In past editions of the Ryder Cup, the idea of squabbling over wildcard picks felt less important.<\/p>\n
US skippers had just two up to 2006 and there was usually broad agreement on who they should be.<\/p>\n
But this time, as in 2021 and 2023, half of Keegan Bradley\u2019s 12-man squad will be made up of wildcards.<\/p>\n
And with so many players making a legitimate case, the arguments on who should and shouldn\u2019t have been selected raged hard.<\/p>\n
Bradley announced his wildcards on Wednesday and chose the following half-dozen: Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns.<\/p>\n
But did he get it right?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very easy to say he didn\u2019t, especially when it came to one of the biggest stories of the year: would Bradley pick himself?<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t and that decision and others could come back to bite him.<\/p>\n
Here, we present the case for three changes\u2026<\/p>\n
OUT: Sam Burns<\/p>\n
Okay, it was on foreign soil but Sam Burns managed just a single point from three matches when making his Ryder Cup debut in Rome in 2023.<\/p>\n
And it must surely be a concern that he wilted in the final round of this year\u2019s US Open when leading after 54 holes.<\/p>\n
When the pressure was at its greatest \u2013 as it will be in the Ryder Cup \u2013 Burns crumbled, a final-round 78 dropping him to tied seventh at Oakmont. That US Open collapse doesn\u2019t bode well.<\/p>\n
IN: Keegan Bradley<\/p>\n
Bradley finished 11th in the Ryder Cup standings, five places above wildcard pick, Burns, in 16th. That\u2019s reason enough to pick himself; his play deserved it.<\/p>\n
Okay, it would have been quite a juggling act to both play and skipper the team but Bradley has enough depth in the squad to have limited himself to three matches.<\/p>\n
That would mean he sat out one session each day on Friday and Saturday before having plenty of time on Saturday night to work on the singles order.<\/p>\n
A captain can\u2019t be in four places at once anyway; that\u2019s what vice-captains are for. So when he was playing in either the four fourballs\/foursomes, Bradley could have focused on his match and allowed his five (FIVE!) vice-captains \u2013 Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker and Gary Woodland \u2013 to be his eyes and ears in the other three games.<\/p>\n
Bradley was the joint-top points scorer for the USA in the only home Ryder Cup he played (2012). He was superb that week, winning three games out of four and emerging as a crowd favourite. As a player, he\u2019ll be missed this time.<\/p>\n
OUT: Patrick Cantlay<\/p>\n
Captains want energy and personality in the Ryder Cup. Someone who can make a difference in the dressing room to help pick the side up. Think what Ian Poulter did for Team Europe.<\/p>\n
Patrick Cantlay is not that man.<\/p>\n
The reserved Californian has shown some steel before in Ryder Cups but his slow play remains maddening \u2013 could even the home (but raucous) New York fans turn on him? \u201cGet on with it Cantlay!\u201d \u2013 if things aren\u2019t going well?<\/p>\n
Despite playing well in the Tour Championship, he\u2019s had a fairly unremarkable season, hence his place of 15th in the final Ryder Cup standings. Arguably, there were better options elsewhere.<\/p>\n