U.S. captain Keegan Bradley decided the best way to win back the Ryder Cup was to leave his golf clubs at home.

Bradley filled out his 12-man roster Wednesday with six captain's picks that did not include himself. He had considered becoming the first playing captain of the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963 at East Lake.

Instead, Bradley went with a pair of Ryder Cup rookies in New York native Cameron Young and Ben Griffin, who finished at No. 9 in the standings. Joining them as picks will be Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay.

That gives the Americans four Ryder Cup rookies for the Sept. 26-28 matches against Europe, which will announce the rest of its team on Monday. Europe is likely to return 11 of the 12 players who won in Rome two years ago.

Bradley made a compelling case as a pick, and he likely would have been chosen without much argument if he had not been captain. He has won twice in the last 13 months against strong fields — only Scottie Scheffler has won more since then. He finished at No. 11 in the Ryder Cup standings and was the eighth-best American in the world ranking.

"The decision was made a while ago that I wasn't playing," Bradley told reporters Wednesday. "The last 48 hours, we had the team set. We weren't scrambling at all. This was a really tough decision. 

"All these guys stepped up in a major way and played their way onto this team," added Bradley. "That's something that I'm really proud of and something that I really wanted. But it was an extremely difficult decision, one that I'm really happy with and really happy with these six players.

"I'm glad it's over," Bradley added.

Instead, he will stick to being captain, a decision that is sure to be second-guessed if the Americans don't win.

Keegan Bradley's New England ties

Bradley, 39, is a New Englander through and through. He was born in Vermont, lived in New Hampshire in 2001 and 2002, and then moved to Hopkinton, Massachusetts for his senior year of high school, where he won the MIAA Division 2 individual state championship in 2004.

He's a huge fan of the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins, and shows off his New England pride whenever he gets the chance. Bradley has also had success close to home, winning the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut twice in the last three years. He's won one major over his career, winning the 2011 PGA Championship. Overall, Bradley has 13 wins over his professional career.