CHARLOTTE, N.C. — U.S. Ryder Cup team captain Keegan Bradley said he’s trying to put the best roster together to take on the European squad later this summer, and he doesn’t care whether golfers are competing on the PGA Tour or LIV Golf League.
Last week, Bradley and his vice captains hosted a team dinner in Philadelphia, the site of the Truist Championship. Invitations were sent to the top 20 golfers in the Ryder Cup points standings and players who competed on the 2023 Ryder Cup and 2024 Presidents Cup teams.
That list included LIV Golf League captains Bryson DeChambeau, the reigning U.S. Open winner, and five-time major champion Brooks Koepka.
“We invited Brooks and Bryson, and they were in there on points, and they played on previous teams,” Bradley said Tuesday at a news conference at Quail Hollow Club, which will host this week’s PGA Championship.
“It was great to have them there. This Ryder Cup and what comes with this, no one cares about what’s going on in this side PGA Tour-LIV [dispute]. We’re trying to put the best team together.”
The U.S. team will host the Europeans at Bethpage Black State Park in Farmingdale, New York, on Sept. 26-28.
The top six golfers in the Ryder Cup standings after the BMW Championship on Aug. 17 will automatically qualify for the team. Bradley will make six captain’s choices too.
Scottie Scheffler is currently first in points, followed by Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, DeChambeau and Russell Henley.
LIV Golf’s Patrick Reed is 25th in points, and Kopeka is 91st. Players aren’t receiving Ryder Cup points for their finishes in LIV Golf events.
Koepka was the only player from LIV Golf who competed on the U.S. team that lost to the Europeans 16 1/2-11 1/2 in Rome in 2023.
“It could mean there’s one LIV guy, two LIV guys, it doesn’t matter,” Bradley said. “We’ll see how this year shakes out. It was really great to have them together with all the guys. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to do that.”
Also on Tuesday, LIV Golf captain Jon Rahm wouldn’t say whether European team captain Luke Donald has guaranteed him one of his six captain’s picks. Rahm competed on the past three European squads and has a 6-3-3 record in the event.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy leads the European team points standings, followed by Shane Lowry, Rasmus Højgaard, Tyrrell Hatton, Sepp Straka and Justin Rose. The top six after the British Masters on Aug. 24 will automatically make the team.
Rahm is currently 29th in points.
“That’s a question for Luke,” Rahm said. “It’s his team. Hopefully, I can qualify, and we don’t have to question it. I would like to think that personally I am, but it’s not up to me.”
Source: espn.com