Outside the (Tee)box

Keegan Bradley has announced his captain picks for the Ryder Cup, thus ending the self-selection debate.

The US Ryder Cup captain ultimately followed through with his early promise, where he stated he would only feature as a playing captain via automatic qualification.

Due to the patchy form of players from the 2023 team, Bradley has been forced to shake things up, with Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman and Max Homa as well as Ryder Cup veterans, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler falling by the wayside.

J.J. Spaun, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young and Russell Henley will all tee it up in a Ryder Cup for the first time at Bethpage Black.

When picturing these names in singles match-ups there’s a pre-emptive eagerness to highlight the fixtures in blue, but that would be hasty.

All these rookies have maintained consistent form over the season, bar Young whose game began trending towards the back end.

Meanwhile, experienced Ryder Cup players, such as Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, have had streaky seasons.

Thomas’ victory at the Heritage is this group’s only 2025 win, while the four rookies have five between them.

The US team may appear weak at a glance, but Bradley’s picks all provide differing assets to strike a strong balance for Bethpage.

Six players including three of the rookies, feature in the top ten on tour for total strokes gained, while the addition of Young, alongside Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele provide the much needed distance to attack Bethpage.

Then you add Sam Burns who statistically has been the best putter on tour, and the team already looks extremely balanced, before even mentioning the inevitability of world number one, Scottie Scheffler.

While the last US Ryder Cup team hung onto the legacy of the generation before, this one looks forward, presenting a stern opposition of players who rather than being complacent will be keen to impress.

Team Europe looks as ready as ever to deliver a victory on away soil, with form on their side and a strong bond within a group that will be very similar to the 2023 side.

However, victory won’t be yielded by weak opposition, and the rookies present an unknown that creates uncertainty rather than confidence.