World No 11 would be first playing captain since 1963 if he hands himself a wildcard in his announcement on Wednesday
Six players have qualified automatically to represent the US in New York next month: Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, JJ Spaun, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau. Keegan Bradley will name his half‑dozen wildcards on Wednesday. These announcements are ordinarily mundane; this one will be far from that.
Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa are certainties to be involved. Patrick Cantlay, who was central to so much drama in Rome two years ago, is also likely to get the nod. The remaining three spots realistically appear to be between four names: Cameron Young, Ben Griffin, Sam Burns and Bradley himself. Of those, Young and Burns are most hotly tipped to make the US team. Bradley added a layer of intrigue on Sunday by stating: “There’s probably going to be a few guys that think they are going to be on the team that aren’t going to be.”
There has been no playing captain in the Ryder Cup since 1963 and back then Arnold Palmer did not have to pick himself. Bradley has clearly agonised over this decision, describing it as “defining” and “the biggest of my life”.
