Team USA has roughly two months to nail down its 12-man roster and less than three months to formulate its game plan for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
That's already a lot on captain Keegan Bradley's plate, but he now has to worry about preparing to compete in the event after winning the Travelers Championship and solidifying himself as a worthy captain's pick.
The Americans will be in a tough spot if their captain doubles as a member of the team, so it's time to get Tiger Woods on the phone.
When the PGA of America selected Bradley to serve as Team USA's Ryder Cup captain last July, it probably didn't expect the 39-year-old to play his way onto the team.
But a month after the announcement, Bradley won the BMW Championship and finished 21st in the FedEx Cup standings. He's kept that momentum rolling into 2025, notching eight top-20 finishes in his first 13 starts. And in his 15th start of the season this past week, of course, Bradley won the Travelers for the second time in three seasons to vault to ninth in the American Ryder Cup standings.
The top shots of Keegan Bradley's season include two aces and a bunch of hole-outs.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 23, 2025
Bradley has had a consistent 2025 with nine top-20s in 16 starts.
After his win, he's now ranked eighth in the #ComcastBusinessTOURTOP10. pic.twitter.com/OY7uvpGxMr
If captain's picks were due today, Bradley would be an easy selection. As long as the veteran doesn't completely fall apart over the next two months, he simply needs to be a member of the team. That creates a bit of a problem for the Americans.
The Ryder Cup captain has a crucial role to play in the months leading up to the tournament and during the week of the event itself. He needs to be locked into the pulse of the team—monitoring how players are performing, how pairings are gelling and what changes need to be made to unlock a hidden advantage.
Bradley can't perform those functions to the best of his ability if he's playing in a match for five hours. As an emotional, competitive golfer, he just won't be able to put his full heart and energy into both roles as a player and captain.
That's where Woods comes in.
The Americans can't afford to leave Bradley off the team with how well he's playing, and he would be much more effective if he didn't have to stress over captain duties at the same time. Woods knows the American players better than anyone, and he would command a respect no other fill-in captain could.
Team USA won't find a captain with more experience and more competitive fire than Woods. The 49-year-old has played in eight Ryder Cups as a player, and he's served as a vice captain twice. He's extremely familiar with the strategy aspect of the tournament, so he would have no issues stepping in on short notice and flourishing as the captain.