Nobody expected this.
Probably not even Keegan Bradley.
Of course, everyone was surprised by the news on Monday that Bradley, 38 and in the prime of his career, will become the 31st captain of the United States team for the 2025 Ryder Cup, to be held Sept. 26-28 at Bethpage Black.
Surely you would have liked Tiger Woods to be the first person to be asked to prom by the PGA of America.
But Woods turned down the group’s offer, presumably in order to lead the U.S. team at his friend P.J. McManus’s Adare Manor tournament in Ireland.
And certainly, before Woods seemed the surefire choice, I wanted Phil Mickelson, because Mickelson and Bethpage Black go together like the Scottish Open Championship and haggis.
But Mickelson has been shut out of golf’s mainstream since his days at the top. Villain He will receive Saudi Arabian funding and take part in LIV Golf.
So with Woods and Mickelson out of the running, golf fans will be collectively yawning no matter who the PGA of America chooses as the next captain.
However, I don’t think Bradley’s selection should be met with such a bewildered reaction.
Was this an unconventional choice?
absolutely.
But Bradley was a great, unconventional choice to root for the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Apologies to the players who were rumored to be in the running for manager in 2025, but Bradley is the more appealing candidate.
Compared to Stewart Cink, who I greatly respect, previous captains Davis Love III and Jim Furyk, and Fred Couples, who has a great track record as a Presidents Cup captain (although that’s like praising the Harlem Globetrotters for always beating the Washington Generals), Bradley is a much more dynamic choice.
He will be the youngest Ryder Cup captain since Arnold Palmer did so at age 34 in 1963.
Bradley brings everything you could want from a Ryder Cup captain to the first tee, as much passion as anyone could possibly have for the tournament. He bleeds for the Ryder Cup and wears it on his sleeve.
Bradley famously keeps his 2012 Ryder Cup bag at home and has never opened it, vowing to join another team and win the Ryder Cup before then.
“I hope one day I can win the Ryder Cup and open that cup and just have that peace of mind because I think about the Ryder Cup every second of every day,” Bradley said in an episode of “Full Swing,” a Netflix documentary about the PGA Tour.
Bradley, who went 4-2 in his two Ryder Cup appearances in 2012 and 2014, was controversially left off the 2023 Ryder Cup team by captain Zach Johnson.
He was in a position to make the team on points after winning the Zozo Championship and the Travelers Championship, but because only six players were automatically selected, his fate was left to Johnson’s choice of captain.
He finished 11th in the final points standings, being overtaken by Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas, all of whom had fewer points than him.
Bradley was shocked by the neglect and wasn’t shy about letting everyone know about it. He, too, criticized Johnson’s methods, pointing out Johnson’s close ties with Thomas, Spieth and Fowler and calling it a “guys-only” club.
“They’re close,” Bradley said in an interview after being ignored. “They’re not just close on the PGA Tour, they’re close friends. Outside of golf, they’re really close friends.”
Bradley lamented being an “outsider” compared to those players.
When the PGA of America makes Monday’s announcement official Tuesday at a press conference at Nasdaq, Bradley will no longer have to worry about the “men’s club” issue. He’s no longer an outsider. He’s the boss.
Sure, Bradley is a Vermont native and New Englander who worships the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics, but he played golf at St. John’s while training at Bethpage Black in college.
Bradley’s passion for the Ryder Cup and Bethpage will fuel this incredible week and, as America hopes, a win for the United States.
With this appointment, the PGA of America has chosen passion over politics.
Good thing for the PGA, which has spent far too many years trying to fill positions with people it thinks are the next best people to check the boxes, even if they aren’t the right fit. (Just look at Tom Watson and Zach Johnson for some failed examples.)
Bradley is the right guy…even if he doesn’t realize it yet.
