The weeks main as much as the 2023 Ryder Cup sparked loads of controversy as Group USA captain Zach Johnson chosen Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, and Rickie Fowler as a substitute of Keegan Bradley, main the previous to marvel how that may very well be.
However lower than a yr after being seemed over for Rome, Bradley will captain subsequent yr’s Ryder Cup group at Bethpage Black in New York, a choice that shocked the whole golf world.
And but, Thomas, who has a exceptional file in match play in opposition to the Europeans, dropped a reality bomb about Bradley’s captaincy after his first spherical of the Genesis Scottish Open, the place he holds an early one-stroke lead.
“I clearly love the choose, and I feel it’s a change of route for the very best,” Thomas mentioned.
“I simply suppose it’s opening up a complete new alternative, and I feel no captain goes to know the gamers and their video games than any person who’s taking part in with us on the highest stage each single week.”
When the Ryder Cup kicks off subsequent September, Bradley would be the youngest captain since Arnold Palmer served as a player-captain at East Lake in 1963. It’s a stark departure from the place the PGA of America has gone in recent times, choosing older main champions of their mid-to-upper 40s to guide Group USA. However the Europeans have dominated the People since 2000, profitable eight of 12 Ryder Cups, two of which have come on U.S. soil.
One thing wanted to alter, so the powers that be chosen Bradley, who admitted to “serious about the Ryder Cup each second he’s awake” final yr, as the person in cost.
“My factor is I need to choose the very best captain,” Thomas added, per Golf.com’s Sean Zak.
“I don’t need it to really feel prefer it wants to suit a sure resume. It doesn’t want to suit this proper mildew. No matter it’s. It’s like, look, who’s our greatest captain proper now? It doesn’t matter what they’ve completed—are the fellows going to be excited to play for him? Is he going to mesh with all people? That’s all that issues.”
Primarily based on everybody’s reactions to date, from Phil Mickelson to Bryson DeChambeau to Tiger Woods and now to Thomas, America’s powerbrokers have authorized the choice to appoint Bradley as captain. Solely time will inform if the transfer will repay, as Rory McIlroy even mentioned in Scotland, however Group USA wanted a spark, and no person has extra ardour, extra hearth, and extra want for the Ryder Cup than Bradley himself.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By. Remember to take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.