Bryson DeChambeau has a Ryder Cup dilemma – and it’s left Keegan Bradley seething with the PGA Tour
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As if Team USA captain doesn’t have enough to think about ahead of the Bethpage showdown. Now he has a Bryson DeChambeau-sized headache…
Bryson DeChambeau will be the odd man out as Keegan Bradley looks to get his team in the best possible shape ahead of the Ryder Cup.
The qualification process to qualify for the US side ends on Sunday at the conclusion of the BMW Championship, with Bradley announcing his captain’s picks 10 days later.
And with Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed among the big names set to miss out, it looks like DeChambeau will be the only LIV Golf player representing the red, white and blue at Bethpage in September.
The two-time US Open champ is currently 5th in the standings – and while it is unlikely he will drop out of the top six, he has already been guaranteed a spot by Bradley.
“Bryson is going to be a very important piece to us winning the Ryder Cup,” Bradley said following The Open at Royal Portrush. “He brings so much. He brings energy, passion, but most importantly, he’s one of the best players on the planet.”
DeChambeau responded by saying he hopes he “can bring a tsunami of a crowd that’s going to be rooting for Team USA” before adding: “This year’s no joke. We’re tired of losing.”
But DeChambeau’s role in the team brings its own added issues.
Zach Johnson’s team was widely criticized at the last Ryder Cup for not teeing up in the month between the season-ending Tour Championship and the matches in Rome.
Scottie Scheffler even admitted as much.
“I think when you look at the last Ryder Cup, I think that was maybe a bit too much time off for us,” he said ahead of this week’s BMW Championship. “It’s one of those deals, it’s tough. When you get to the end of the PGA Tour season, you’re a little bit tired. When it came to the end of the season, I was pretty worn out. It took a lot out of me. It was important for me to rest.
“Now, with the way the schedule is, there’s four weeks after the Tour Championship before the Ryder Cup, and that’s plenty of time to get rest while still staying competitive. It’s important for me to get out and get some competitive reps before the Ryder Cup. I felt like last time was maybe a bit too much time off.”
Indeed, Bradley will want to make sure his players are prepared in the best possible way by asking them to play in the Procore Championship at Silverado in Napa, California, in the middle of September.
The problem? As a player contracted to LIV Golf, DeChambeau is unable to play in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.
And while DeChambeau’s agent, Brett Falkoff, told Sports Illustrated that he has “not formally inquired” about a special permission to play, he added that the player “plans to participate in every team gathering that he is permitted to attend”.
The ruling, it seems, has left Bradley quietly seething.
“He’s suspended, and that’s out of my control,” the 39-year-old said. “I thought that the Ryder Cup transcends all of this. And really, the last thing on my mind is the PGA Tour-LIV stuff.”
DeChambeau could, of course, play on the DP World Tour to get some competitive action in – with the BMW PGA Championship, along with many of the European team, a possibility.
It’s not Bradley’s only headache ahead of the Ryder Cup. The New Englander believes he is playing the best golf of his career – and that means the possibility of being the first playing captain for 60 years.
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Bryson DeChambeau will not be allowed to tee up on the PGA Tour with his Ryder Cup teammates.
