Ryder Cup snubs: Keegan Bradley among 3 players left off of Team USA

U.S. Captain Zach Johnson has made his six captain’s picks for subsequent month’s Ryder Cup.

He chosen Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, and Rickie Fowler.

These gamers be part of Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa, and Xander Schauffele on Staff USA.

However Johnson omitted many gamers who earned a chance to don the celebs and stripes in Rome. So listed here are three gamers who deserved an opportunity to play extra so than anybody else:

Keegan Bradley

Photograph by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Pictures

Keegan Bradley lives and breathes pink, white, and blue. He loves the Ryder Cup greater than another occasion in golf, so he should have felt heartbroken when he first heard the information of his snub.

“I take into consideration the Ryder Cup each second I’m awake, mainly,” Bradley mentioned forward of the BMW Championship.

Bradley, now 37, has performed in two Ryder Cups however has not performed within the competitors since 2014.

Nonetheless, in each of these cases, the US misplaced in heartbreaking vogue.

At Medinah in 2012, dubbed the ‘Miracle at Medinah,’ the Europeans stormed again from a 10-to-6 deficit on Sunday to defeat the U.S. in singles matches.

Two years later, at Gleneagles in Scotland, Captain Tom Watson’s staff received trounced, and Phil Mickelson famously referred to as Watson out within the post-tournament press convention. That created a hostile and awkward setting for all of these in attendance.

So Bradley’s two Ryder Cup experiences will be summed up by one phrase: disheartening.

“I attempt my hardest not to consider the Ryder Cup, however everyone asks me about it,” Bradley mentioned on the Tour Championship. “As I’m strolling down the fairways, everybody’s yelling at me about it. So it’s unattainable for me to not give it some thought.”

This 12 months, Bradley has had a bounce-back season. He received the Vacationers Championship in entrance of his hometown crowd in Connecticut and recorded six prime 10s.

He made it to the Tour Championship, the place he completed in a tie for ninth, which cemented his terrific season.

The previous St. John’s standout can be a terrific putter—a mandatory attribute in Ryder Cups. An enormous proponent of aim-point placing, Bradley ranks twenty first on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: placing.

However sadly for him, his patriotic presence might be sorely missed.

Lucas Glover

Photograph by Jason Allen/ISI Images/Getty Pictures

Lucas Glover could be the world’s hottest participant, not named Viktor Hovland.

No, we aren’t speaking about his sweaty ‘swamp ass’; we’re referencing his present type.

Contemplate the place Glover has completed within the tournaments he has performed in since July:

• Rocket Mortgage Traditional: tied for 4th
• John Deere Traditional: tied for sixth
• Barbasol Championship: fifth
• 3M Open: missed reduce
• Wyndham Championship: received
• FedEx St. Jude Championship: received in a playoff over Patrick Cantlay
• BMW Championship: tied for twenty second
• Tour Championship: tied for 18th

At 43 years outdated, this will have been Glover’s final probability to make a Ryder Cup roster. He has by no means participated within the bi-annual competitors, so this snub doubtless hurts him much more.

Regardless of his age, Glover had an unbelievable summer season and a terrific 12 months general. And but, he didn’t even meet the standards to play in any of the 4 main championships in 2023.

He clearly didn’t meet the standards to qualify for the Ryder Cup, both.

Captain Johnson, who’s nice associates with Glover, determined to look elsewhere to fill out his staff.

Cameron Younger

Photograph by Michael Reaves/Getty Pictures

At simply 26 years outdated, Cameron Younger can have loads of alternatives to make Ryder Cup rosters sooner or later. Maybe he can use this snub as motivation heading into 2025, when the Ryder Cup might be held at Bethpage Black, close to his hometown of Briarcliff Manor, New York.

Alas, Captain Johnson determined Younger was not able to put on the pink, white, and blue in a Ryder Cup.

“Having to make these telephone calls [to players who did not make the team] did hold me up at evening,” Johnson mentioned Tuesday. “Particularly, [Young], who is an exceptional participant, higher individual. He was nothing however class.”

The Seventeenth-ranked participant on this planet did play for Staff USA within the 2022 Presidents Cup, the place he had a 1-2-1 file.

However his poor efficiency at Quail Hole, coupled together with his inconsistent 2022-23 season, led Johnson to miss Younger.

Plus, Younger struggled to search out fairways this season. He ranked 119th on the PGA Tour in driving accuracy share, an necessary metric contemplating the Europeans will slim the fairways at Marco Simone Golf Membership. The tough might be additional thick too.

But, Younger ranked sixth in strokes gained off the tee this 12 months. He can hit the ball a mile, however his inaccuracies should have been a cause as to why Johnson went with another person.

Photograph by Andrew Redington/Getty Pictures

Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By means of. You possibly can observe him on Twitter @jack_milko for extra golf protection. You should definitely try @_PlayingThrough too.