Europe changes rules to allow Keegan Bradley to be USA player-captain at Ryder Cup

Telegraph

7 days ago

Keegan Bradley looks certain to become the first player-captain in the Ryder Cup for more than 60 years after opposite number Luke Donald agreed to a crucial rule change.
One of Bradley's biggest concerns about performing the dual role in New York in September was that it could have put his team at a disadvantage when it came to on-course advice being handed out.
The 'captains' agreement' previously stated that only the skipper can talk to players when a match is under way, communication which can be vital, for example, when telling the pros on par threes which club their team-mates have earlier taken.
Of course, the contact can also be useful for motivational purposes. And under the existing agreement, the Americans could be denied this assistance if Bradley was, himself, playing.
Yet Telegraph Sport has discovered that Bradley, 39, went to Donald to ask him to insert a clause into the 'rarely-changed' agreement that will allow him to designate one vice-captain who can act as the de facto captain if and when Bradley is playing in a particular session.
'Keegan can only change the overarching contract with Luke and Ryder Cup Europe's approval,' a source said. 'The contract between the teams includes things like how many vice-captains a team can have etc. That is used year on year and captains rarely change that. But Keegan went to Luke with this clause and Luke generously agreed. We don't want any bad blood between the camps.'
A cynical viewpoint will be that Team Europe is not averse to Bradley emulating Arnold Palmer from 1963 because they believe the job share will not work and might cause more problems than good. At the Scottish Open two weeks ago, Rory McIlroy strongly suggested this could be the case at Bethpage Black, where Europe will attempt to become the first away side to prevail on foreign soil in 13 years and just the second in 21 years.
'It really feels like it's a player-led team in America, and obviously we have our input as players on the Europe team but we do have that one figurehead in Luke,' he said. 'I think that's important. I think even going back to Rome, when the Americans got off to a pretty rough start, I think because Zach [Johnson, the 2023 US captain] gave the team so much ownership, they had no one to look to.
'They were looking at each other instead of having a focal point – 'tell us what to do'. That is something that Europe have done very, very well. But also the players have allowed the captain to be a captain as well.'
It must be presumed that Jim Furyk, who was the America captain in their 2018 defeat in Paris, will step up into the temporary role. After finishing tied 30th in the Open at Royal Portrush on Sunday, Bradley is 10th in the US Ryder Cup standings, with the top six qualifying automatically in four weeks' time. But he is seventh in the world rankings and is clearly among the best US players.
A number of USA's key players are struggling for form
Bradley has already indicated that he will pick himself 'if it helps the team' and despite the country's fine showing at Royal Portrush - they had the top three, with Scottie Scheffler winning and Harris English and Chris Gotterup filling the other spots on the podium - his playing credentials only solidified. Patrick Cantlay, 14th on the standings, is woefully out of form, and Jordan Spieth is down in 26th place.
Too many of his experienced performers are struggling. World No 6 Collin Morikawa missed cuts at both the Scottish Open and the Open and Bradley will be desperate for a resurgence in the first two FedEx Cup events before qualification ends on Aug 17. There are some fine debutants ready to do battle in JJ Spaun, Russell Henley and Ben Griffin, but Bradley will have his limit on first-timers.
One player who will definitely be in Bradley's ranks is LIV rebel Bryson DeChambeau, regardless if he drops out of the leading half dozen. He was tied 10th at Portrush, following a final-round 64 and Bradley broke convention by giving the big-hitter the nod.