When your captain texts a reporter on Sunday night to guarantee a LIV guy gets picked, you know the gloves are off

Picture this: It’s Sunday night at Royal Portrush, Scottie Scheffler just dominated The Open Championship, and most people are either celebrating or drowning their sorrows. But U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley is doing something else entirely – he’s texting Sports Illustrated’s Bob Harig to make sure the world knows exactly where he stands.

“Bryson is going to be a very important piece to us winning the Ryder Cup,” Bradley wrote in that text. “He brings so much. He brings energy, passion but most importantly, he’s one of the best players on the planet.” Just like that, Bradley threw down the gauntlet. Forget the PGA Tour vs. LIV politics. Forget the quiet diplomacy usually required of Ryder Cup captains. Keegan Bradley just told the world he’s picking Bryson DeChambeau, period.

The Captain Who Doesn’t Care About Your Politics

This isn’t your typical captain’s pick announcement. This is Bradley essentially telling the golf establishment to stuff their politics where the sun doesn’t shine. He saw Bryson shoot a final-round 64 to tie for 10th at The Open, his third top-10 finish in majors this year, and decided right then and there that the guy was too good to leave home.

Bradley’s approach to the whole LIV situation has been refreshingly blunt from day one. “No one cares about what’s going on in this side PGA Tour-LIV [dispute],” he said back in May. “We’re trying to put the best team together.” When asked about having LIV guys on the team, his response was basically: “Could be one LIV guy, could be two LIV guys, doesn’t matter.” That’s not diplomatic captain-speak. That’s a guy who’s tired of losing and doesn’t care whose feelings get hurt in the process.

The Personal Touch That Says Everything

But here’s where the story gets really good. Earlier in the week at The Open, Bradley left personalized handwritten notes in the lockers of potential Ryder Cup players. DeChambeau was cagey about what the message said, calling it “pretty inspirational” and admitting “it meant a lot.” Bradley later revealed he left a photo of Justin Leonard – the hero of the 1999 Ryder Cup comeback at Brookline, where a 13-year-old Bradley watched the Americans stage the greatest rally in Ryder Cup history.

Remember that Ryder Cup dinner Bradley hosted back in May? When DeChambeau couldn’t make it in person because of massive storms, they put him on Zoom. A Ryder Cup captain was so determined to include a LIV guy that when Mother Nature tried to intervene, they just fired up the laptop and made it work anyway.

The Guarantee That Changes Everything

Here’s what makes Bradley’s Sunday night text so significant: DeChambeau can’t earn any more Ryder Cup points because LIV events don’t count, so there was always a chance he could slip out of the top six automatic spots. Most captains would hedge their bets, keep their options open, maybe hint at their preferences without making commitments.

Not Bradley. He essentially guaranteed DeChambeau a spot regardless of where he finishes in the standings. “This year’s no joke,” DeChambeau said after his round. “We’re tired of it. We’re tired of losing.” That’s not just a player talking – that’s a guy who knows his captain has his back, politics be damned. Bradley is betting his entire captaincy on a simple premise: talent trumps politics. September’s Ryder Cup just got a lot more interesting.