Skipper's calculated call takes pressure off himself and USA

OUTSIDER BRADLEY IS PLAYING IT SAFE

- By Neil McLeman

IN the end, the risk of picking himself to be the first playing Ryder Cup skipper since Arnold Palmer in 1963 was greater than any potential reward.

Keegan Bradley’s calculated decision not to tee up at Bethpage Black brings an end to the chaos and controversy surrounding the American captaincy, at least for now.

Until the arrival of LIV Golf, Phil Mickelson and Ian Poulter were slated to be the two firebrand skippers on Long Island.

Then the PGA of America unsuccessfully tried to convince 15-time Major winner Tiger Woods to take the job on home soil.

So the USA, who set up a task force after the 2014 Gleneagles defeat to seek continuity, went for the left-field pick of Bradley.

The 2011 US PGA champion is only 39 — and his omission from Zach Johnson’s Rome team in 2023 was captured in the Netflix Full Swing series.

New Englander Bradley, who was on the losing side in his two Ryder Cup appearances in 2012 and 2014, was the outsider to bring fresh thinking to an American team that has won only three out of 11 contests this century. Things got complicated in June when Bradley beat Tommy Fleetwood to win the Travelers Championship.