One of many main subplots of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, which begin this week in Memphis on the St. Jude Championship, is the ultimate push for Ryder Cup choices. Specifically, Keegan Bradley’s problem of constructing captain’s picks for america squad has gotten even more durable over the previous month.
He is fallen off a bit after his win on the Traveler’s, which thrust him into near-lock territory to grow to be the primary taking part in captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. In the meantime, younger guys like Chris Gotterup and Cameron Younger have picked up wins and surged into the dialog for a captain’s choose, whereas longtime Ryder Cup stalwarts like Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth are additional again in factors.
Spieth’s spent the season making an attempt to make up for misplaced time and spoke candidly in an interview with SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio on Wednesday about his pursuit of a captain’s choose — joking that he is been making an attempt to speak Bradley out of being a taking part in captain to open up one other spot.
“It was my loftiest purpose to start out the season,” Spieth mentioned. “I used to be coming in with virtually no carryover factors from [2024], which hurts and is uncommon for me for a Ryder Cup yr, after which clearly skipping the primary month of the season I believed, ‘Boy, this could be the tip purpose.’ And the concept that I’ve an opportunity for it is extremely cool. When you instructed me I’ve an opportunity for it in August, I would be enthusiastic about it.
“Having mentioned that, I am actually on the surface trying in proper now, and I acknowledge that. I hold making an attempt to persuade Keegan that it might be rather a lot for him to should play, too,” Spieth joked. “So he most likely ought to quit that choose, even when he is a prime 10 participant and a prime 7 participant on the earth. Simply looks as if means an excessive amount of to should do. So, making an attempt to open up all of the alternatives I can, however I also can go care for enterprise myself.
“However yeah, I imply, it might be unimaginable. I’ve performed in 5 of ’em,” Spieth continued. “They’re the best occasions you’ll be able to play in within the sport, and I would like to play in one other 5 if I can — or extra. And this one shall be particular being at Bethpage. I performed the PGA very well there and, clearly, your Lengthy Island crowd and tri-state space coming and representing your nation there could be the mecca of what you might do for a house recreation. However I do know I am on the surface trying in, the one means I can change that’s simply by specializing in setting a purpose for tomorrow’s spherical, keep on the primary tee and hit my line. It is a shot at a time, it is a spherical at a time … I am nonetheless counting on the captains and the assistants on pondering I would be an additive addition to the staff, in order that’s my purpose.”
All of Spieth’s targets for the season will come to a head in Memphis. He enters 48th in the FedEx Cup standings, and a robust week can lock him into the highest 50, which might put him within the BMW Championship and assure a spot in all eight signature occasion fields in 2026. Whereas a win would definitely thrust his title additional into the Ryder Cup dialog, if he can put collectively prime 10s in robust area occasions the following two weeks and present some robust type, that could be sufficient given his Ryder Cup expertise.
That mentioned, Spieth’s two most up-to-date appearances — each have been as captain’s picks after routinely qualifying for his first three — have not gone all that properly. He was 7-5-2 in his first three Ryder Cups, however has gone simply 1-4-3 in his final two appearances. Who is aware of precisely how he is seen within the U.S. captain’s room, however all he can do is play his finest golf for the following two weeks to attempt to make Bradley’s resolution even tougher.
Whereas he could be joking about making an attempt to persuade Bradley to not choose himself, the captain has some work to do himself on the course the following two weeks to assist silence critics. If he would not carry out properly in Memphis and Baltimore, it’s going to solely increase the extent of scrutiny he’ll obtain for selecting himself.