'I think the players knew it was important': How the U.S. is using this week in Napa to prepare for the Ryder Cup

NAPA, Calif. -- Keegan Bradley stood successful the mediate of the eighth fairway astatine the Silverado Resort North Course wearing head-to-toe United States Ryder Cup cogwheel and sporting a wide grin connected his look arsenic helium waited to spot the champion subordinate successful the satellite bash what helium does best.

"This has a amended changeable of going successful the spread than successful that backmost close bunker," Bradley joked arsenic Scottie Scheffler struck his wedge shot. The ball, of course, finished pin high.

As Bradley rode astir successful a cart and bounced backmost and distant betwixt 2 foursomes that included 7 Ryder Cup squad members and 1 adjunct skipper during a nine-hole signifier circular Tuesday astatine the Procore Championship, the unit of hitting his ain play shots, preparing for a tourney and sweating retired putts was obscurity to beryllium found.

With the PGA Tour play present implicit and the squad acceptable successful stone, each eyes are present connected Bethpage, which means each eyes are connected Bradley and the 12 players helium is hoping to skipper to victory. This week, that besides meant that a typically quiescent PGA Tour autumn lawsuit successful Napa Valley became a Ryder Cup rendezvous.

"I deliberation the players knew it was important," Bradley said. "This Ryder Cup means everything to them. We speech a batch down the scenes of however overmuch this means to us, and they are consenting to bash immoderate it takes to beryllium prepared."

Unlike 2023, erstwhile astir of the American squad did not play astatine this oregon immoderate different play lawsuit starring up to the 16.5-11.5 Ryder Cup nonaccomplishment successful Rome, 10 of 12 squad members are successful the tract this week and playing with each different during the archetypal and 2nd rounds of the tournament.

LIV's Bryson DeChambeau is not successful the field, but helium made the travel to Napa for the main event: a meal Tuesday nighttime astatine a squad location wherever Bradley and the vice captains are staying this week. The lone different subordinate of the U.S. squad not successful attendance is Xander Schauffele, who conscionable welcomed the commencement of his archetypal child.

According to Bradley, though this was portion of his program erstwhile helium was fixed the captaincy arsenic a mode to support players crisp and physique chemistry, it was players who led the complaint connected making it happen. Scheffler said that helium and Schauffele talked astir wanting to play successful this lawsuit each the mode backmost to the opening of the year.

"It would beryllium antithetic for maine to person 4 oregon 5 weeks disconnected earlier the Masters oregon the U.S. Open oregon thing similar that, truthful there's nary crushed that I should beryllium doing that going into the Ryder Cup," said Scheffler, who didn't triumph a afloat constituent successful Rome. "In bid to enactment sharp, you tin signifier and bash each you tin astatine home, but there's thing antithetic astir playing competition."

Players surely appeared to follow that attack this week. On Tuesday morning, the bustling putting greenish astatine Silverado featured Justin Thomas utilizing a protractor to measurement the people of the slope portion Russell Henley did his ain putting drills adjacent to him. On the different end, Scheffler's caddie, Ted Scott, prepped a fewer play balls for Scheffler's ain putting practice.

Nearby connected the range, Harris English worked connected his wedge game, portion close adjacent to him, Collin Morikawa was hitting with his operator successful the overcast greeting portion a Trackman measured his numbers and 2 cameras filmed his swing.

Soon enough, the 2 of them walked to the archetypal tee and went disconnected alongside adjunct skipper Webb Simpson. Bradley walked with them for a fewer holes. Though determination was nary authoritative connection from Bradley, it was inevitable that however the signifier circular and the tourney tee times were structured shed immoderate airy into imaginable pairings.<...