Keegan Bradley hints U.S. ’90 percent’ set with Ryder Cup pairing strategy

The familiar tune of the Ryder Cup is in the air at this week’s Procore Championship in Napa, Calif., where all but one member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team has descended for a rehearsal for The Big Dance at Bethpage.

But the big news to come out of the opening few days in wine country arrived from U.S. captain Keegan Bradley, who intimated on Wednesday afternoon that the team’s dance partners have largely been decided.

“We’re 90 percent I’d say,” Bradley said when asked about pairings for the Cup’s two alternate shot and two fourball sessions. “One of our goals was to have the guys prepared, ready to know who they’re playing with. Especially in alternate shot, I think that’s more important. I think best ball you can have a little more leeway there, but we’re pretty set here with what we’re going to do.”

Given Bradley’s admission, it’s possible that Wednesday’s practice round pairings at Napa provide a glimpse into some of the projected pairings. According to the PGA Tour, Scottie Scheffler played with J.J. Spaun and Russell Henley, Harris English played with Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns played with Patrick Cantlay, and Cam Young joined Ben Griffin and Justin Thomas. (Xander Schauffele, whose wife recently gave birth, and Bryson DeChambeau, whose LIV status leaves him ineligible to compete in the field, were the only players missing from the action.)

Bradley, the 39-year-old first-time captain, has earned no shortage of headlines since absorbing the lead job last spring. To date, though, his roster-building strategy has been largely applauded, including the decision to leave himself off the U.S. roster despite a banner 2025 season.

As the golf world’s attention shifts from Bradley’s roster candidacy to the 12 American golfers who will hit shots at Bethpage Black in two weeks, Bradley has earned more praise, inviting each of the team’s 12 players to Napa for a week of team-building activities. All but new-father Xander Schauffele accepted Bradley’s invitation to Napa — providing the U.S. side with a competitive refresher and some team bonding ahead of the Cup that several American vets recommended in 2023, when the U.S. team entered Rome following a lengthy competitive break and were run out of the proverbial gym by the Europeans.

“Yeah, I think the more times we’re together, the better,” Bradley said. “These guys know each other so well, but I think it’s really important for us to all be together with the caddies, with the group that’s going to be on the course at Bethpage. The more you’re together, the more the rookies are around Scottie and JT, Patrick, the guys that are veterans, the better, the more comfortable they feel. I think this setting is great because it’s outside the bubble of the Ryder Cup where the stress is high and we’re able to see the guys relax and talk to each other. I think it’s really important.”

Bradley, an outside-the-box choice for U.S. captain, adopted an outside-the-box approach in bringing the team to Napa with two weeks to go before the event. It would be less unorthodox for him to have his pairings decided well in advance of tournament week, a practice that has been encouraged by American captains dating back to Paul Azinger, whose “pod system” helped to revolutionize the U.S. Ryder Cup side.

Still, his work at Napa has given his U.S. side an extra glimpse into all aspects of the competitive process with the Ryder Cup just two weeks away. It’s early, but it’s clear Bradley has every intention of making sure he’s done his diligence by the time the music stops.

“I keep trying to remind myself … that I was chosen to do this job to do it maybe a little differently,” Bradley said. “Me being the captain isn’t really the status quo of what the U.S. side has done. I remind myself and the vice captains all the time that we were picked to do this job because we wanted a little shift in what we were doing.”