There are a lot of big decisions awaiting Keegan Bradley as we head towards the Ryder Cup – and one huge one will be whether to pick Jordan Spieth or not.
He’s played OK in the Majors and is 28th in Data Golf’s rankings, but down in 26th in the Ryder Cup standings he won’t qualify for the team by right unless something crazy happens in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
And if the 31-year-old stays way down the qualification standings, the problem Bradley has is justifying picking him for Bethpage Black in September over all those above him.
In his favor is his experience and his box office ability that would thrill the New York crowd, and with a few other big names not in the best of form he could provide a much-needed spark.
However, Spieth’s game is volatile so it makes him the ultimate boom or bust pick for Bradley – with opinion across America divided on his inclusion.
Why Jordan Spieth should make the Ryder Cup team
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In short – experience, ability and partnerships. Spieth has a wonderful natural talent, one that means he can win any hole from any position almost in the Seve Ballesteros mold.
The downside to that is that he puts himself in those positions in the first place, but we’re not talking 72 holes of strokeplay here we’re talking 18 hole matchplay sprints.
You can picture Spieth now in among the USA fans at Bethpage playing a box office recovery shot around a tree, chipping in from a horror lie off the green or canning a 40-foot putt to pinch a hole from stunned Europeans.
And depending on how qualification goes his experience could be much needed as the likes of Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka, Wyndham Clark and Rickie Fowler have hardly been in the best of form.
Justin Thomas is close to qualifying and their partnership may force Bradley to select Spieth to play with his old buddy at Bethpage in the hope they can dig out the best in each other.
Would it be a risk? Yes, but the rewards may just make it worth it.
Why Jordan Spieth shouldn’t make the Ryder Cup team
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Spieth has had fantastic partnerships with Thomas and Patrick Reed (before their falling out) and has 10.5 Ryder Cup points to his name, but if you drill down into it his recent record is just not that good.
Spieth went a winless…
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