He made every shot perfectly and hit every note perfectly while shooting a 65 in the final round of the tournament.
Keegan Bradley has been captain of the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team for just a minute.
He has yet to address the 12 yet-to-be-determined players who will captain the European Championships at Bethpage Black from Sept. 26-28 next year. He will not select a wild-card player for his team, he has not told his bubble players they will not join the trip, and he has not yet named the team’s vice-captains.
But during a 40-minute press conference at Nasdaq on Tuesday to officially announce him as the 31st U.S. Ryder Cup captain, Bradley looked and sounded like the type of person I believe would be a great leader.
He was passionate. He was confident. He was humble. He was honest. He was genuine.
Bradley said he was shocked when he got a call from the PGA of America a few weeks ago asking if he would like the position, as it was the first time the possibility had been discussed.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more surprised in my life,” Bradley said. “I had no idea, so it took a while to sink in. Some of the people who didn’t make it didn’t make much sense to me. [in favor of him]I have so much respect for those who have held this position before me and who are so deserving of it.
“So it was a heavy thought and moment.”
Bradley has played on two Ryder Cup teams, won eight PGA Tour titles, including a major, is currently ranked 11th in the world and has been forthright about his desire to be a player-captain.
“I want to play for the team,” he said. “I feel like I’m still in the prime of my career and I can join this team. I can join the team on points or [or not play]”…I’m not going to choose myself.”
Bradley said one of the first people he spoke to when he was named captain was Tiger Woods, who will likely decline the captaincy for 2025 and wait until 2027 when the tournament is held in Ireland.
He wouldn’t rule out Woods being an alternate captain if he wanted to.
“I’ve spoken to Tiger a number of times, I spoke to him on the phone this morning,” Bradley said. “Tiger’s always been there for me, and I told him he’s welcome to be involved as much as he wants. I haven’t spoken to him about being vice captain yet.” [yet]” .
Bradley spoke with reverence about all the captains who came before him.
“I’m going to call all of the U.S. captains and find out what they did right and what they did wrong, whether they won or lost,” he said.
That includes 2023 captain Zach Johnson, who was left off the team despite finishing 11th in the points standings.
“I was devastated,” Bradley said of the neglect, “and it took me a while to recover. But I’m an American, and whether I play or not, I’m rooting for the Americans to win the Ryder Cup. I know everyone on the team, and I bleed red, white and blue… and I was rooting for them.”
“It was a weird feeling knowing I could have been there and helped the team, but I know what a difficult decision Zach made. Sitting here now as captain, I have a different perspective on what he did.” [was] “I’ve only been captain for two weeks and I used to stare at the ceiling thinking about every situation, so now I have a different perspective and I have nothing but admiration and respect for Zach Johnson.”
The pair posed with their trophies in front of the NASDAQ building on Tuesday. AP
When asked how he plans to handle having a LIV Golf player on his team, Bradley was honest, assertive and on point.
“I’m going to put the 12 best players on my team, I don’t care where they play,” he said.
Bradley’s passion for the Ryder Cup is evidenced by the fact that he still keeps at home the unopened suitcase he used for the 2012 Ryder Cup. It was his first Ryder Cup and he vowed not to open it until he returned to the winning team.
“The 2012 Ryder Cup is such a strange feeling for me because every day except the final day was one of my best memories on the golf course,” he said, “and then Sunday was just my worst day on the golf course and one of the worst days of my life. I went home and kept staring at my suitcase and I couldn’t open it because I was so sad.” [seeing] What was in the suitcase only made things worse.
“There are so many strong memories in the box for both of us that we’ve decided not to open it until we win the Ryder Cup. I still have it at home and hope to open it one day.”
Of course, Bradley hopes that “someday” is Sept. 28, 2025.
