Jordan Spieth’s bid to cap his comeback season with Ryder Cup glory has ended in disappointment after Keegan Bradley confirmed the final Team USA lineup for Bethpage Black — with the three-time major champion left on the outside looking in.
Spieth, 32, returned this year from wrist surgery but struggled for consistency. His hopes of challenging for the $10 million FedEx Cup prize ended at the FedEx St. Jude Championship earlier this month, where a T-38 finish knocked him outside the top 50 in the standings and denied him a place at the BMW Championship.
That blow all but ended his season, and on Wednesday Bradley delivered another setback, opting not to hand Spieth one of his six captain’s picks for next month’s Ryder Cup.
Speaking before the playoffs, Spieth admitted the Ryder Cup had been his biggest target of the year.
“It was my loftiest goal to start the season,” he said. “I’d love to play another five if I can or more. This one at Bethpage would’ve been special — a true home game atmosphere.”
The former FedEx Cup champion even joked he had been lobbying Bradley to step aside as a playing captain to free up a spot. But Bradley instead chose six other names to complete his squad: Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay, and Sam Burns.
They join automatic qualifiers Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, and Bryson DeChambeau.
For Spieth, it means another year without a PGA Tour victory — his last came in 2022 — and the frustration of missing an event he has described as one of the most meaningful in golf.
“They’re the coolest events you can play in,” he said of his five previous Ryder Cup appearances. “Representing your country in front of a home crowd — there’s nothing like it.”
With the final roster now locked in, Spieth will be forced to watch from afar as Team USA attempts to reclaim the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in September.
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