Will Keegan Bradley be a playing captain for the U.S. Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black in September?
After winning the Travelers Championship on Sunday, that’s a decision only he can make.
“This changes the story a little bit,” Bradley said Sunday about his Ryder Cup role. “I never would have thought about playing if I hadn’t won. This definitely opens the door to play. I don’t know if I’m going to do it or not, but I certainly have to take a pretty hard look at what’s best for the team.”
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Bradley has moved to No. 9 in the Ryder Cup standings and a career-best No. 7 in the Official World Golf Ranking. His two PGA Tour wins in the past year are more than that of any American except world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
“It’s such an unbelievable thing in that I spent 15 years of my career here [on the PGA Tour]. Every year my goal is to make the Ryder Cup team,” Bradley told “Golf Central” on Golf Channel on Sunday. “And then this would be the year where I was like, ‘You know, I’m excited to just be the captain.’ And then, of course, something like this happens.
“We’ll see. This definitely changes things. I definitely wasn’t going to play if I didn’t win. I want to put my team in the best position to win. If we get down to it and that me playing is how that’s going to be … I will play if I feel like it will help the team.”
He said if he does play, he would do so as a playing captain and not have one of his vice captains — Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker — take over the role.
The top six players in the points standings after the BMW Championship on Aug. 17 will automatically make the team; Bradley will also make six captain’s choices. Scheffler, two-time major winner Xander Schauffele and U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun are the clear top three at this point, with Russell Henley, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas rounding out the top six.
Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Bradley, Harris English, Maverick McNealy and Brian Harman are the next six in the points race through Sunday.
“When I’m inside the ropes, it’s the only time I can escape this Ryder Cup thing,” Bradley told Golf Channel about the surge in his game. “So sometimes, when you can find peace inside the ropes, you play your best golf. When I leave the ropes, when I go home, I’m 24/7 Ryder Cup. And when I’m able to come here [to the course], especially when I’m not playing with a Ryder Cup player … and I don’t have to be the captain, it’s sort of nice and peaceful. That’s the only thing I can point to.”
RankPoints1. Scottie Scheffler27,536.932. Xander Schauffele12,472.703. J.J. Spaun12,271.854. Russell Henley11,166.855. Bryson DeChambeau10,318.006. Justin Thomas9,997.697. Collin Morikawa9,482.018. Ben Griffin8,432.919. Keegan Bradley7,845.2210. Harris English7,666.5311. Maverick McNealy7,126.4612. Brian Harman6,521.2613. Andrew Novak6,346.2814. Patrick Cantlay6,010.8315. Sam Burns5,508.7516. Tom Hoge4,392.1017. Cameron Young4,386.5518. Daniel Berger4,308.8219. Tony Finau4,160.5120. Lucas Glover4,155.63
Two years ago, Bradley was devastated when then-U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson left him off the 2023 team in favor of Thomas as a captain’s pick.
In 2024, Bradley, now 39, was chosen by the PGA of America to lead the U.S. team for the 2025 matches at Bethpage Black in New York — the youngest American captain since Arnold Palmer was a playing captain in 1963.
“I was nervous [about being captain],” Bradley told Golf Channel. “I had a few people in my camp that didn’t want me to do this because they were worried I’d play terribly, and I was concerned about it.”
Bradley said the thought of actually playing at Bethpage Black hadn’t really crossed his mind earlier this season, but as his game has surged, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
“I never really planned on playing. I really wanted to just be the captain,” Bradley said. “I really felt strongly about that. I want to serve the guys. They asked me to do a job. I want to do it to the best of my abilities.
“Now, with the amazing vice captains that I have, and I have a better perspective of playing in the Presidents Cup and being around a lot of the guys, I feel a lot more comfortable if I went that route.”
Bradley, who is from New England and played college golf at St. John’s, last played in the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland in 2014. He made his Ryder Cup debut at Medinah in 2012.
The Ryder Cup will be held Sept. 26-28 at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
