ATLANTA – Keegan Bradley was abundantly clear that this week’s PGA Tour finale is not some sort of final qualifying event for this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Qualifying for the Ryder Cup is a two-year process that concluded last week for the top 6 on the points list who automatically locked up their spot at Bethpage Black. Next Wednesday, Bradley will name his six captain’s picks based on that 24-month cycle — not just a good week at East Lake.
It is a rational take, but one that is nearly impossible to embrace if you are among the dozen or so players who are hoping for a call from Captain Keegan in a few days.
Whether Bradley will allow for recency bias really doesn’t matter. What matters is what players think, and for the likes of Collin Morikawa, his opening 64 at the Tour Championship may not help his Ryder Cup hopes but it certainly won’t hurt.
“You’re never comfortable. I don’t think you’re ever comfortable until you get that call and you’re on the team,” conceded Morikawa, who finished eighth on the points list and is seen by many as an obvious pick. “Look, I hope I’ve done enough. We’ll have to wait and see. But I think, yeah, my focus right now is to try and go out and win this golf tournament. I think if I do that, then hopefully that’s enough, and we’ll see how everything plays out.”
Justin Thomas is in a similar situation at seventh on the points list and he matched Morikawa’s 64 on Day 1. As he learned two years ago, it’s best if he focuses on what he can control, not the uncertainties of others.
“I feel like I learned a lot from two years ago, the amount of pressure I put on myself for that, and I was playing golf tournaments to try to qualify for a team and get points as opposed to just trying to go win the golf tournament,” said Thomas, who is tied for third at East Lake and three shots off the lead. “I feel like I did a great job with that last year with the Presidents Cup. I wasn’t overthinking it. I wasn’t out here on Sunday with putts on 17 and 18 thinking about points like I was in ’23.”
Of course, if Bradley is looking for some sort of form to influence his selections, the captain did not help his own case for a pick. After birdies on three of his first five holes Thursday, Bradley — who finished 11th on the points list — played his last five holes in 3 over par for an even-par 70 that left him tied for 23rd in the field of 30 players.
Maverick McNealy, at 10th on the points list, also struggled in Round 1 and was 29th at 1 over, while Brian Harman (No. 12 in points), Cameron Young (No. 14) and Sam Burns (No. 16) were tied for 12th after first-round 67s.
Ben Griffin, No. 9 in points, bogeyed the last hole for a 66 and was tied for eighth. Andrew Novak, who teamed with Griffin earlier this year in New Orleans to win the Zurich Classic and is 13th in points, was at even par.
