Captain Keegan Bradley is sporting a new mustache at The Sentry in Maui, and frankly, it looks fantastic.
So much so that he should keep it until after the Ryder Cup concludes at Bethpage Black in September. After all, Bradley’s facial hair resembles that of former New York Yankees captain Don Mattingly — a fitting analogy since Bradley will lead the U.S. team in New York. That said, Bradley, an avid Red Sox fan, may not take that comparison too kindly.
“I did it as a joke to my wife and family, and they all thought it was funny and liked it,” Bradley said of his new facial hair.
“Now that I’ve played a couple of good rounds, I’m getting nervous; I’m going to have to keep this thing for a while.”
He should — and maybe it could be a rallying cry for his fellow Americans. Think of playoff hockey in the NHL, where entire teams will throw away their razors during their quest for the Stanley Cup. It’s a sight to behold, but could you imagine the entire U.S. Ryder Cup sporting mustaches at Bethpage, especially if the vibes remain high?
Regardless, as he mentioned, the mustache has brought him good fortune thus far at Kapalua. He carded a 9-under 64 on Friday to soar up the leaderboard and into contention. Bradley even capped off his round with an eagle at the par-5 18th, and he is now 13-under-par and three behind leader Hideki Matsuyama at the midway point.
“I played great,” Bradley said.
“Birdied my first three holes, and then sometimes it’s tough to keep that going, but I kept it going the whole day.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
