KEEGAN Bradley is wrestling with a big problem in the build-up to the Ryder Cup – The DeChambeau Dilemma.
In fact it is a case of two headaches in one for the USA captain.
Team USA are struggling to pair up Bryson DeChambeau[/caption]
Rookie Ben Griffin could be the perfect match – as he’s another big character[/caption]
DeChambeau is set to face off with his long-time rival Rory McIlroy[/caption]
Mad scientist DeChambeau is not only extremely rusty, he also remains highly unpopular among his team-mates.
And that could force Bradley to pair him up with rookie Ben Griffin, whose brash and big-headed manner means no-one in the team room likes him either!
DeChambeau, 32, is a bigger concern, as he will not have played competitive golf for almost five weeks when the Ryder Cup gets under way on Friday.
The LIV rebel’s last taste of tournament action came in the breakaway circuit’s season-ending Team Championship, which finished on August 24.
A USA insider has revealed that Bradley has tried to get the PGA Tour to lift their ban on LIV stars FOUR times in an attempt to ensure DeChambeau is ‘match fit’.
But he was knocked back on every occasion, most recently at the Procore Championship a couple of weeks ago, when ten members of the USA line-up were in action.
Xander Schauffele dropped out, as he had just become a dad.
DeChambeau was at that tournament – on the other side of the country, in Napa, California – hoping to catch a last minute break.
The Ryder Cup team is picked by the PGA of America, and their appeals to the hard-line Tour bosses fell on deaf ears.
Europe’s LIV stars, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, were both able to play in the final warm-up event, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, as their appeals against bans handed out by the DP World Tour are still pending.
Most pundits think that court action has been deliberately delayed to allow European captain Luke Donald to send out his 12 best players.
DeChambeau qualified automatically for the USA team, thanks to his performances in the Majors over the past two years.
He won his second US Open title last year, finished runner-up at the last two USPGA Championships, and has added a couple of top six finishes at the Masters, and a top ten at this year’s Open.
That has allowed him to remain LIV’s highest ranked golfer, at 21st on the world list.
But the fact that his only win on this year’s LIV schedule came back in May – and he failed to make the top ten in his last four starts – will add to Bradley’s concerns about his current form.
How to watch the 2025 Ryder Cup
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THE 45th Ryder Cup takes place from September 26-28 with the US team desperate to wrestle back the crown from Europe.
Scottie Scheffler and the American side will battle Rory McIlroy’s European team in New York.
The infamous Bethpage Black course will be the venue for the latest edition of the pulsating golf tournament.
NBC will broadcast the competition in it’s entirety in the United States.
Friday’s foursomes and fourballs will be live on USA Network from 7 am ET to 6 pm ET.
Saturday’s action will take place during the same hours live on NBC.
And Sunday’s singles will also be on NBC from 12 pm ET to 6 pm ET.
Fans can sign up to Fubo TV by CLICKING HERE and watch the Ryder Cup through NBC’s channels.
The USA insider commented: “It is a big worry, because we saw when we got beaten in Rome two years ago how badly under-cooked most of our guys were, after going a month without any competitive golf.
“Getting them to play the Procore a couple of weeks ago – which wouldn’t normally be on most of their schedules – was designed to prevent that happening again.
“Bryson was there and attended the team dinner at the start of the week. But when we asked for the ban on LIV guys to be lifted temporarily so he could play, we were told no chance.
“Bryson was making a big effort to bond with the guys in Napa. But there is still a fair bit of resentment over the way he jumped ship from the PGA Tour when he was tempted with a $100million deal, or whatever the sum was.
“And he also has a way of needling people, without trying. The same thing applies to Ben Griffin, who seems to be a bit full of himself for a rookie.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Bryson-Ben pairing in the fourballs, just to keep them away from the other guys!”
