FLOWTOWN, Pennsylvania – Keegan Bradley slowly warms up to the US soundtrack for “USA! USA!” A chant that follows him around the course since he was appointed captain of the Ryder Cup.
But the real surprise is the patriotic reception, and I would like to thank him for his weekly service he receives at gas stations and restaurants when the 38-year-old Vermont player goes out in public.
“People who buy me dinner, desserts and drinks,” said Bradley, who has surpassed $49 million in career revenue. “I wasn’t expecting that. It was a bonus.”
Bradley has heard this weekend from fans screaming “Cap! Cap!” at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. His fan club will grow a little in the Northeast anyway to standard calls for “America!” There, 2011 PGA champion Bradley also made his name at St. John’s as an outstanding golfer since 2006-10. Bradley posted a social media photo in March. The Red Storm lost to Arkansas in Providence, but the Bradley boys exploded.
“I haven’t really been rooting for over 20 years,” Bradley said. “So this team is really good to have a legal team as well as a despicable good. That was my first time.”
Running a Team USA show.
Bradley, who played only for two teams in the Ryder Cup and was not an assistant captain, was selected last July because he failed to accept the role of leading the 2025 match at Beth Page Black in New York last July.
He held a dinner for future members of the Ryder Cup (yes, Liv players) at the White Marche Valley Country Club on Tuesday, with most of the town’s top PGA players being the Trust Championship. Although there have been unofficial gatherings over the past 10 months, Keegan has held his first organized meeting with players, caddies and wife to begin to actually discuss the Ryder Cup.
“We’ve been talking with the boys now for over a year,” Bradley said. “This was fun bringing everyone together under one roof. We called it dinner and it was really like a gathering.”
He is given six captain picks to close out a 12-man team.
Bradley last played in the Ryder Cup in 2014 for Glen Agles in Scotland. Tom Watson benched him and Phil Mickelson for Saturday’s session in another European victory. Bradley made his Ryder Cup debut at Medina in 2012, working with Mickelson to go 3-0 before losing to Rory McIlroy in a single that turned out to be a European victory, the biggest comeback by visiting team.
Bradley will have his final PGA Tour victory at the 2024 BMW Championship. At 38, he becomes America’s youngest captain since Arnold Palmer played the captain in East Lake in 1963.
Bradley hoped he could serve as a play captain, but said, “I have to play better than I’m doing now.”
He sank a 23-foot birdie putt on No. 6 and a 31-foot birdie putt to third place to finish Saturday with a 2-under 68. He was at 6 under 234, headed for Sunday’s final round on the Wissahickon course.
“I grew up on a course that looked like this,” he said. “I couldn’t play a course that was so nice. But it’s a rough, big course everywhere. I was really looking forward to playing this style of golf.”
While most players garnered praise on the course, McIlroy noted that “probably 500 or 600 yards are too short,” Bradley mostly enjoyed the rounds at the Cricket Club.
He really enjoyed golfing in the Northeast.
Bradley is excited by the state’s surge in tournaments over the next five years due to PGA and Pennsylvania standards. The 2026 PGA Championship will be held at the Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, and the 2030 US Open will be held at the Merion Golf Club.
He has a soft spot for aroni mink. Bradley led Justin Rose with par on his first playoff hole and won the BMW Championship on the 2018 course, making it his first PGA Tour victory in six years.
“When I talk to all PGA Tour players (top-down), I hope we can play more in the Northeast,” Bradley said. “We get treats like this every few years, and that’s great.”
That’s even better when Bradley boasts a home country advantage.
“Me and Rosie didn’t enjoy it much,” Ireland’s Shane Lowry said with a laugh after being paired with Bradley and Rose on Friday.
Talked like a true American captain, Bradley made the pitch in search of more golf in the Philadelphia suburbs.
“For America, I feel this is just as classic as a course like this,” Bradley said.