Keegan Bradley had quite the roller coaster round during Saturday’s third round of the Tour Championship at East Lake. He continued to wow the field by shooting an incredible 7-under par 63. This amazing round highlighted the depth of his immense talent. It helped lock him into eighth for a shot at the FedEx Cup, sitting in fourth overall at 13 under, three shots back of co-leaders Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood. Now with only one round of major play remaining, Bradley’s moves toward the final selection of the next Ryder Cup team have grown even more tangled.
Bradley leads the 30-man field with an outstanding strokes gained: approach statistic of 5.88, highlighting his precision on approach shots. On top of that, he sits in 5th in putting at 3.05, showing his overall prowess on the greens. He closed out with a bang on the last three holes at East Lake. This incredible exhibition certainly raised his swagger as he tries to earn a berth on the U.S. squad for next month’s Ryder Cup.
With the Ryder Cup on the horizon, Bradley is at a crossroads in his career. That’s right, he hasn’t won a tour event in more than three years. This year has been especially brutal on him, missing the cut in 3 of the 4 major championships. His top finish so far was a T36 at the Masters. Even with these challenges, Bradley’s recent arc of play has definitely sparked a buzz. Legacy aside, he may well have a personal stake in earning his Ryder Cup berth as a playing captain.
As Bradley recently articulated, it can be an intimidating and overwhelming endeavor to recruit the right team. He said, “It’s a really strange thing to kind of ponder making the picks and then thinking about picking yourself.” Since Arnold Palmer masterminded the Americans’ comprehensive 23-9 home victory at East Lake in 1963, no one has had the dual-role control of player and captain. This rare and specialized position still sits vacant.
Bradley looks at the emotional burden of this decision with concern. His trip to East Lake’s clubhouse, where he viewed Arnold Palmer’s Ryder Cup memorabilia, deepened those emotions as he signed in for the championship. He reflected on this connection to Palmer, stating, “If I had one thing I wish I could call Arnold and talk to him because I think he’d have some great advice for me.”
Beyond his play at East Lake, Bradley’s been winning on the people’s stage, entertaining the fans and fellow amateurs, and showcasing one of golf’s most welcoming personalities. He was distributing free Ryder Cup tickets at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York. The upcoming U.S. versus Europe Ryder Cup matches, scheduled to be held there, have already drawn widespread boycott calls. This ability to relate any given moment back to the event highlights his dedication and excitement to compete and represent his country.
Now, as Bradley heads into that climactic final round, he knows just how high the stakes are stacked against him. He stated, “We’re going to do the best we can to make the right decision, and it’s going to be controversial to certain people either way. I’m prepared for that. I am confident whichever decision I make, it’s for the betterment of the team, and we’ll see.”
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