close
close

topicnews · August 26, 2024

Keegan Bradley would like to captain the Ryder Cup and be included in the Presidents Cup team

Keegan Bradley would like to captain the Ryder Cup and be included in the Presidents Cup team

Keegan Bradley was already in a unique position when he was named the next Ryder Cup captain of the USA earlier this year.

At just 38 years old, Bradley will be the youngest USA captain in decades. And he is still in the prime of his career, as he demonstrated on Sunday afternoon with his victory at the BMW Championship. This makes him only the third active USA Ryder Cup captain in history to win on the PGA Tour.

Although the Ryder Cup is still more than a year away, Bradley has undoubtedly earned a place in the running for next month’s Presidents Cup, but many did not expect him to be there.

“I’m happy to do whatever and play whatever role they ask of me,” Bradley said after his victory at Castle Pines in Colorado on Sunday. “I think that as a Ryder Cup captain, I’m that type of player, even though they haven’t had a Ryder Cup captain who’s played full-time on the tour.”

“One of my goals was to make the Presidents Cup team, so we’ll see. I hope I didn’t upset anyone, but I’m proud to be considered.”

Despite his victory, it was not enough for Bradley to automatically earn a place on the U.S. Presidents Cup team. The qualifying period ended Sunday afternoon and the top six golfers in the U.S. and the world received guaranteed spots on their respective teams. Bradley finished 10th in the U.S. team rankings. He can now only make the team if Jim Furyk applies one of his captain’s picks to him next month.

Bradley and the US team even hinted at this on social media on Sunday evening.

But for now, Bradley is trying to focus on the Tour Championship. Sunday’s win moved him up an incredible 46 spots in the FedEx Cup standings and secures him a spot in next week’s field at East Lake.

“When I arrived here this week, I honestly didn’t think I would be going to Atlanta… I just wanted to win the tournament,” he said. “I’m playing great. I’m very happy to be in Atlanta.”

Regardless of what happens with the Presidents Cup, Bradley could realistically be the first captain to actually compete in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer did so in 1963.

Although he is all for it, Bradley said he does not believe he could use the captain’s choice for himself.

“I would love to be a playing captain,” he said on Sunday. “Nobody really had the chance that I had… It’s going to be really hard for me to get into the team, but if I can make it, I’ll play. I don’t see myself as a candidate for captain, but I’m proud just to be captain.”

“If I have to go out there and play, I would love to do that.”

Bradley’s victory on Sunday was the seventh of his career and his first since last year’s Travelers Championship. He has two runner-up finishes this season, including a playoff loss at the Sony Open in January. He will move up to 11th in the Official World Golf Ranking on Monday.

Since he said he probably won’t use the captain’s pick for himself, Bradley will have to play his way into the top six to automatically make the team, and he won’t give himself much room for error considering how well Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and others have played this season.

But if Bradley can take Sunday’s win into a strong 2025 season, it’s by no means impossible. He could very easily be competing with his team in Bethpage Black next fall.

“I still feel like I’m at the peak of my career,” he said. “I feel like there are a lot of aspects of my game that are better than they’ve ever been, and I feel like I still have years ahead of me. I wanted to make that Ryder Cup team in Bethpage, where I was captain. That’s always been a goal of mine. I feel like I can play at a high level for a while yet.”

You may also like...