Perhaps the most important task for a Ryder Cup team captain is the selection of team pairings for the first two days of the tournament, especially for foursomes.
Complimentary play is key when it comes to the alternate-shot format, so it’s safe to say Keegan Bradley has some important decisions to make.
Last weekend’s Procore Championship was a great way for Bradley to experiment with certain pairings, as 10 of the 12 Team USA members were in attendance.
Collin Morikawa and Harris English played together, as did Scottie Scheffler, Russell Henley, and J.J. Spaun. Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns played together, too, while Justin Thomas, Ben Griffin, and Cameron Young teed it up together on Thursday and Friday of the tournament.
“We’re 90% there, I’d say,” Bradley mentioned at the Procore Championship. “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.”
Some of the pairings for Team USA are well-established, such as Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. Some pairings, however, will be a less obvious decision. Bradley has to decide who to pair the four rookies with, as well as the wild card in Bryson DeChambeau.
Unfortunately for Team USA, DeChambeau was unable to play in the Procore Championship due to his allegiance to LIV Golf. That means Bradley could not evaluate who he has the best chemistry with, nor whose game complements him the best.
DeChambeau has played in the Ryder Cup twice in his career. In 2018, he was paired with Phil Mickelson and lost to Sergio Garcia and Alex Norén (5&4). In 2021, Bryson had some success with Scottie Scheffler, but only in the fourball format.
It’s difficult to say if DeChambeau and Scheffler would be a formidable duo in a foursome. However, Scheffeler has seemingly developed a strong connection with Russell Henley this season, so who could Bryson possibly pair up with if Bradley decides to use him for the foursome format?
DeChambeau’s game is hard to complement because he plays the game so differently than the rest of the field, but there is one rookie he could team up with that might make an intriguing pairing: Cameron Young.
Cameron Young could be the perfect pairing with Bryson DeChambeau
Bethpage Black is a course that demands a lot of power off the tee. It's 7,352 yards long, and some of the par-4s are just diabolical.
Usually played as a par-5, hole No. 7 will play as a 524-yard par-4. Numbers 10 and 16 are also long par-4s, measuring at 502 yards and 539 yards, respectively.
DeChambeau and Young are both known for their power off the tee. Young ranks 21st on the PGA Tour with an average drive of 313.2 yards, the highest ranking among his Ryder Cup teammates. DeChambeau ranks second on the LIV Tour with an average drive of 328.8 yards.
Consistent length off the tee is valuable at any course. It makes par-5s more reachable, and if a player can use a wedge instead of an iron for their approach to the green on par-4s, it should always result in more greens in regulation.
For DeChambeau and Young, their length off the tee might give them an advantage on par-5s and Bethpage’s long par-4s. And since they would have to alternate tee shots, Team USA would expect a bomb off the tee on every hole.
Of course, accuracy is just as important as distance. This is especially true at Bethpage. The fairways are narrow, and the rough is punishing. Young has struggled with his accuracy off the tee this season. He’s ranked 146th on tour with 53.85% accuracy in hitting the fairway. Bryson, however, is far more accurate, at least on the LIV Tour, ranking 14th with 62.68% accuracy.
One saving grace for Young is that he is ranked 20th on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained, suggesting that even with some of his inaccurate drives, he’s recovering in other ways.
Bryson is also ranked No. 1 in LIV in scrambling percentage, which might make up for some of the inaccuracies that will often come with big drives. Cameron Young is a great scrambler, too, ranking sixth on the PGA Tour at 40.95%. If either player misses the green because of a wayward drive, captain Keegan Bradley can rest easy knowing there’s a good chance they save par.
It might be a risk, but pairing DeChambeau and Young together in the alternate-shot format could provide a lot of upside for Team USA. For a relatively inexperienced team, it could be the formula they need to win.
Regardless of what Bradley decides to do, Team USA appears to have a lot of chemistry already.
“It’s the closest team I’ve ever seen,” Bradley added at the Procore Championship. “...It’s really such a special feeling to be a part of because it’s so rare.”
Bradley hopes the strong team chemistry will translate to a Ryder Cup win come Sunday.