Solheim Cup captains weigh in on Keegan Bradley's big decision for Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley will announce his picks live on Golf Channel on Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET. Two-time Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis says Bradley shouldn’t try to be a playing captain.
“He should do one or the other,” Lewis told Golfweek. “He should play and appoint someone else to be captain and fully turn over the duties, or he should not play and be captain.”
Captain’s picks are always a hot topic at team events, but 39-year-old Bradley’s dilemma is a different kind of drama, given how well he’s playing.
“He’s really in a lose-lose situation,” said Lewis. “He’s playing well enough that he probably should be there. But if he picks himself, now he’s got to go prove himself on both ends of the spectrum of how to be a good captain and how to play well.”
U.S. Solheim Cup captain Angela Stanford retired from the LPGA after last season and is onsite at this week’s FM Championship with her three assistant captains to spend time with potential members of the 2026 team. Bradley’s quandary isn’t one that she’ll face, but she’s given it some thought.
“I just think there is so much that we don’t know,” said Stanford. “Like perfect example, he played the course a ton in college. Does he feel like he can use that knowledge the best playing, or does he feel like he can use that knowledge best as a captain?
“Pairings. Who does he think – if there is a spot that somebody can’t be paired that maybe Keegan can be paired with them, does he pick himself for that? There are so many things behind the scenes that we don’t know. If you’re just looking at it he’s obviously one of the best — if you’re going to pick six, he’s one of the six.
“I keep going back to, ‘Are you going prepare as a player or as a captain?'”
Lewis left the door open to be a playing captain in 2023. She had a plan in place in case she automatically qualified. In the end, captainship duties took a toll on her personal game. But once she actually got to Spain and went through a Solheim Cup in that role, she decided that doing both wasn’t an option.
“There’s just too many things going through your head and things you have organized for the team – what’s happening at dinner? What you’re going to say at dinner,” said Lewis. “There’s just so many things you’re thinking about throughout the day that I think it would be really hard to do that and play golf.
“After doing it in Spain, I would’ve said no way for D.C. Most mornings I was the first one up and the last one to bed. It could be different on the guys side. They have more people helping obviously than we have. I just think as captain, you’re the one making the decisions; you’re the one making the speeches. You’ve come up with this plan for the week. You planned every hour pretty much of every day out, and you know what’s going to happen there. You’re always thinking about what’s next, what’s next, what’s next. The actual playing of golf was the last thing on my mind.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Solheim Cup captains weigh in on Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup quandary
