Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley is incredibly stressed while facing the 'biggest decision of my life'

Keegan Bradley plays his shot during the second round of the Tour Championship.

ATLANTA — Keegan Bradley shot the most challenging bogey-free 64 of his career on Friday in the second round of the Tour Championship.

But every round of late is a challenging one for the U.S. Ryder Cup captain.

“I’m having a very hard time separating right now my captaincy and my play,” said Bradley, who in a few days has to fill out the remaining spots on his 12-man team with six captain’s picks, one of which he may or may not use on himself. “For the past month it’s been like this, but this week I’m trying so hard. But that’s all I’m thinking about. Thinking about pairings, certain things I want to say to the guys during the week. It’s just difficult.”

It’s difficult, he said without flinching, because he faces “the biggest decision of my life.”

When Bradley, 39, accepted the captaincy last July, he was well aware that the scenario he currently faces was not just possible but likely. But now that he is just days away from having to decide whether or not to pick “Player X,” which is a reference to himself, the pressure is becoming unbearable.

“It’s just really strange for me to be the captain. It’s not something anyone’s really ever gone through,” said Bradley, who could be the first playing captain in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963. The difference, however, is that Palmer’s entire team was determined by a points system.

“I am looking at the board all day, not looking for me. I’m looking for where my guys are. It’s just really odd,” Bradley continued. “That’s a really strange feeling. It’s just sort of look at the [leaderboard], and I have no feeling of where I stand on the board, just seeing where our guys are, which is, that’s the opposite of what we do every week. I’m going to be really happy when this week is over. I’ve about had it with this whole thing [deciding captain’s picks], so I’m ready to figure out what we’re doing and get our team together.

Goodstorie

Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley is incredibly stressed while facing the ‘biggest decision of my life’

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