The PGA Tour will crown its season-long FedEx Cup champion on the Winners Full Tour, which was held Thursday at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler will not start a stroke this time as the tour changed format again, with all 30 golfers starting a 72-hole traditional match on PAR.
There are more dangers for many golfers who will play at Bethpage Black in New York at the 45th Ryder Cup in Bethpage Black in New York.
Six golfers have become U.S. teams: Scheffler, U.S. Open champion JJ Spaun, two-time major champion Xander Schauffele, Liv Golf League captain Bryson DeChambeau and PGA Tour veterans Russell Henley and Harris English.
Captain America Keegan Bradley will make six captain choices three days after the final round of the Tour Championship on August 27.
Will Bradley choose to play in Bethpage Black? Who is the lock that forms the team? Who is the golfer flying under the radar?
Should Bradley choose himself?
Mark Schrabach: I think Bradley will eventually pick himself because he is one of the 12 best American golfers at the moment.
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The six golfers above qualified for the team on points, and I think Justin Thomas, Colin Morikava and Patrick Cantley may be locked in the team. JT's performance was better than the other two of the season, and Morikava's game was a bit messy. Cantlay is not consistent, but his success is undeniable in the Ryder Cup.
This may have left three open spaces, and I think it's hard to find three golfers who deserve more than Bradley now. He was supposed to join the European team smoking at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club outside Rome in 2023.
Bradley's result has been an iconic game since winning the Travelers Championship, but he played better games with 17 ties in the BMW Championship and qualified for the Tour Championship.
Paolo uggetti: In some ways, Keegan and the overlord of the American team find themselves in the worst situation. In any other Ryder Cup year, Keegan (currently ranked 10th) will be an interesting decision for the captain. You can even come up with a case he should join before seeing what he does in the Tour Championship, and you can also show that some other players should be picked before him.
The problem, of course, is that Keegan made this decision. All signs indicate that he is self-sufficient after the traveler wins. He even has players who might have teams like Patrick Cantlay and players who might not like Rickie Fowler have a dispute over him.
It's all “if you do it, damn it, if you don't, damn it.” As Rory McIlroy pointed out, becoming a game captain is an extremely difficult task, and if Keegan does choose himself, it will not only double the pressure on Keegan's plate, but also make it the highest storyline and conversation point and may enter and possibly exit the game.
If I cheer for Team USA, I might not want Keegan to pick myself, but it seems that most fans want to hope for this result entirely. Either way, I will bring popcorn with me.
Do you agree that Rory can’t be the captain?
Schrabach: Last week, Rory revealed that he turned down a chance to play the European team at the next Ryder Cup at the Adare estate in Ireland in 2027.
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There is no doubt that the Ryder Cup captain has assumed numerous responsibilities in team meetings, media obligations, opening ceremony and more. But I think you can also say that once Bradley chose his team, the hardest part of his work ended. Over the past two years, he has evaluated golfers, studied statistics and analyses, and built team friendships. Team schedule and dinner plan have been set.
McIlroy said having a captain would suppress the team’s ability to launch the best team in every class. He argued that a captain could not compete twice in a day because he had to perform his leadership duties.
If Bradley and his game partner are going to beat European pairings 4 and 3 at a Friday morning meeting, I don't think he will be back on the court in the afternoon. I think Bradley has enough confidence in vice captains Jim Furyk, Gary Woodland, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker.
Radar golfers need to form a team?
Schrabach: Three former golfers at the University of Georgia – American English and Henry, Europe's Sepp Straka will play at Bethpage Black. I think you can say that the fourth Brian Harman should be there too.
The former Open Champion winner won his fourth PGA Tour victory at the Valais Rotex Open in April and tied for 10th in the Open at Royal Shotrus. He tied for third in the legacy of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and eighth among travelers.
Harman entered the 12th place in this week's Tour Championship and may need to seriously consider another strong result. He is a great competition rival for junior year, leading 2-2 in Marco Simone's Ryder Cup debut.
Sam Burns seems to be watching No. 16 from the outside, but he tied for fourth in the BMW Championship to grab some momentum. Burns won the final match of the WGC-Dell Technologies competition in 2023 and led the tour with a stroke (.921), which cannot be ignored in the Ryder Cup.
Maverick McNealy is currently ranked 10th in Ryder Cup points. AP Photos/Stephanie Scarbrough
Uggetti: On the US side, I think that really powerful guy is an option without much discussion, and this is Maverick McNealy.
Although McNeley didn’t win the Tour this year, he was one of the most consistent players of the season, finishing with a top 25 in the top 25, including seven top 10 and a runner-up. McNealy is the top 25 players in OWGR, and each Datagolf is the top 30 players. He is currently the 13th-largest American in a stroke and finished third in BMW this week, which put him at No. 11 in the Ryder Cup rankings.
The Stanford graduate is by no means a sure option, but he still has a shot with Keegan & Co when he heads to his first appearance in the season championship now when he is one of his best performances this season.
More importantly: the recent form or Ryder Cup experience?
Uggetti: The answer is obviously both an answer, but if each factor is in the relative aspect of vision, I think the Ryder Cup experience will surpass the recent form, even if slightly slightly less. The match is not part of the PGA Tour now, and it has to play the format with the energy of thousands of fans around you, because you've already experienced it, and this moment isn't overwhelmed. That's why players like Cantlay and Morikawa are likely to nod despite not playing their best golf balls lately.
You are the six draft picks for the American team, why?
Cameron Young won his first PGA Tour early this season. Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
Schrabach: As I mentioned above, I think Thomas, Morikava and Canterley are almost the locks that make up the team, leaving some golfers competing for three positions. Entering East Lake, I would say Cameron Young has the most motivation because of the recent form, putting and courses are right. He knocked it down for a mile and was a New Yorker.
If Bradley doesn't choose himself, I think it might come down to one or two attractions in Ben Griffin, McNealy, Chris gotterup, Chris Gotterup, Burns and Harman. If I were Bradley, I would experience and choose Burns or Harman, depending on what happened at East Lake this week.
Uggetti: As of this moment, I think I'd pick six players – clear that's not what I think Keegan would pick – Justin Thomas, Ben Griffin, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Cam Young and Chris Gotterup.
The first four seem to me to be unwise, given that past history and recent forms combine past history. Although Thomas, Morikawa and Cantlay have been enough to benefit East Lake, they benefited from the former, and no one better reflects the latter than Griffin, who has been a team this season, who won two wins (plus nine top 10) and continues to back up his game after the tournament.
The last two draft picks were the toughest and probably dramatic. I don't think Keegan could reasonably master the young game, the latter recently appeared, not only winning his most recent first PGA Tour victory, but also improving his game and winning the Tour title. Not to mention his game is suitable for Bethpage.
GotTerup is a wildcard. He has barely played in the Tour title during the week of BMW and, despite his glittering during his overseas swing, there may not be enough videotapes if you prefer. On the contrary, that's why he might be the right choice.
Team USA’s chances don’t boil down to how great Bethpage’s GoTterup is, but like Bob Macintyre did for Rom’s euro, he could add to the kind of reward energy the 12th member might need. The argument against would say that if Bradley was the twelfth man, Bradley would add a little bit, but picking Gotterup did something else: This made Bradley the captain.