Team USA star JJ Spaun has thrown his support behind captain Keegan Bradley to lead the side again at the Ryder Cup, despite their narrow loss to Team Europe at Bethpage Black. Europe’s skipper Luke Donald masterminded a 15-13 triumph on American soil in September, marking his second successive victory in charge.
Bradley, ranked 14th in the world, took on the captaincy role for this year’s tournament but opted against picking himself amongst the dozen competing players. Spaun earned his spot through the points qualification system, claiming two points from three matches for the Americans.
The defeat has left Bradley reeling, with the captain recently confessing how tough it felt to be on the receiving end of a loss for Team USA, reports The Mirror.
“There’s no part of me that thinks I’ll ever get over this,” Bradley recently admitted. “Since the Ryder Cup to now has been one of the toughest times in my life.”
Spaun has now addressed whether Bradley should return as Team USA captain, whilst disclosing how the skipper nearly selected himself as a player.
“He [Bradley] was put in a tough spot,” Spaun revealed on the Straight Facts Homie! podcast with host Trey Wingo. “The whole team really believed he should have been on the team. And we tried to almost talk him into it.”
“It got down to really close to before he had to make picks,” Spaun continued, discussing Bradley’s selection dilemma.
“He thought about it that long to where he had to finalise the lineup. We all said, ‘If you weren’t the captain and you’re sitting here No10 in the world, is that captain going to take you?’ Of course, 100% of the time.
“I think [Bradley] deserves another chance,” Spaun concluded. “I think it would be the ultimate redemption if he played his way on [to the 2027 US Ryder Cup team], played and then maybe two years later, he captained and won. That would be the ultimate comeback.”
Spaun’s assessment follows suggestions that Tiger Woods could become the next United States captain for the 2027 Ryder Cup. With the tournament set to take place at Adare Manor, Woods has emerged as the bookmakers’ leading candidate.
“Speculation for who will captain the USA Ryder Cup team in 2027 has turned up a notch following Keegan Bradley’s recent comments, stating he may never get over the host’s defeat at Bethpage in September,” Lee Phelps, a William Hill spokesperson, recently said.
“As a result, we’ve pushed Bradley’s odds of being the USA captain out to 5/1, leaving Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk as joint favourites (7/2) to lead their side across the pond to Adare Manor in just under two years’ time.
“The trio of Brandt Snedeker, 2021 captain Steve Stricker and Webb Simpson are 4/1 to assume the position as Bradley’s successor, while Kevin Kisner and Gary Woodland are 5/1 and 6/1 respectively.
“Davis Love III is further out at 12s, followed by 2023 Ryder Cup captain, Zach Johnson, at 16/1. Corey Pavin rounds out the current candidates at 20/1.”
