There is, truly, nothing quite like the Ryder Cup discourse, especially as the biennial event draws nearer. Around this time a month ago, Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin were a lock to play together. Now, J.J. Spaun may have stolen one of their spots. Brooks Koepka entered the conversation for all of 24 hours at Oakmont. Team Captain Keegan Bradley, who once said he’d only play if he made it on points, is now seriously debating whether or not he’ll be a playing captain after his Travelers win (Bradley is currently ninth in the standings).
The debate shifts week-to-week, which has to a mental mind-you-know-what for the likes of Harris English, Maverick McNealy and Brian Harman, who are currently 10th, 11th and 12th in the standings, respectively. Otherwise known as the bubble boys.Â
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It was four years ago when English was selected as a captain’s pick, finishing in the exact same position in the standings that he is right now – 10th. English won twice that season and was playing some of the best golf of his career, then a hip injury derailed his momentum.Â
But now English has regained that 2021 form, having already won once this season at Torrey Pines, tying for 12th at the Masters and tying for second at the PGA, putting him firmly back in the Ryder Cup conversation. But Patrick Cantlay (14th) is in that conversation, too. So are Sam Burns (15th), Cameron Young (17th) and Daniel Berger (18th). Hell, Wyndham Clark, a former U.S. Open champion, still thinks he’s in the discussion as well. And why not? All it takes is one late-season victory to completely shift the narrative. And to bounce out a potentially equally-deserving player who will be stuck at home on the couch watching with the rest of us. As sinking of a feeling as there is in professional golf.Â
“The Ryder Cup is definitely on my list,” English told us on The Loop podcast this week. “I’m not getting any younger, I’m about to turn 36 this summer. I had an unbelievable time at Whistling Straits [in 2021]. It’s just something where, once you make one of those teams, you never want to miss them again. You get serious FOMO, you know how much fun they are. It’s really the pinnacle of our sport. You don’t really get that feeling a whole lot in golf of being on that first tee in a Ryder Cup.”
Bradley, the captain, knows all about that feeling, having gone through it in a painful, public manner in 2023. English says he’s been in contact with Bradley plenty this year, and he’s going to do everything he can to prove he belongs at Bethpage over these next couple months.Â
To hear the rest of our chat with English, please have a listen to the full episode below. And please like and subscribe to The Loop wherever you get your podcasts:
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com