FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – It’s only Monday, but U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley could already think of countless moments this week when he’s wondered what it would be like to be playing.

“I've thought about it every second,” Bradley said in his opening press conference Monday afternoon. “But I've also thought about how impossible it would be.”

Whether or not Bradley would attempt to play the Ryder Cup, in addition to his captain duties, enraptured the golf world for much of the lead-up to this week at Bethpage Black. Bradley considered it heavily, particularly after he won the Travelers Championship in June. At one point, Bradley believed he would play. Then several Americans found enough form late in the season for Bradley to side against it, ultimately leaving himself off his own captain’s picks.

Still, Bradley hasn’t stopped thinking, what if?

The Ryder Cup has enveloped much of Bradley’s psyche as a pro golfer. He emerged from the 2012 Ryder Cup forever changed by the experience, intent on playing as many as possible. He played again in 2014 and thought he would never miss another Ryder Cup. Instead, he hasn’t been back. Until now. That he’s captaining and not playing is still an adjustment.

“I catch myself every now and then looking down the fairway, seeing the guys walk down the fairway and think how badly I'd like to do that, and how badly I'd want to be in the group with Scottie Scheffler and seeing him play and being his teammate,” Bradley said.

Yet it’s also crystalized to Bradley that it would have been impossible to be both a player and a captain. Between the work he did leading up, everything he’s already done while on the grounds for the last two days, and all the work ahead, Bradley doesn’t believe he could have done them all “at the level I needed to do them at,” if he were playing. That provided the necessary solace that he made the right decision.

“I feel like I've been called for a bigger cause here, to help our guys get ready to play and play at the highest level,” Bradley said. “But in the back of my mind, I'm always thinking, 'I could have been out there.’"

Instead, Bradley is tasked with returning the U.S. Team to its winning ways. Captaining a home Ryder Cup has its inherent advantages and disadvantages. As the home team, Bradley has had control over the golf course setup and will have the benefit of hundreds of thousands of fans cheering on his squad. Yet the credit for winning a home Ryder Cup is far less than the blame for losing it. The U.S., despite losing handily to Europe in Italy two years ago, is expected to win because home teams almost always win.

Bradley hasn’t let his mind go there. For now, he’s thinking about how to help make the U.S. Team better, even if that includes a few fantasies of himself hitting the shots.