Golf Bradley: It was a really tough decision not to play in Ryder Cup

UNITED States captain Keegan Bradley admitted he was heartbroken after choosing not to play in next month's Ryder Cup.

- Jonathan VEAL

Bradley, who has been in excellent form on the PGA Tour, had considered giving himself a wild card into the 12-man team that takes on Europe at Bethpage Black in New York.

It would have seen him become the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.

However, he ultimately opted against the idea and chose Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns as his six players to join automatic qualifiers Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schautffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau.

The 39-year-old said: “The decision was made a while ago that I wasn’t playing. This was a really tough decision.

“I would say there was a point this year where I was playing and all these guys stepped up in a major way and played their way on to this team.