Keegan Bradley After Ryder Cup Snub: ‘Moving Forward, I’m Going to Have to Automatically Qualify’

Keegan Bradley had a bounce-back year on the PGA Tour, snapping a five-season win drought and winning two events in the same PGA Tour campaign for the first time in over a decade.

Yet it wasn’t enough to earn one of Zach Johnson’s six captain’s picks for the U.S. Ryder Cup team that will compete against Team Europe next month in Italy.

Selected instead of Bradley were: Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Sam Burns, and Justin Thomas.

Bradley spoke to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, and while he was complimentary of Johnson and said he will be rooting for the U.S. team, he felt like he has to leave it out of the captain’s hands next time.

“I’m super bummed out. I thought I put together a really good year with two wins, including in Hartford over an elite field. I’m proud of what I’ve done,” the 37-year-old said.

“I’ve always been an outsider in the sport, but I have tried to get close to the guys I thought would be on the team. I feel like moving forward, I’m going to have to automatically qualify for the Ryder Cup.”

Keegan Bradley on missing the Ryder Cup:

“I’ve always been an outsider in the sport but I have tried to get closer to the guys I thought would be on the team. I feel like moving forward I’m going to have to automatically qualify for the Ryder Cup.”

His statement couldn’t be… pic.twitter.com/Kr6wF5scJb

— Tour Pro 🏌️‍♂️ (@OfficialTourPro) August 29, 2023

Bradley won the Zozo Championship in Japan last fall, dominated the Travelers Championship (a Designated Event), and finished ninth at the Tour Championship last week. Bradley was also runner-up at Torrey Pines but struggled earlier in the summer, missing the cut at the U.S. Open and The Open Championship.

Compare that resume to those who were selected:

• Koepka won the PGA Championship and a LIV Golf tournament but only earned Ryder Cup points in the four majors since LIV isn’t a part of the qualifying process.
• Burns won the WGC-Match Play event and finished tied for ninth at the Tour Championship.
• Fowler had a resurgence this year, winning once and finishing 16^th last week.
• Morikawa didn’t win this year but finished sixth at East Lake.
• Spieth didn’t win and was 27^th out of 30 at the Tour Championship.
• Thomas hasn’t won since the 2022 PGA Championship and missed the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time in his career.

“We know we got each other’s back.”@eamonlynch asks Zach Johnson how factors like team cohesion have played a role in his @RyderCupUSA roster selection. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/PQkL1WOUDA

— Golf Today (@GCGolfToday) August 29, 2023

Koepka, Burns, and Fowler have strong cases. The other three are shaky. Morikawa hasn’t won since before the last Ryder Cup (2021 Open Championship). Spieth had a nice run of four top-five finishes in six events in March and April, including a playoff loss to Matt Fitzpatrick at the RBC Heritage, but he had just three other top-10s all season.

Thomas’ struggles have been well-documented. He racked up just three top-10 finishes in 20 starts in the 2022-23 season. After missing the cut at The Open Championship, Thomas entered the 3M Open and Wyndham Championship to try and earn enough points to make the playoffs, but after an MC and a 12^th in those two events, he fell one spot short of reaching the playoffs. Thomas, however, has a 6-2-1 Ryder Cup record in two appearances.

Here’s just one example of how much energy Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas bring in the Ryder Cup.

Rome isn’t ready for these two. pic.twitter.com/qk7H0pDyj1

— Jacob Rhymer (@Rhymetime05) August 29, 2023

The captain’s picks will join the six automatic qualifiers: Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Max Homa, and Patrick Cantlay.

Image Credit to Golf Monthly