ATLANTA — Keegan Bradley fired the most challenging bogey-free 64 of his career on Friday in the second round of the Tour Championship.
But every round of late is a challenging one for the U.S. Ryder Cup captain.
“I’m having a very hard time separating right now my captaincy and my play,” said Bradley, who in a few days has to fill out the remaining six spots on his 12-man team with wild-card picks, one of which he may or may not use on himself. “For the past month it’s been like this, but this week I’m trying so hard. But that’s all I’m thinking about. Thinking about pairings, certain things I want to say to the guys during the week. It’s just difficult.”
It’s difficult, he said without flinching, because he faces “the biggest decision of my life.”
When Bradley, 39, accepted the captaincy last July, he was well aware that the scenario he currently faces was not just possible but likely. But now that he is just days away from having to decide whether or not to pick “Player X,” which is a reference to himself, the pressure is becoming unbearable.
“It’s just really strange for me to be the captain. It’s not something anyone’s really ever gone through,” said Bradley, who could be the first playing captain in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963. The difference, however, is that Palmer’s entire team was determined by a points system.
“I am looking at the board all day, not looking for me. I’m looking for where my guys are. It’s just really odd,” Bradley continued. “That’s a really strange feeling. It’s just sort of look at the [leaderboard], and I have no feeling of where I stand on the board, just seeing where our guys are, which is, that’s the opposite of what we do every week. I’m going to be really happy when this week is over. I’ve about had it with this whole thing [deciding wild-card picks], so I’m ready to figure out what we’re doing and get our team together.”
Bradley said he has a fairly good idea who he will select, though he gave no clues. Results this week at East Lake Golf Club still could influence his direction while acknowledging the importance of the qualifying process over a two-year span. As for his own prospects, he would rather have qualified on points or be languishing well outside the top 20 than his current position of 11th. At 13th in the World Ranking, the former PGA champion is the eighth-highest ranked American player.
That fellow U.S. players have chimed in with support for him taking on a dual role “means a lot,” he said, but in the same breath it doesn’t mean anything.
“I don’t think it counts because I think we have to get together as captain and vice-captains and look at the data, look at what’s going on and make a decision based on what’s best for the team,” he said. “So that certainly feels nice to me. But when we look at me as a player, we talk about me as if I’m not in the driver. We look at the stats, we look at everything, and I’m ‘Player X,’ basically. Certainly strange, but I’ve wanted them to, if there’s negatives about me playing, I want to hear those things. I would be more upset if they didn’t express those feelings.
“To be honest, I feel like I’m still one of the best players in the world, so I figured that the likelihood of me being completely out of the picture was probably kind of slim.”
What is not in doubt are the repercussions to whatever decision he makes about his status—if the U.S. team should lose at Bethpage. Should he elect to play, Bradley worries about fulfilling his captain’s duties, being well rested, and being prepared to compete effectively against a talented European team that won easily two years ago in Rome.
“You worry that people maybe on my side will say, if you don’t win, that was a mistake. That was self-indulgent. I’m very well aware of that,” Bradley said. “No matter what decision I make, I’m going to be defined by this decision. If we win, it doesn’t matter what decision I make. But every captain has to make really tough decisions. This is just a really unique decision. I think it’s just because of my age. If Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson or Jim Furyk was appointed captain at my age, they would’ve had to do this. So, it’s just a luck of the draw, I guess. I don’t know.”
What is not different is that the captain has to accept an inordinate amount of blame in a loss.
“Which I’m fine with,” Bradley said. “Normally when you win, you’re the best captain ever. And when you lose, you’re the worst captain. So I’ve been a part of those teams, and I promise you we’re going to make the best decision for the team. It’s going to be controversial either way I do it. I’m ready for it.”
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
