Brandel Chamblee in awe of Keegan Bradley’s ‘amazing gesture’ before the Ryder Cup

Chamblee, speaking on his Favourite Chamblee Podcast, touched on a controversial topic: American players pushing to be paid for participating in the Ryder Cup. 

Rather than dwelling on that debate, he chose to shift the focus and praise Bradley for his approach.

“I do like the message that Keegan Bradley is setting, I do like the tone he is setting, I’m going to give him a lot of credit.”

Chamblee went on to highlight a specific gesture that caught his attention.

“He did something that I thought was one of the most amazing gestures. He invited Larry Nelson to be one of the ambassadors to the Ryder Cup.”

“Larry Nelson fought in Vietnam, after he served his country and came back home he took up golf at the age of 21.

“In a very short period of time he got on the PGA Tour, won the US Open, won a couple PGA’s and always handled himself with great class and grace, was 9-0 in his first nine matches in the Ryder Cup. An absolute through and through gentleman.

“Rumour has it he was supposedly given the nod for the captaincy in the mid-90s. Whoever wanted it went to him and said, ‘if you let me take this one you’ll get the next one’. He agreed.

“The PGA of America didn’t then make him the captain, they never came back and made him the captain.

“It’s a huge blight in the history of the Ryder Cup that Larry Nelson was never made captain. Keegan Bradley has closed that circle by inviting him to be ambassador.”

While many have praised Bradley’s approach leading up to Bethpage Black, this particular decision speaks volumes about how much respect he has for those who paved the way before him.

Larry Nelson’s missed chance as Ryder Cup captain

Back in 1995, Nelson was expected to take on the role of US Ryder Cup captain, but the position went to Lanny Wadkins instead.

After that, Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw took over in 1997 and 1999, leaving Nelson’s hopes fading. Even when his name came up again in 2014, it was Tom Watson who got the nod for Gleneagles.

Nelson had a standout career with 10 PGA Tour victories and three major titles. He also served his country, which only deepened his connection to representing the United States.

The now 78-year-old put together a strong Ryder Cup record too, with nine wins from thirteen matches. It remains a mystery why he was never given the captaincy, but Bradley’s recent gesture is a small step toward recognising what many feel was long overdue.