See you at Bethpage Black, Russell Henley

United States Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley got on an absolute heater Sunday, posting the very first 29 on either side of Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club and Lodge (FL). But the best part of his day was watching Russell Henley come from behind on the closing stretch to steal the Arnold Palmer Invitational title from Collin Morikawa.

Why? Because Henley’s a dawg, and Bradley needs as many dawgs as he can find for the Ryder Cup come September.

The biennial bash in Rome a year and a half ago was—this might be a little strong wording—embarrassing. Team Europe came out the gates firing on all cylinders, sweeping the Friday morning fourball matches and building the lead to 6½-1½ by day’s end. The final score—16½-11½—didn’t look all that bad, but at no point was there any hope for the Americans. They got beat—badly.

So Team USA needed a makeover and that started with naming Bradley as captain—a move that shocked the golf world, including Bradley himself. Now it’s his turn to find a squad worthy enough to don the red, white, and blue at Bethpage Black in New York. A roster of players that brings fire, competitiveness, and a sense of pride for playing for the good ole U.S. of A. He needs a lineup that cares just as much about the Ryder Cup as the Europeans.

Henley fits that criteria.

*Getty Images

The 35-year-old University of Georgia product repped Team USA for the first time at the Presidents Cup five months ago. He did what he does best, hit a bunch of fairways and greens, and roll in his fair share of putts. He and Scottie Scheffler teamed up for three sessions, earning a 2-1 record. Then, during Sunday singles, Henley took down Sungjae Im handily, 3&2. A 3-1-0 debut was a hell of an effort for Henley, a nice start to his Ryder Cup campaign.

But despite his great showing north of the border, there was always going to be fans and media members against him being part of the team in New York. People want to see big names and personalities at the Ryder Cup and Henley goes about his business stoically. Plus his name alone doesn’t get the people going as much as some other names would.

That shouldn’t matter.

Henley’s game is built for match play. He’s never out of a hole thanks to his stellar tee-to-green game—he’s ranked 20th on the PGA TOUR in that category—and his putter is unflappable. Pressure doesn’t get to him and we saw that Sunday after he played his first seven holes 2 over. He could have folded. He could have packed it in. But he fought, and by the end of the day he was wearing Arnie’s famous red cardigan.

The only concern I had with Henley and this year’s Ryder Cup was the course fit. Bethpage Black is a big ballpark and driving distance will be a massive advantage. The rough will be gnarly and hopefully it’ll play firm and fast.

Why does that sound familiar?

Because Bay Hill has a lot of those same traits and Henley *checks notes* did just fine.

The now seventh ranked player in the world is up to fourth in the U.S. Team Rankings, meaning if the team was being put together today, Henley would be one of the six automatic qualifiers. Even if he falls from that position over the summer, I feel pretty confident he’ll get one of Bradley’s captain’s picks.

And Americans should be excited about that.

As the kids say, Henley’s got that dawg in him, and Team USA needs players like that to get the Cup back stateside.

So, we’ll see you at Bethpage, Mr. Henley.