Ryder Cup hopefuls left to sweat out Keegan Bradley’s decision

Justin Thomas knows the feeling, but this time is much different than the last.

In 2023, Thomas missed the FedEx Cup Playoffs and had to sweat out a three-week wait before being informed by captain Zach Johnson that he was headed to Rome as a member of the Ryder Cup team. While Thomas still has to rely on a captain’s pick this year — this time from Keegan Bradley — he is in a much better place after finding his way out of the wilderness and back to top form.

“I knew I needed a lot of luck,” Thomas said on Sunday about his 2023 wait. “I needed a lot more than I do right now, I would say. I feel a lot better about my chances, I would hope. It feels like forever ago, and I’m glad it does.”

Bradley will make his captain’s picks on Wednesday, and Thomas enters the next 24 to 48 hours confident that he will be part of the team at Bethpage Black in September, given a current run of form that included a win at the RBC Heritage.

“It’s just different,” Thomas said, comparing this wait to the agonizing stretch in 2023. “Obviously finishing, I think it was, seventh or eighth or something like that in points, and feeling like I’ve done well in team events in the past, but obviously anything can happen, but I feel pretty good about it.”

The 2025 Ryder Cup has loomed over this entire golf season. Every tournament has featured questions about rankings, potential teammates, the course, etc. Those questions have only intensified as the summer has droned on.

Last week, Team USA’s six automatic qualifiers were locked in, with Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Harris English, Russell Henley, J.J. Spaun and Bryson DeChambeau earning spots. That leaves six spots for Bradley to fill, with the possibility that he uses one selection on himself hanging over his Wednesday selections.

Thomas is a top contender and is almost certainly a lock to make the team. The other potential captain’s picks face a nerve-racking two days before they get the call with a thumbs up or thumbs down from Bradley.

“It’s definitely been in the back of my head,” Collin Morikawa said after finishing T19 at East Lake. “It’s hard to push it aside. I haven’t been playing great, but I think I’m a great asset to that team. Hopefully I get a positive call from Keegan. Look, at the end of the day, he’s going to do what’s best for the team, and we’re going to see how that plays out. I really hope I’m part of that because the past four years of team events that I’ve been a part of, they’re the best. They sometimes wake you up and snap you back into the type of golfer you need to be.”

Ben Griffin has had a career year, including a win at the Charles Schwab Challenge and Zurich Classic team event. Griffin finished ninth on the U.S. points list and is hopeful he will make his Ryder Cup debut next month, but knows that things might not go his way. The only way to ensure you’re on the team is to finish in the top six.

“I feel like every day I get the questions about the Ryder Cup,” Griffin said on Sunday. “It’s definitely been an added pressure for me, and it’s something that’s been more on my mind than it probably should be.

“It’s going to be an anxious 24 to 48 hours. I wouldn’t say stressful because I feel like I’m too blessed to be stressed. But definitely anxious just to see if I earned a spot on that team or not, or if Keegan believes in me. I know I’ve been able to handle some big moments this season. I know I’ll be comfortable on that stage at Bethpage, and hopefully I can start practicing 48 hours from now and start getting ready for that Ryder Cup.”

Cameron Young was the top player on the points list in 2023 who was left off the team that Zach Johnson led over to Rome. It’s a snub that fueled Young, who has played his best golf over the past month, including his first-career win at the Wyndham Championship.

The New York native, who won the 2017 New York State Open at Bethpage Black, is adamant he has done enough to earn a spot this time.

“Either way, obviously I really, really want to make that team,” Young said after a T4 finish at East Lake. “If that call goes the wrong way, in my opinion, it’s going to be a bit of a hard one to take. I feel like I’ve done everything you could ask of me to make that team over the last four weeks, and then if you look back further, really half a season.”

Like Young, Sam Burns will be on sweat watch over the next two days as Bradley makes his decision. But Burns, who was a star in Team USA’s Presidents Cup win over the Internationals last year but went 1-2-0 in Rome, is comfortable with whatever decision is made.

“It’s going to be a long 24 hours or 48 hours,” Burns said. “[I have] 100 percent trust in Keegan. I know whatever decision he makes is going to be one that he thinks is best for the team. Ultimately, I’m Team USA. If I’m on the team, awesome. I would love nothing more. If I’m not, I’ll be rooting for them.”

Adding to the intrigue is that Bradley has played his way into the discussion to be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. Bradley won the Travelers Championship and has been one of the 12 best Americans this year. It’s a difficult decision — one that will shape how his captain’s picks play out and ultimately determine who gets left home. It’s a dilemma that has weighed on Bradley as the year has gone on, and one he is happy is close to being over — even if he still doesn’t have the clarity he seeks.

“I think no matter what decision that I make here, I could have gone the other way easily, no matter what,” Bradley said on Sunday. “The only thing I care about is on Sunday of the Ryder Cup, that we win the Ryder Cup. Then I’ll know I made the right decision. Until then, I won’t know. It’s going to be pretty wild. Whatever decision we make, we’re going to have to live with it. I love the guys on our team. They’re all playing great. It’s just really something else. It’s awesome.”

For Bradley, an agonizing 24 to 48 hours loom. Then, it’s time to finally put all the conversation to bed.