriously difficult to prepare for. Nothing can replicate the environment these players are stepping into, as thousands of raucous fans descend on Bethpage Black.
One thing that can be researched in the months leading up to the event is the player pairings during foursomes and fourball. Different players can complement each other, and it’s important to send out the right pairings in each event.
Even the best players in the world can sit out certain events if they are not compatible. Bryson DeChambeau isn’t a good fit for foursomes, for example. But all the research in the world can’t prepare a captain for the decisions they may have to make when the Ryder Cup begins.
That’s according to Watson, who led Team USA in 1993 and 2014. Watson is also a four-time winner as a player and has a 10-4-1 Ryder Cup record.
He said on the Golf Channel, “You go through a lot of different scenarios of who to pair with who, and sometimes that just doesn’t work.
“You have to fly by the seat of your pants. You have to look at the players in their eyes when they’re playing out there in their matches and see how they’re handling the pressure.
“I guarantee, the pressure is greater playing in the Ryder Cup than it is playing individually. I don’t think any player would disagree with me there. I felt more pressure playing as a player, and I felt tremendous pressure being captain those two times.
“You have to make judgments. You have some help with your Vice Captains to make those decisions, but if you look back and think, ‘Did I make any mistakes?’, well, possibly you did. But at that time, you didn’t think it was a mistake. You made the best possible decision you could at the time.”
Tom Watson disagrees with Team USA players being paid at the Ryder Cup
Team USA’s players will be paid at the Ryder Cup for the first time in the tournament’s history, sparking controversy in the lead-up to the event. Some Americans are concerned with how the New York fans will react to the players because of it.
Watson, who has decades of Ryder Cup experience as a player and as a captain, disagrees strongly with the PGA of America’s decision to pay the players.
He said, “Personally, I don’t agree with it. They gave us some money for our favourite charities, and I think that was the right thing to do for the players. I don’t think the players should be paid. They should be playing for their country and their teammates.”
The fans’ effect on the Ryder Cup could be substantial, and the Americans will want to keep them firmly in their corner throughout the weekend. A former captain openly slamming the players for taking money won’t exactly help their cause, however.