The Genesis Invitational has ended. The exciting contest went right down to the final hole, with Swedish golfer Ludvig Aberg sinking a vital birdie to win the signature event by one stroke against American golfer Maverick McNealy.

Ludvig Aberg’s victory, however, masks a creeping danger. Harris English remains the only American winner on the PGA Tour circuit this year. This is concerning news for Team USA fans and captain Keegan Bradley as the tournament set to take place in Bethpage Black Golf Course in New York, is approaching ever so slowly. The plight was discussed in detail by Smylie Kaufman and Charlie Hume on the latest episode of their podcast, The Smiley Show.

Smylie Kaufman warns Scottie Scheffler and others

The results on the PGA Tour look promising for Team Europe. Of the last 5 winners on the PGA Tour, 4 are European. These include 2023 Ryder Cup winners Sepp Straka(American Express), Rory McIlroy( AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am), and recently Ludvig Aberg. Belgian Thomas Detry also came triumphant at the WM Phoenix Open. “If I am Luke Donald, I am like ‘Hell Yeah!”. If I am Keegan Bradley, I am like ‘Who’s on my team?’,” exclaimed Kaufman, reflecting on the current scenario for the Ryder Cup.

More than the dominance of the Europeans, it is the lackluster performance of the Americans that should be the primary concern. In fact, barring Harris English’s victory at the Torrey Pines no other American has won a PGA Tour event, with the other two being Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama(The Sentry) and Candian Nick Taylor (Sony Open).

The current spate of injuries does not help Keegan Bradley at all. Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth had missed the first month of the Tour due to injuries. World No.2 Xander Schauffele has been sidelined due to a rib injury since his appearance in TGL on Jan 7, having only played at the Sentry this year. “Xander Schauffele’s hurt, Scottie Scheffler’s trying to come back. You’ve got JT, who is like playing well for the most part. He hasn’t broken through yet.” Smylie Kaufman echoed the sentiments of all the Team USA fans with a simple sentence.“I seriously have no idea, who is going to be on the US Team,” stated Kaufman, echoing the sentiments of all Team USA fans.

But rather than moping and letting the situation be, Kaufman offered a simple solution to captain Keegan Bradley and Team USA. Look over to the other side. There are talented American LIV Golfers who are available for selection. With a potential PGA-PIF Deal set to take place very soon, this could be one big pool of players Bradley could tap into.“This could very well be a year where Keegan might be looking heavily more towards like ‘Let’s look at the LIV guys.’”

Brooks Koepka was finished fifth in the points list on the LIV Golf League last year. Incidentally, he was the highest-placed American. He is currently placed 19 on the 2025 tour after two events. Despite a horror showing at Riyadh where he was placed T33, Koepka recovered well to finish T7 at Adelaide. “If Brooks is playing somewhat good at the Majors, he just brings Brooks in every single time.”

Bryson DeChambeau is also another possibility. The 2024 US Open winner is currently the leading American in the league but is still placed 14. Despite the championship only taking place in September 2025, the discussions regarding team selections have slowly started to gain prominence in golf circles.

A Not-so early Ryder Cup Team List

The Ryder Cup team selection is half straightforward and half vexing. Each team has 12 members of which 6 are selected based on their ranking points on the Ryder Cup list. The next 6 are the captain’s picks. This is where Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald, captains of Team USA and Team Europe have their tasks cut out.

Last year, Zach Johnson caught a lot of flak for taking in Justin Thomas, who was performing poorly at the time. Thomas was chosen over the current captain Keegan Bradley. Bradley will be looking to prevent a similar misstep this time around, but the fact is he is spoilt for choice.

If the teams were to be picked today, confirmed selections are Scheffler, Schauffele, DeChambeau, McNealy, Collin Morikawa, and Patrick Cantlay. That leaves him with deciding six picks from amongst Tony Finau, Russel Henley, Justin Thomas, Harris English, Brian Harman, Billy Horschel, Max Homa, Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark, Sahith Theegala, Sam Burns, Lucas Glover, and many more, including LIV Golfers like Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson. Phew! I do not want to be Bradley in this situation.

While the team will find a semblance of shape as the tournament approaches, the bigger question weighing in Bradley’s mind will be whether to go with form or experience. The right idea would be to find a balance between both. Just look at Aberg’s inclusion in Team Europe in 2023. Bethpage is an interesting course that poses certain challenges. Bradley needs to be aware of that when making his picks. Who do you think should make the team?