Should Keegan Bradley Have Named Himself a Playing Captain?

And Other Thoughts Regarding the Upcoming Ryder Cup

For weeks, golf media and fans speculated whether Keegan Bradley, the US Ryder Cup captain, would select himself to be a playing captain for the US team. His intensity on the course makes him a fan favorite for events like the Ryder Cup. Bradley played well down the stretch and likely would have been selected for the team had he not been the captain. He finished 11th in the points standings.

Being a playing captain isn’t unprecedented. There have been 23 times where there has been a Ryder Cup playing captain; however, the last one occurred in 1963 when Arnold Palmer played all six sessions. The US team cruised to a 23-9 victory that year.

1963 was also the first year the Ryder Cup went to a three-day format rather than a two-day 36-hole format. The two-day format lent itself better to having a playing captain.

But there are other reasons there has not been a playing captain since 1963.

The matches themselves are more intense and involved. The modern captain handles tasks such as team selection, pairings, uniform design and setting up the golf course. Additionally, there are meetings, functions and press responsibilities all taking a great deal of time. And all of this primarily takes place before even arriving at the course for the matches.

Once on site, the captain focuses on the players. How are they playing? How are they feeling? Are there any problems? What is the best line-up? Plus, more functions, dinners, player meetings and press duties. There isn’t enough time to accomplish all those tasks and physically and mentally prepare his own game.

One other consideration is who has been selected to be a Ryder Cup captain in the modern era. In some cases, the captains selected were past their prime playing days. In other cases, captains had won majors in the previous year. Palmer was the youngest captain in 1963 at the age of 34. Bradley is 39. The average age for the US captains is approximately 48 since 1963 with Jack Nicklaus the youngest at age 43 and Tom Watson the oldest at 65. In most cases, they were still young enough to have a relationship with the players they were leading.

Bradley ultimately continued the trend and opted to serve only as captain.

It was the right decision. The Ryder Cup has become a massive event. There is an intensity which rivals The Majors. Fans behave more like football fans (both American football and European football) cheering, jeering and yelling. The players fire back at the fans. Sometimes the players and caddies go at it (Rory McIlroy and Joe Lacava). In the middle of all this, the captain has to manage his players, the media and the fans. I don’t see how it would be possible in this era to manage all this and not only play but play well.

While Keegan Bradley was one of the best US players coming into the Ryder Cup, he made the right decision to not serve as a playing captain. The Ryder Cup has become too big and too important. It has become a massive event with winning paramount to both sides. Captains need to focus all their energies on being a captain.

Speed and weight training continued this week with no or minimal gains. I will keep you posted each week. One thing I want to emphasize as it happened this week, if you are speed training there will be days where the speed isn’t there despite your efforts. It happens. Don’t get discouraged. Keep going.

As always, be grateful when you play. Be thankful for the privilege and opportunity to play this amazing game. Now, go golf!