Keegan Bradley and Justin Thomas shake hands following their match at the 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play | Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR
Keegan Bradley opened up about the 2023 Ryder Cup, and dropped a surprising take about Justin Thomas’ place on the team.
Keegan Bradley will not represent the United States at the Ryder Cup, despite his overwhelming sense of patriotism and passion for the competition.
Instead, U.S. Captain Zach Johnson selected Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, and Collin Morikawa to don the stars and stripes in Rome.
Bradley felt heartbroken over the decision, but he made a surprising revelation related to Thomas— a controversial pick due to his poor play in 2023.
“If I was the captain, I would have picked [Thomas] as well,” Bradley admitted while appearing on Fore Play, the Barstool Sports golf podcast. “He’s one of the best players in the last decade, and he has something other players do not.”
Thomas, who won the 2017 and 2022 PGA Championships, has a remarkable match play record.
Getty Images
Justin Thomas at the 2018 Ryder Cup.
At the Ryder Cup, Thomas boasts a record of 6-2-1, which includes a 4-1-0 record at the 2018 edition—the last time the competition was held on European soil.
The Americans got trounced that year in France, as Team Europe won 17.5-to-10.5. The competition was not as close as the score indicated.
Yet, the lone bright spot was Thomas, who handled the extra pressure of playing in Europe with ease. He even defeated Rory McIlroy in the opening singles match in 2018.
Of course, in Rome, the Americans are looking to snap a 30-year drought of winning the Ryder Cup in Europe.
Thomas will try to help Team USA break this streak; unfortunately for Bradley, he will not.
Nevertheless, Bradley agrees that Thomas deserves a spot on the team. Considering the 37-year-old previously stated his belief that he had done enough to make the team, one is left wondering if not Thomas; who does he believe he deserved the spot over?
Do you think Bradley deserved a spot over any of the other captain’s picks? Let us know in the comments below.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
