Will Keegan Bradley become the play captain of the US Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black in September?
After winning the Travelers Championship on Sunday, that’s a decision he can only do.
“This changes the story a bit,” Bradley said on Sunday about the role of the Ryder Cup. “If they hadn’t won, they would have never thought about playing. This definitely opens the door to playing. I don’t know if I’d do that, but I have to look pretty strict about what’s best for the team.”
Bradley placed 9th in the Ryder Cup position and reached a career-high seventh in the official world golf rankings. His two PGA Tour victories over the past year are more common than those of the Americans except Scotty Schaeffler, the world’s number one.
“It’s incredible in that I’ve spent 15 years here (on the PGA Tour) career. Every year, my goal is to create a Ryder Cup team,” Bradley told Golf Central on the Golf Channel on Sunday. “And this will be the year when I was like, ‘You know, I’m just excited to be captain.’ “And of course, this happens.
“We see. This definitely changes things. If we don’t win, I definitely wasn’t going to play. I want to put the team in the perfect position to win. If we get to that and I play, it’s how it will be… I’ll play if it feels like it helps the team.”
He said that if he plays he will do so as a play captain and that one of his assistants, Jim Furik Kevin Kissner, Webb Simpson and Blunt Snedeker, will take over the role.
After the BMW Championship on August 17th, the top six players in the point ranking will automatically create a team. Bradley also makes six captain choices. Schauffer, two-time major winners Xander Schauffele and US Open Champion JJ Spaun were in the top three at this point, with Russell Henry, Bryson Deccanbeau and Justin Thomas closing out the top six.
Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Bradley, Harris English, Maverick McNeely and Brian Herman are the next six in Sunday’s points race.
“When I’m on the ropes, that’s all I can get away with about this Ryder Cup,” Bradley told Golf Channel about the surge in his game. “So when you can find peace in the rope, you play the best golf. When you leave the rope, when you go home, I’m a 24/7 Rider Cup. And I can come here.
Two years ago, Bradley was devastated when then-Ryder Cup captain Zack Johnson left the 2023 team in favor of Thomas as captain’s pick.
In 2024, Bradley, now 39, was selected by the American PGA to lead the US team in the 2025 match at Beth Page Black in New York. Arnold Palmer was the captain who played in 1963.
“I was nervous (about being a captain),” Bradley told Golf Channel. “There were a few people in camp who didn’t want to do this because they were worried I might play badly.
Bradley said the idea of actually playing for Beth Page Black didn’t really cross his mind earlier this season, but as his game surged, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
“I wasn’t planning on playing, I really wanted to be captain,” Bradley said. “I felt really strong about it. I want to serve everyone. They asked me to do my job. I want to make the most of my abilities.
“Now, the incredible vice captain I have, I have a better perspective on playing in the Presidential Cup and being around a lot of people. I feel more comfortable when I go that route.”
Bradley, a New England native and a college golfer at St. John’s, played his last performance in the Ryder Cup in Glen Agles, Scotland in 2014. He made his Ryder Cup debut at Medina in 2012.
The Ryder Cup will be held September 26th-28th at Beth Page Black in Farmingdale, New York
The Associated Press contributed to this report.