ATLANTA – Keegan Bradley will be handing out free Ryder Cup tickets to golfers at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y., to the location of next month’s US-Europe match.
Another epic 18 holes will be held in the final round of the Tour Championship, held at East Lake Golf Club on Sunday, with Bradley likely punching his own Ryder Cup ticket as an American play captain.
Bradley made the birdies on Saturday on the final three holes at Eastlake, posting a 7-under 63 in the third round, finishing fourth in three strokes behind co-leaders Patrick Cantray (64) and Tommy Fleetwood (67).
Russell Henry has 1 under 3rd with a 1 under card with a 1 under 69, while world No. 1 Scotty Schaeffler has been hiding in fifth place after posting 66 to reach 12 under.
Bradley described Saturday’s performance as perhaps his “best round of the year,” but he wouldn’t have said how it would affect his decision to use one of his six captain’s choices on himself.
“It’s just a decision,” Bradley said. “Every pick is tough. The captain is judged about who they choose. It’s pretty weird to choose one. That’s something I’ve been thinking for a long time and I just want to make sure we make the right thing.”
Schaffler, Henry, US Open Winners JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Harris English and captain of the Liv Golf League, Bryson Dechambeau, are already qualified for the US team in points.
Bradley will announce the US team’s final six roster spots on Wednesday. His decision appears to be more difficult in the last round of the FedEx Cup season.
“I don’t know,” Bradley said. “We’re going to know tomorrow. I’m going to win or not, we know the pick. We’re pretty confident in the picks we have. Another day of golf will complete this whole thing. I can’t wait.
Cantray’s powerful show in East Lake may have solidified his place with the Ryder Cup. He hasn’t won the Tour in three years and missed a cut in three of the four major championships this season. (He came in 36th in the Masters.) He was 15th in the Ryder Cup Points coming in the week.
Cantrey was a bright spot for the US team with losses of 16½-11½ in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in the Roman suburbs. He was 5-2-1 in the last two Ryder Cups.
“It’s always great to shape the game at the end of the year,” Cantrey said. “But like I said, I’m 100% focused this week, so I’ll be worried about the Ryder Cup a little later.”
Cantray recently began working with his putting coach for the first time, and his new partnership with Phil Kenyon has already paid off. Cantray leads the field with 30 strokes: approaching at 5.88 and fifth in putting (3.05).
“I’ve done a lot of good work, so it’s great to see some of the jobs starting to pay off,” Cantrey said.
The FedEx Cup and $10 million will be on the line for the winners on Sunday, but there may also be the results of the Ryder Cup.
Other golfers fighting for one of Bradley’s picks have been doing well in East Lake so far. Cameron Young (71) is sixth at 10 under, followed by Ben Griffin (68) and Sam Burns (68). Justin Thomas (69) tied for 10th place at 8 under.
Morikawa (70) and Maverick McNerry (69) are in 16th place with a 6-under.
“It’s really weird to think about making a pick and choosing yourself,” Bradley said. “It’s ridiculous. Sometimes it doesn’t look like real.
“But we will do our best we can to make the right decision. It will be controversial for certain people either way. I am preparing for that. Which decision I will do is make, it is for the team improvement and we will see.”
The captain had not played in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer led him to a 23-9 defeat at Eastlake in 1963.
Bradley saw Palmer’s Ryder Cup bags and other memorabilia at the Eastlake clubhouse when he signed up for the Tour Championship. Palmer passed away in 2016 at the age of 87.
“It’s pretty surreal to see that,” Bradley said. “I hope he is alive and I can call him. If there’s one thing I would love to call Arnold and talk to him.
