Bradley: Will He Or Won’t He Now Tee-Up As USA Captain At Bethpage Park Black?

4 months ago by Comments Off on Bradley: Will He Or Won’t He Now Tee-Up As USA Captain At Bethpage Park Black?

As it stands new Travelers Championship champion Keegan Bradley is currently lying ninth on the 2025 USA Ryder Cup selections.

Bradley’s second victory in three years at TPC River Highlands saw him leap eight places on the USA team qualifying points table.

As it is the top six USA team eligible players following the BMW Championship on August 17, 2025 will qualify automatically for the Stars and Stripes team being captained by Bradley.

The big question is should Bradley finish among the leading six qualifiers would he choose to select himself and, if so, become the first USA team playing captain since 1963.

A week ago, Bradley was adamant he would stick by his belief and that was would only play in the Ryder Cup if he locked up an automatic berth.

Following Sunday’s dramatic 72nd hole winning birdie to secure not only an eighth PGA Tour win but a 13th pro career triumph Bradley stated following his win:  “This definitely changes the story a little bit.

“I never would have thought about playing if I hadn’t won. This definitely opens the door to play. I don’t know if I’m going to do it or not, but I certainly have to take a pretty hard look at what’s best for the team and we’ll see. We still got — it’s still June, so we still got a long ways to go.

“We’ll all have to get together and figure out the best way to do this.”

There was also loud chanting of ‘USA, USA, USA’ directed at Bradley and clearly assisting in helping him to victory over a completely guttered Tommy Fleetwood.

The last to captain a Ryder Cup team and also competed was Arnold Palmer 62 years ago in 1963 when he led his side to a 23 points to 9 points drubbing over a John Fallon let GB & I side at the Atlanta Country Club.

Bradley himself has competed in two Ryder Cups – 2012 and 2014.   He and Phil Mickelson were unbeaten in three matches while Bradley lost his Singles match in a losing Medinah side while he won just one a three matches in five-point European winning team at Gleneagles.

He missed out on a place in 2023 when Justin Thomas, who was below him on the points list and struggling for form, was preferred by captain Zach Johnson

Bradley was named 2025 American captain after Tiger Woods turned down the opportunity.

He insisted he would not give up the captaincy if he did make the team but could take on a dual role with the help of vice-captains Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, Kevin Kisner and Jim Furyk.

“I never really planned on playing,” he said. “Now, with the amazing vice-captains I have, I feel a lot more comfortable if I went that route.

“I had this epiphany at the US PGA Championship when I was getting these loud ‘USA’ cheers.

“I don’t think any player in the history of the game has experienced what I’m experiencing in that I’m a Ryder Cup captain, in my eyes still one of the best players in the world trying to win majors and tournaments, coming down the stretch of a tournament.”

Bradley said when he was asked to be captain, the first thing the PGA of America told him was they wanted him to be the first playing captain since Palmer.

“My head was spinning,” he said. “I didn’t know what they were talking about, but they knew that was a possibility and that we would have things in place for that.

“A year ago I don’t know if I would have thought I would be seventh in the world but I certainly thought I would be contending in tournaments.”

Bradley’s Travelers win has lifted him to a career high on No. 7 on the World Rankings while he enjoyed a top-10 in May’s PGA Championship and a week later  secured a T8th result at the Memorial, so his effort on Sunday in Connecticut is not just a ‘flash in the pan’ effort.



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