Could playing-captain backfire on U.S. Ryder Cup team?

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Keegan Bradley as a Ryder Cup playing-captain, the best major moments of 2025, Lottie Woad’s victory, ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ and more.

The Telegraph reported that U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley requested a rule change to this year’s “captain’s agreement” which would permit an appointed vice captain to advise players if a playing-captain was in competition. European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has reportedly agreed to the change, which might be a stepping stone for Bradley potentially playing and captaining at Bethpage Black. Although with all of the logistics and planning that comes with being a captain, is it possible a playing-captain could backfire on the U.S. and go in Europe’s favor?

Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): Hard to fathom a scenario in which Bradley does not play. There are not 12 better Americans in the game right now — let alone 12 better Americans who bring the fire and intensity that Bradley does to the course — so the U.S. captain has little choice but to put himself on his own team. That doesn’t mean he needs to play four or five matches; it could mean playing just a couple. He should send himself out in the first match on Friday and get the place rocking. Could it backfire? It could. But I think there’s way more potential upside in him playing than there is exclusively focusing his efforts on speeches and uniform selections.

Sean Zak, senior writer (@sean_zak): It could absolutely backfire. Team Europe definitely wants Bradley pulling double duty. They want streams to get crossed and information to have to come from multiple sources instead of one. All that said, it has to happen at this point. Bradley has invested too much to pull back on his captain’s duties. And he’s too good to pull back on his playing ability. So Team USA pushes forward. I would like to think they have enough cooks in the kitchen to devise a solid strategy for this unique situation.

Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): It’s not an ideal situation for the U.S. team but Bradley is one of the 12 best Americans and has to play. Plus, you know he wants to. He’s the exact type of player you want making birdies and hyping up the crowd and bringing the energy at a Ryder Cup. Pulling double duty is not a great situation but I also think it’s a little overblown. Yes, the other stuff matters, but let’s not complicate it — it mostly comes down to playing better golf than the other squad. I talked to Gary Woodland, a vice captain, at the 3M Open a few days ago and he said he’s extremely impressed with how Keegan is managing Ryder Cup duties and playing this well right now. It’s going to get busier for Bradley of course but… maybe he can handle it? Although I am curious if it was ever seriously discussed to completely offload duties to another vice captain and have Keegan just play and take a rain check on his captaincy.

Speaking of the Ryder Cup, time is running out for auto-qualifying and bubble players to make their case for captain’s picks. Which big-name player has the most to prove to Bradley to earn a spot?

Berhow: Jordan Spieth is ranked 26th but I still think has a good shot of making this team. As for Wyndham Clark, at 16th, it might be tougher. He’s had a very average year and made more headlines for some unfortunate moments, although we’ll see if this late surge is going to be enough. He tied for 11th at the Scottish Open, tied for 4th at the Open Championship and just had another good finish at the 3M Open Sunday, tying for 12th. Is it enough? We’ll see. If Russell Henley and Harris English lock up auto-qualifying spots it will make the captain’s picks even more interesting. Although a lesser-known name I’m really curious about? Chris Gotterup.

Bastable: Yeah, Gotterup (who is now 22nd on points list) is an interesting one. It takes so much for a relative “outsider” to crack the squad, but, man, he has looked good of late. Feels like he has the mettle to withstand Ryder Cup pressure. Also I don’t see Capt. Keegs falling into the trap of picking guys just because they’ve been there in the past. To me, among the bigger names, Patrick Cantlay is the biggest question mark. He hasn’t had a bad season, but it hasn’t been particularly memorable, either — and his MC at the Open Championship had to give Bradley pause.

Zak: Jordan Spieth has a LOT to prove. People forget that Spieth (along with Justin Thomas) was a part of the Ryder Cup committee put together to lead Team USA into the future. It was a small committee! Mainly because it was believed that Thomas and Spieth would be on teams for years and years and years. Well, JT snuck his way onto the 2023 team and it would take some serious sneaking for Spieth to do that this time. A really good playoffs is what he would need, but do we really see that happening?

Last week, we put a bow on the men’s major season, but there’s still plenty to unpack there. What was the most memorable moment of the major season?

Bastable: Kind of cliched, but I’ll remember this year for the emotional victory walk Rory took from Augusta National’s 18th green to scoring. That outpouring of joy — and relief — was something to behold. The moment from that scene most burned in my memory bank is when McIlroy fell into Shane Lowry’s arms and Lowry bear-hugged his old pal a foot off the ground. For honorable mention, shoutout to the five-way sudden-death playoff at the Chevron, won by Mao Saigio. What a wild way for a major to be decided — just wish it had extended longer than one hole!

Zak: Who cares if it’s a cliche if it’s the truth! I’ll pivot slightly off Alan’s answer and say simply the seconds after the putt dropped for McIlroy, when he dropped to his knees. I find it funny when athletes collapse to the floor of their sporting arena — think of all the tennis stars who crumble when their opponent hits a ball out on match point — but given how up and down the day had been, it felt like perhaps McIlroy was running purely on adrenaline and nothing else. There was no more energy to sustain him when it finally went in. Every part of his body seemed to touch the green in that moment, like a focused, crying, giddy yogi. Won’t ever forget it. Also won’t ever forget J.J. Spaun’s 64-footer.

Berhow: Scottie Scheffler wins two majors and you guys don’t even type his name once. Sad! But yeah, fair, I get it. McIlroy collapsing, weeping, celebrating and then walking to scoring was one of the most memorable moments of my 10 years at this job, right up there with Tiger winning the Masters in 2019 and Spieth’s Sunday surge at Royal Birkdale in 2017. There’s so much more that goes into McIlroy’s moment that helps make it special — it secured the career Grand Slam, gave him his first green jacket and changed a narrative. McIlroy’s more recent memorable major moments (Pinehurst 2024; St. Andrews 2023) were memorable for the wrong reasons. He didn’t let that happen again (although it was close).

Former top-ranked amateur (and newly turned professional) Lottie Woad won the Women’s Scottish Open to become the third LPGA Tour member to win in their LPGA Tour debut. What impressed you most about the 21-year-old’s victory? And how much could the LPGA benefit from another up-and-coming young player challenging the stars?

Bastable: Whatever happened to easing into your pro career? Like so many other elite young players these days, Woad arrived in the game’s highest ranks ready to win — and then did just that. So, yeah, I’d say I’m most impressed by how undaunted she looks. Even when Hyo Joo Kim applied some pressure, catching Woad in the middle of the final round, Woad showed no signs of cracking. Instead, she birdied 13 and 14 and never looked back. How about this stat: In Woad’s last three pro starts, her scoring average is 67.4. If she’s not the favorite at the Women’s Open next week, she’ll be right up there.

Zak: The LPGA could always benefit from an up-and-comer. Particularly one as certain-for-stardom as Lottie. She’s got a fun name, she just beat Nelly, she’ll be comfy on the links next week for the AIG Women’s Open. Could she somehow pull off the links double?

Berhow: She didn’t make a bogey on Saturday and made just one on Sunday. That’s the weekend recipe for winning big tournaments. But if you rewatch her press conferences from the week, none of this looked too big for her. She was ready for the moment, knew her game was good and trusted it. She’s going to be a problem for the U.S. Solheim Cup squad, that’s for sure.

The long-anticipated “Happy Gilmore 2” — which was loaded with pro golfer cameos — finally dropped on Netflix last week. Our Josh Berhow broke it down here, but what was your opinion on the sequel to the cult classic?

Zak: Haven’t seen it, but I’ll report what I’ve heard: mixed reviews! Many people close to the game wanted something just as classic as the original. They seemed disappointed. Many others didn’t care what they were receiving and simply loved seeing Scottie Scheffler in comedic form. They seemed content! Frankly, that feels a lot like how “Space Jam 2” felt just a few summers ago. These wacky sports movies hit harder in the 90s for a number of reasons. And that’s okay!

Berhow: I think I would have liked it more if it was a little more golfy and less like playing Golden Tee, but when you think of past Sander movies this kind of fits that script. “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” was bizarre and made little sense, and I loved it. Cool to see the sequel to this come to life but was always going to be hard to top the original.

Bastable: I, too, have not yet watched all of it (gasp!), but the bits I have seen reminded me of how much I miss Verne Lundquist. His “gangster sh*t, indeed” line was a highlight. I also can confirm the film hits with Gen Z; my 13-year-old son — who hadn’t watched the original Gilmore until last week — gave it two thumbs-up. (He said he particularly enjoyed the Gold Jacket dinner scene in which Jack Nicklaus orders an iced tea and lemonade, oblivious to the drink’s common name.) My kid also praised Scottie Scheffler’s acting chops. (Is there anything that guy can’t do?)