ATLANTA – Justin Thomas summed up Keegan Bradley’s plight with an impressive economy of words this week at the Tour Championship.
“The captain is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t,” Thomas shrugged.
Bradley will become the first Ryder Cup captain in the modern era to face the ultimate dilemma on Wednesday when he makes his captain’s picks for this year’s matches. At 11th on the final U.S. points list, Bradley is not just a potential pick but a lock in many minds.
“Yeah, I would [pick Bradley],” Thomas added.
However Bradley’s picks land his predicament is truly unique.
“I’m looking at the [leaderboard] all day but I’m not looking for me, I’m looking for where my guys are. It’s just really odd. It’s really strange to look at the board and have no feeling of where I stand on the board but where I’m seeing my guys, that’s opposite of what we do every week,” said Bradley Friday at East Lake where he made a move up that leaderboard with a second-round 64. “I’m going to be really happy when this week is over. I’ve had it with this. I’m ready to get our team together and figure out what we’re doing.”
The sentiment is understandable but the reality is Bradley will face an impossible decision to pick himself as a playing-captain or go with someone else and focus on leading the U.S. team at Bethpage next month.
“I’m very aware that no matter what decision I make I’m going to be defined by this decision. If we win it doesn’t matter what decision I make, I’m aware of that,” Bradley said. “Every captain has to make really tough decisions, [but] this is really unique.”
Bradley said he is having ongoing conversations with his vice captains on potential picks and that he is relying on them to do what is right for the team regardless of who is picked.
“When we look at me as a player we talk about me like I’m not in the room. We look at the stats, we look at the record, I’m player X. If there are negatives about me I want to hear those things, I’d be more upset if they didn’t point those out,” he said.
Although Bradley is focused on this week’s scoreboard at East Lake he also suggested that many of those tough choices have already been made and that a player’s performance at East Lake wouldn’t necessarily change what has already been decided.
“I’ve got a pretty good idea,” Bradley said Friday when asked if he already knew his picks. “We’re going to wait and see how this week plays out, this is a huge event. But like I said, the points are a two-year process, it would be silly to let it come down to one event or one round.”
Bradley said he plans to travel home to south Florida Sunday following the final round at the Tour Championship before flying to Frisco, Texas, to prepare for Wednesday’s announcement of his six captain’s picks.
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