Keegan Bradley is back on the U.S. team for the first time in a decade, but he has bigger goals in mind than just this week's Presidents Cup.
He's always thinking about next year's Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, where he'll become the youngest captain to lead the U.S. team in 62 years. The Ryder Cup is life for Bradley, and he said that at last year's BMW Championship, about two weeks before Zach Johnson overtook him on the 2023 team in Rome.
Since then, Europe has dominated the US, and Bradley is obsessed with changing the fortunes of the red, white and blue in 2025. He wants revenge, and he wants to win.
So it's no surprise that as he sits at Royal Montreal this week, he's already preparing for next year's tournament.
“It's been really fun getting to know these guys a little bit more,” Bradley said.
“Now that I'm captain of the team, it's really my mission to get to know my teammates better. I've been able to meet some of the younger players that I might not have sat down with for breakfast or anything like that. It's been a great experience for me.”
What's unique about Bradley as captain for 2025 is that he's currently the No. 13 player in the world. He's not a veteran who's 10 years removed from his prime. And he's not out of touch with the best players. He's still competing against them on a weekly basis, as his victory at the BMW Championship last month attested. He's inside the ropes, watching how his fellow pros' games and tendencies play out in real time. But now he has a deeper insight into their personalities and what works and what doesn't. That's the hallmark of a strong team.
But Bradley will serve in that role as a fellow player, rather than as an assistant captain, a role he would have held had he not been selected for this year's Presidents Cup.
“It would have been nice to just be in the team room as an assistant and see the inner workings of it all,” said John Wooden, current team manager of the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Playthrough.
“For him to be selected and to play with the guys he's going to be captaining next year, I think it just means the respect that people have for him is on another level. He can still play and he knows what it's like to be tied to the ropes. I think the guys on the team are going to get a real feel for that this year and a renewed appreciation for what it takes to be there.”
Bradley added that he'll be spending “99.9 percent” of his time as a player this week, but will get to know all of the players a little better as the tournament continues — something that will be a big help for the Americans as they try to win the Ryder Cup on home soil in a year's time.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
