Bryson DeChambeau backed by U.S. Ryder Cup team amid criticism - ESPN

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Bryson DeChambeau has been the recipient of harsh criticism ahead of this week's Ryder Cup, so United States captain Keegan Bradley went to bat for the polarizing LIV Golf star.

Bradley said he believes DeChambeau, the only U.S. player not on the PGA Tour, will be an X factor for the the Americans — not just with his play, but with the energy he is set to bring to the home crowd at Bethpage Black.

«He's a really fiery player,» Bradley said Tuesday. «When you come to a Ryder Cup, you don't want guys to try to be something they're not. We have a lot of calm, mellow guys, so we need the energy from Bryson.»

Bradley's comments came less than 24 hours after Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee ripped DeChambeau as a «captain's nightmare» and accused the two-time U.S. Open champion of drumming up «interest for himself» by promoting his YouTube channel rather than talking about the Ryder Cup.

«Bryson plays most of his golf on a tour where he mostly could be in the witness protection program,» Chamblee said Monday during the Golf Channel's coverage of the Ryder Cup. «Nobody watches, he doesn't get any attention. So when he does come out, there's a bit of a circus-barker element to it to drum up some interest for himself.»

European star Rory McIlroy also took a recent shot at DeChambeau, saying the «only way he gets attention is by mentioning other people.»

DeChambeau, when asked earlier this year about potentially facing McIlroy in the Ryder Cup after the two were paired in the final round of the Masters, said that he intended to «chirp in [McIlroy's] ear» at Bethpage.

McIlroy responded to those comments last month during an interview with the Guardian.

«I think the only way he gets attention is by