Keegan Bradley named US Ryder Cup captain

It’s official: Keegan Bradley is the new US Ryder Cup captain.

Ahead of his official unveiling to the media tomorrow, the 39-old has been confirmed as the man to lead the United States into next year’s contest at Bethpage.

The news comes following a report in Sports Illustrated earlier today that the major winner had been offered the role. This followed a reported in The Telegraph that presumed front-runner Tiger Woods had turned it down.

Twice a player in the match, Bradley was controversially overlooked for a captain’s pick last year when Zach Johnson opted to leave him out.

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That scene played out in front of the television cameras, with Bradley receiving the bad news that he hadn’t made the US side for the clash at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club near Rome featuring on season two of popular Netflix show Full Swing.

However, he has gone from snubbed to skipper and will his country into a clash with Luke Donald’s Europeans next year.

“I am incredibly honoured to accept this opportunity to captain the United States Team at the 2025 Ryder Cup,” said Bradley. “I would like to thank the PGA of America Ryder Cup Committee for their trust in me as we embark on this journey to Bethpage Black.

“My passion and appreciation for golf’s greatest team event have never been stronger.

“The Ryder Cup is unlike any other competition in our sport, and this edition will undoubtedly be particularly special given the rich history and enthusiastic spectators at this iconic course. I look forward to beginning preparations for 2025.”

PGA of America president John Lindert added: “Keegan’s past Ryder Cup experience, strong relationships and unwavering passion for this event will prove invaluable as he guides the US team over the next year and a half.

“We are confident that with Keegan at the helm, the 2025 US Ryder Cup team will compete at Bethpage with the same confidence and determination that has defined his career.”

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The decision is certainly an interesting one and appears to be a ripping-up of the rulebook by the PGA of America.

Not only will Bradley become the youngest captain since Arnold Palmer – who was 34 when he led the US in 1963 – he will also be one of the most inexperienced.

After an impressive and impassioned debut at Medinah in 2012, where he secured three points from a possible four, Bradley made his only other appearance at Gleneagles in 2014, where he lost the ultimately decisive match to Jamie Donaldson as Europe secured a third win in a row.

That’s right: the PGA of America is putting its trust in a player who has never tasted victory in the Ryder Cup.

However, Bradley is well used to baptisms of fire. He won the PGA Championship on his major debut in 2011.

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The six-time PGA Tour winner also has strong links to the north-east of the USA and so the expected raucous New York crowd is likely to identify even more strongly with him.

There’s also this: he cares strongly about the Ryder Cup.

Speaking to bunkered.co.uk in 2020, Bradley revealed he still thinks about the Medinah defeat in 2012 almost every day.

“I just remember how bummed out I felt,” he said. “It was a tough deal. On Sunday night, that’s usually the night that everybody gets together, has some drinks and lets their hair down at the end of a long week. There was none of that for us.

“The next morning, I remember getting up and getting ready to leave and they were dismantling the team room, taking down the name tags, the decorations and so on, and it was really brutal. Like, ‘ten out of ten’ brutal.

“And like I said, it’s something I think about pretty often because the memories are so conflicted. On the one hand, they’re incredible but then, on the other, they’re not. I often find myself thinking what it would have been like if we would have won.”

Following today’s shock announcement, he’ll get another chance to find out next year.

The 2025 Ryder Cup takes place from September 26-28 at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor