Keegan Bradley made a hard decision, which he says happened some time ago, and “unpicked” himself for the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team, deciding to concentrate only on being the best captain he can be.
“It was a decision that’s been weighing on me for months,” Bradley told Golf Channel today about sitting himself down. “But in the back of my mind, I always wanted to just be the captain.”
After he won the Travelers, many people speculated that Bradley would pick himself. Others believed that he should play, particularly with his experience at Bethpage Black, including his college days at St. John's. But he felt he would be doing the team a disservice.
As such, the six additional players that will tee it up for the U.S. alongside automatic qualifiers Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, and Bryson DeChambeau are:
- Justin Thomas
- Collin Morikawa
- Patrick Cantlay
- Ben Griffin
- Sam Burns
- Cameron Young
Young and Griffin are rookies picked for the Ryder Cup team, as are U.S. Open champ J.J. Spaun and Russell Henley.
Burns and Griffin have shown themselves to be excellent putters, especially lately. Young finally improved his putting enough for a victory.
Bradley obviously knows what it’s like to try to become a captain's pick.
“I’ve been in this position before where you feel like you’re playing to prove yourself on these teams, and it’s basically like being at Q-school every round and every tournament,” he explained. “These guys that got picked needed to play exactly like that to make this team.”
Bradley is impressed by today’s golfers because of the way they care about each other and pull for each other to do well. He said he has seen them with no cameras around cheering for a friend making a putt, even though that friend is a competitor.
“That’s something that I admire about them,’” he added. “I’m a different person now than I ever was on the Tour, and I’m really grateful for that.”
Right now, Bradley and his vice captains are looking at things that worked in the most recent Presidents Cup, the pairings, for example. Bradley said that being a part of a Ryder Cup team that loses changes your attitude on what you need to do to win, but he didn’t offer specifics.
Bradley was asked about the Bryson DeChambeau factor and answered that DeChambeau will play with anybody.
“He’s rabid to get out there and represent his country,” Bradley said. “He’s a really great weapon that we’re going to have.”
Talking about other players, Bradley said that Justin Thomas is a player that others look up to. He’s always texting Bradley and asking what he can do for the team.
“He plays with a lot of passion, which is something you need in Ryder Cups,” Bradley noted.
Bradley had certain characteristics he was looking for in his picks.
“First off, we wanted guys who could handle the moment,” Bradley explained. “There’s Ryder Cups and there’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage.”
What he meant by that is the ability to handle the aggressive New York crowd which is known to be critical of everything a player does, friend or foe. And they are vocal about it. During the upcoming Ryder Cup, the Europeans should probably bring earplugs because they could hear anything.
In the final analysis, Bradley said they needed guys who fit the golf course, which is very long and difficult. He added that most of them are incredible putters, which seems to always be the key in winning a Ryder Cup.
Now, they will work on the pairings, which will be important for success in the first two days.
Expect Burns to be paired at least some of the time with his good friend Scottie Scheffler. Expect Xander Schauffele to play with Patrick Cantlay. Perhaps Harris English will partner with Russell Henley, as both are former Georgia Bulldogs.
Looking at them top to bottom, it’s a powerful team, with a lot of very good putters. Hopefully, at least in the eyes of those rooting for the Americans, the setup will favor the U.S. instead of Europe. For instance, wider fairways and fast greens. That’s something for the PGA of America to think about for sure.