Keegan Bradley has a few days left to make one of the most important decisions of his Ryder Cup captaincy.
After what Patrick Cantlay did at East Lake, one of those decisions should be getting easier.
Cantlay finished runner-up to Tommy Fleetwood at the TOUR Championship, but the result was bigger than a second-place finish. It was exactly the kind of performance that should push his name toward the top of Bradley’s captain’s-pick board.
The 33-year-old arrived at East Lake sitting outside the automatic qualifying spots, making the next few days particularly important. Then he went out and played like a guy who understood the assignment.
Cantlay shot a spectacular 64 on Saturday, closing with four birdies over his final five holes to pull himself into a share of the lead.
He ultimately finished at 16 under, three shots behind Fleetwood.
But this wasn’t some random hot week.
Cantlay is an eight-time PGA Tour winner and a former FedEx Cup champion. More importantly, he has already shown that he understands Ryder Cup golf. He owns a 5-3 record across two appearances, including a 3-1 mark in 2023 at Marco Simone. His 68.75% career points percentage is among the strongest marks on the American side.
That matters.
The Ryder Cup isn’t the U.S. Open. It isn’t 72 holes of stroke play. Bradley needs players who can handle match-play pressure, partner with different personalities and make putts when the room gets loud.
Cantlay has done that before.
And now he has arrived at the Ryder Cup selection deadline playing some of his best golf of the season.
Bradley announces his six captain’s picks Wednesday.
After East Lake, leaving Cantlay home would be awfully hard to explain.
