‘Going to risk what happened here’

Paul Azinger says he texted Keegan Bradley for “taking the high road.” He’d been impressed with how he handled not making the 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup team. He felt he was gracious. He told him he’d be a captain someday.  

But the move to have Bradley serve in that role two years after that moment? 

“The people that put him there,” Azinger said, “should know better.”

Talking on GOLF’s Subpar podcast hours after Europe defeated the Bradley-captained U.S. team 15-13 on Sunday in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, the 2008 American Ryder Cup captain said he was critical of the Bradley pick because of Bradley’s play. When Bradley made his captain’s picks at the end of August, he’d been 11th in the American team standings and 11th in the World Ranking, but he opted not to select himself and committed fully to the captaincy. 

But Azinger said that was a mistake, though not of Bradley’s doing. 

“I had no idea he’d be captain now,” Azinger said on Subpar. “And I’ve been critical of him being the captain. If you’re going to pick a guy in his prime, you’re going to risk what happened here this week.”

And that was the defeat, the ninth by the Americans in the past 12 Ryder Cups. So who should have been captain?

On Subpar, Azinger wondered why players beyond their prime weren’t picked. He named David Toms, Stewart Cink and Justin Leonard. But last July, Bradley instead was named to the spot, which he accepted. 

The question of whether he’d become a playing-captain then followed.

Said Subpar co-host Drew Stoltz: “Do you pick yourself, do you not? Or if he had played bad and was 38th in the rankings, no problem, you’re just the captain. But he had to go through all that over and over.”

Said Azinger: “All year long. And that was his focus. And I feel like you could almost say, well, he screwed up. He didn’t pick himself.” 

Said Stoltz: “That’s what I think. I mean, people will say that now. They’ll blame it on a lot of stuff.” 

Said Azinger: “He was just put in an unfortunate spot and the people that put him there should know better.” 

Editor’s note: To watch the entire interview with Azinger, click here or scroll below. 

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