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TSN Senior Reporter

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In the end, Keegan Bradley felt he could do better at one job than two.

On Wednesday, the captain of the American side in the upcoming Ryder Cup revealed the final six members of the team and he wisely decided not to choose himself. After a solid season that saw him win once and add another five top 10s, Bradley had been in the running to be a playing captain.

In the end he elected to stick with just the captain’s role.

“The decision was made a while ago that I wasn’t playing,” Bradley said at a press conference at PGA of America headquarters in Frisco, Texas. “There was a point this season that I was playing, but all of these guys stepped up in a major way and played their way onto this team.”

The six golfers selected were Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Cam Young, Ben Griffin, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay. They join six players who automatically qualified for the team: Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele, J.J. Spaun, Harris English and Russell Henley.

"I felt really comfortable with the guys,” said Bradley, who is ranked 11th in the world. “Extremely comfortable and I feel like I could best serve the team this way. I don't care if I play, don't play, as long as we win on Sunday. That's the only thing I care about."

Serving as captain is a huge job. It entails everything from choosing the U.S. uniforms to assigning the pairings for the four team sessions. Trying to both play and captain would be stretching his duties and the energy too far.

It would also leave Bradley open to massive criticism should the U.S. team lose. The Americans have had a bumpy road of late, winning just three times in the past 11 Ryder Cup events.

The last playing captain was Arnold Palmer back in 1963.

The 39-year-old Bradley has had an up-and-down run with the Ryder Cup. He played in the event in 2012 and 2014, both won by Europe. Despite playing solid golf, he was surprisingly left off the last team in 2023 when captain Zach Johnson elected to add an ice-cold Justin Thomas instead. Then, a year later, the PGA of America surprised many by naming Bradley as captain.

“It broke my heart not to play,” said Bradley of the 2023 snub. “You work forever to make these teams. I was chosen to be the captain of this team, and my goal is to be the best captain I could be, and this is the best way I thought I could do this.”

The last six picks were not without some raised eyebrows. Morikawa has had just a single top-10 finish since March and sits 141st in Strokes Gained: Putting, a highly valued asset in the match play format that is used in the event.

Cantlay has had five top 10s this year, including two in the last three events of the season. He was a controversial figure in the last Ryder Cup, choosing not to wear a hat due to what was reported to be a dispute over not being paid enough, and getting into a heated disagreement with Rory McIlroy in a match.

Two of the six U.S. picks are first-timers at the event: Griffin, who won twice this season and added another eight top 10s; and Young, who played in the Presidents Cup in 2022. He notched his first PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship and followed it up with a fifth, an 11th, and a tie for fourth in the three playoff events.

Among those left off the team were Maverick McNealy and Brian Harman, both of whom were inside the top 12 on the team rankings after impressive seasons.

With his team decided, Bradley must turn his attention to trying to knock off a powerhouse European side led by Luke Donald who guided his side to victory two years ago in Rome.

Donald’s squad includes a number of golfers who have been hot over the past few months including Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Robert McIntyre and Tommy Fleetwood. The last six members of the European team will be named on Monday.