USA captain Keegan Bradley has resisted the temptation to name himself as a player for next month's Ryder Cup.
Bradley found himself in a quandary after finishing 11th in the qualification list following an excellent run of form over the summer.
The 39-year-old, who played in the 2012 and 2014 editions, had considered giving himself a wild card, which would have seen him become the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963, but ultimately opted against the idea.
Instead Bradley handed picks to Justin Thomas (at seventh, the only selection ahead of him in the list), Ben Griffin (17th), Bryson DeChambeau (18th), Cam Young (20th), Patrick Cantlay (21st) and Sam Burns (22nd).
They will join the automatic qualifiers of Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau at Bethpage in Long Island, New York as Bradley has decided to focus his energy on devising a strategy to see his country win back the Ryder Cup after they were beaten in Rome in 2023.
"The decision was made a while ago that I wasn't playing," Bradley said. "This was a really tough decision. All of these guys stepped up in a major way and played their way onto the team. It was an extremely difficult decision, but one I'm really happy with. I'm really happy with these six players. I'm glad it's over."
Bradley said he didn't take comments from Rory McIlroy that it wouldn't be possible to be effective as a player and captain to heart because no one alive has ever done it.
"I grew up wanting to play Ryder Cups. I grew up wanting to fight alongside these guys. It broke my heart not to play. It really did," Bradley said.
"You work forever to make these teams. But ultimately I was chosen to do a job. I was chosen to be the captain of this team. My ultimate goal to start this thing was to be the best captain I could be. This is how I felt like I could do this.
"If it got to this point and it felt like the team was better with me on it, I was going to do that. I know 100% certain this was the right choice. These six guys, again, played so incredibly coming down the stretch here and made my decision a lot easier."
Ryder Cup veteran Thomas said he knows Bradley, 39, is "gutted" but took his pledge seriously to serve as the best captain above other duties.
"Keegan said it perfectly," Thomas said. "It's going to be said so many times between now and the Ryder Cup, Keegan did and will do whatever he needs to do with the team."
Bradley said it's "strange" his play-or-captain call received so much "hype, but the Ryder Cup is a big deal, apparently."
