ATLANTA — Keegan Bradley spent part of Monday handing out free Ryder Cup tickets to golfers at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, the site of next month’s match between the United States and Europe.
With another spectacular 18 holes in the final round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club on Sunday, Bradley might punch his own Ryder Cup ticket — as a playing captain for the Americans.
Bradley made birdies on the final three holes at East Lake on Saturday to post a 7-under 63 in the third round, leaving him in fourth place at 13 under, three strokes behind co-leaders Patrick Cantlay (64) and Tommy Fleetwood (67).
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Russell Henley carded a 1-under 69 for third at 14 under, and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is lurking in fifth after posting a 66 to get to 12 under.
While Bradley described Saturday’s performance as perhaps his “best round of the year,” he wouldn’t say how it might affect his decision to use one of his six captain’s choices on himself.
“It’s just a heavy decision,” Bradley said. “All the picks are tough. Captain is going to be judged on who they pick. Pretty strange thing to pick yourself. It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for a long time, and I just want to make sure we make the right one.”
Scheffler, Henley, U.S. Open winner J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Harris English and LIV Golf League captain Bryson DeChambeau already have qualified for the U.S. team on points.
Bradley will announce the final six roster spots on the U.S. team Wednesday, and his decision seems to be getting more difficult with one round left in the FedEx Cup season.
“I don’t know,” Bradley said. “We’re going to find out tomorrow. I’m either going to win or I’m not, and we’re going to know the picks. We’re pretty confident with the picks that we have. One more day of golf to kind of finalize this whole thing, and I can’t wait. I’m done with this whole process. I want it over with either way.”
Cantlay’s strong showing at East Lake might have solidified his spot on the Ryder Cup. He hasn’t won on tour in three years, and he missed the cut in three of the four major championships this season. (He tied for 36th at the Masters.) He was 15th in Ryder Cup points coming into the week.
Cantlay was a bright spot for the U.S. team in its 16½-11½ loss in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club outside Rome. He was 5-2-1 in the past two Ryder Cups.
“It’s always nice to have your game shape up at the end of the year,” Cantlay said. “But like I said, I’m focused 100 percent on this week, and we’ll worry about the Ryder Cup a little later.”
Cantlay recently started working with a putting coach for the first time, and his new partnership with Phil Kenyon already is paying off. Cantlay leads the 30-man field in strokes gained: approach at 5.88 and is fifth in putting (3.05).
“I’ve been putting in a lot of good work, and so it’s nice to see some of that work starting to pay off,” Cantlay said.
While the FedEx Cup and $10 million are on the line for Sunday’s winner, there might be Ryder Cup consequences, as well.
Other golfers fighting for one of Bradley’s picks have fared well at East Lake so far. Cameron Young (71) is sixth at 10 under, followed by Ben Griffin (68) and Sam Burns (68), who are tied for seventh. Justin Thomas (69) is tied for 10th at 8 under.
Collin Morikawa (70) and Maverick McNealy (69) are tied for 16th at 6 under.
“It’s a really strange thing to kind of ponder making the picks and then thinking about picking yourself,” Bradley said. “It’s ridiculous. It doesn’t seem like reality sometimes.
“But we’re going to do the best we can to make the right decision, and it’s going to be controversial to certain people either way. I’m prepared for that. I am confident whichever decision I make, it’s for the betterment of the team, and we’ll see.”
There hasn’t been a playing captain in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer led the Americans to a 23-9 rout at East Lake in 1963. Palmer, then 34, played in each of the six sessions and had a 4-2 record.
Bradley saw Palmer’s Ryder Cup bag and other memorabilia in East Lake’s clubhouse when he registered for the Tour Championship. Palmer died in 2016 at age 87.
“It’s pretty surreal looking at it,” Bradley said. “I wish he was alive and I could call him. If I had one thing, I wish I could call Arnold and talk to him because I think he’d have some great advice for me.”
