'It's going to be controversial' - Bradley to name US Ryder Cup picks

"Ridiculous" and "controversial" are two of the words Keegan Bradley is using to describe his predicament while he considers whether to pick himself for the US Ryder Cup team.

There was always a good chance the 39-year-old would find himself in this deeply uncomfortable situation. He narrowly missed selection for the last Ryder Cup and, by common consent, is currently one of the top dozen American golfers.

Bradley's appointment as captain came from left field. He is far from done as a player and he has only played two Ryder Cups, both defeats in 2012 at Medinah and two years later at Gleneagles.

His kit bag from his 2012 debut remains unopened. He does not want to see those uniforms again until he has featured on a winning team.

Passion for the American cause runs through his DNA, but the question of whether his captaincy offers the US its best chance of winning back the trophy lost to Europe in Rome two years ago remains open to question.

Bradley knows his six automatic qualifiers and given his playing performances, including June's victory over Tommy Fleetwood at the Travelers Championship, he is firmly in the conversation for one of the six wildcard picks.

He will announce those at 16:00 BST on Wednesday, 27 August, a month out from the 45th staging of the biennial contest against Europe, whose captain Luke Donald will name his picks on 1 September.

Bradley would have been under consideration whoever was in charge, having finished 11th in the qualifying table.

But he is the captain. And there has not been a playing skipper since Arnold Palmer 62 years ago, when the Ryder Cup was nowhere near the all-consuming sporting behemoth it has become.

"It's a really strange thing to kind of ponder," Bradley said at last week's Tour Championship. "Making the picks and thinking of picking yourself is ridiculous, it doesn't seem like reality sometimes.

"We're going to do the best we can to make the right decision and it is going to be controversial to certain people either way. I'm prepared for that.

"I'm confident with whichever decision I make its for the betterment of the team and we'll see."

Whether he makes the right call will be determined only by the final outcome of the match. For it to be deemed a success, the US will need to extend the current run of home domination.

There has not been an away win for either team in 13 years and only two this century - both by Europe.

Throughout the qualifying process Bradley insisted no one outside the top six spots is guaranteed a pick.

"There are probably going to be a few guys that think they are going to be on the team that aren't going to be," Bradley teased.

Justin Thomas, winner of two majors, seems certain of selection after finishing seventh on the table. Everyone else is open to debate.

Collin Morikawa, also a two-time major champion and former world number two, finished eighth in qualifying. But the 28-year old-Californian has been patchy at best ever since he blew the chance to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.

He has posted only two top-10s in that period and despite being ranked eighth in the world, has failed to contend ever since that crushing Bay Hill disappointment.

There is a better case for the in form Cameron Young (14th in qualifying). A potential rookie, he is a big hitting New Yorker who set the Bethpage course record in a state championship.

Patrick Cantlay's feisty Ryder Cup reputation should secure him a third successive appearance despite finishing only 15th in qualifying. His runner-up finish to Fleetwood last week in Atlanta shows he has current form as well.

Also hard to ignore is Sam Burns, who nearly won the US Open in June. The 29-year-old from Louisiana is a renowned putter and good friends with world number one Scottie Scheffler.

Burns was only 16th in qualifying so higher ranked players would have to be disappointed to accommodate him retaining his place in the US side.

Ben Griffin, ninth on the table, has done plenty to justify selection. He has been top-12 in his past four tournaments, has two major top-10s and one of his two wins this year came in the Zurich Classic, a pairs event using the same foursomes and fourball formats of the Ryder Cup.

His partner for that success, Andrew Novak, is unlikely to have done enough to warrant selection though and Griffin's relative inexperience at this level may count against him.

Maverick McNealy was 10th on the qualifying list and came third at the BMW Championship earlier this month to reinforce his case for a pick.

Former Open champion Brian Harman, 12th, is considered too short a hitter for the mighty Bethpage Black course.

And where does Bradley fit in? Last week's share of seventh at the Tour Championship, which included middle rounds of 64 and 63 may have convinced him to play.

The mood music has swung in that direction and especially if he sees himself as a fourball player. We now know the morning sessions will be alternate shot foursomes and Bradley could sit out those sessions to concentrate on captaincy.

But he will have to rely heavily on vice-captains Jim Furyk (the losing skipper in Paris in 2018), Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker. The other two assistants Kevin Kisner and Gary Woodland have no Ryder Cup experience.

And only Bradley can make the phone calls that will delight and dismay those who are selected or left out. The skipper knows how hard it is to be on the receiving end of bad news and ordinarily would be desperate to play.

"Really awful. Really, really truly awful," is how he views the prospect of delivering bad news.

Such is his quandary he knows whatever he and his vice-captains decide will be debated ferociously until the match itself delivers its verdict.

If, as expected, he gives himself the nod, Bradley knows he will return as a Ryder Cup player 11 years after his last appearance, facing unique challenges and unprecedented scrutiny.

Qualifiers: Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun (rookie), Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley (rookie), Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau.

Wildcards from: Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin (rookie), Maverick McNealy (rookie), Keegan Bradley, Brian Harman, Andrew Novak (rookie), Cameron Young (rookie) Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns.