Golf insiders and outsiders alike were surprised when Keegan Hansen Bradley was introduced on July 8, 2024, as the new U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captain for the 2025 matches Sept. 23–28 at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York. Even the then-38-year-old Bradley was surprised when he fielded a phone call from former PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh and 2023 U.S. Captain Zach Johnson notifying him that he had been selected to lead the USA against Team Europe in the 45th Ryder Cup.
“Surprised? I don’t think I’ll ever be more surprised by anything in my entire life,” admitted Bradley in a news conference to announce his captaincy. “I had no idea, and it took a while for it to sink in.”
Why was Bradley surprised? First, he had never served as a Ryder Cup Vice Captain, a traditional stepping stone toward ascension to captain. Plus, his Ryder Cup resume was modest, competing in only two of the biennial events while compiling a 4-3-0 record.
“When Seth Waugh told me my number had been called, it sort of hit me that this is a heavy job and responsibility,” recalls Bradley. “It hit me that this is a group of people who trusted me in this, and it’s time to step up to the plate and be the captain of this team.”
Bradley, a native of Woodstock, Vermont, who grew up as a ski racer before devoting his time to golf, had been a prideful, passionate supporter of the U.S. Ryder Cup Team even before he turned professional in 2008 and earned his PGA TOUR card in 2011. The proud New Englander who starred at St. John’s University in Queens, New York, made his Ryder Cup debut in 2012 at Medinah outside Chicago, where he won his first three matches paired with Phil Mickelson and finished with a 3-1 record. In 2014 at Gleneagles in Scotland, Bradley went 1-2 as the U.S. squad was bested by Team Europe.
He is the son of Mark Bradley, a PGA of America Professional in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and his aunt happens to be World Golf Hall of Famer Pat Bradley. Keegan is one of only six players in history to win in their major championship debut, defeating Jason Duffner in a three-hole playoff to take home the 2011 PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Bradley is a devout Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Bruins fan, and still wears the number 27 on his golf shoes occasionally to honor Carlton “Pudge” Fisk, the Red Sox legend who is Keegan’s wife Jillian’s uncle.
Bradley has demonstrated a burning passion for the Ryder Cup and was heartbroken when he was left off the 2023 Ryder Cup Team. His deep disappointment in failing to be named to the team was captured in Netflix’s “Full Swing” series when Johnson called Keegan to deliver the news.
At 39, he will be the youngest U.S. Captain since Arnold Palmer captained the American side to victory at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta in 1963. The question for much of 2025 has been whether Bradley would follow in Arnie’s footsteps and serve as a playing captain for the 2025 matches. PGA Magazine posed that question – and many other Ryder Cup-related questions – to Keegan after he proved his prowess as a player by winning the Travelers Championship on the PGA TOUR on June 22.
Does winning the Travelers for a second time, and based on your solid play throughout 2025, make you reconsider your previous decision to focus on serving as the 2025 Ryder Cup Captain and not making the team as a player?
Keegan Bradley: It’s funny because my whole life — every year I was out here on tour — I wanted to play on the Ryder Cup Team. Then this would be the first year where maybe I didn’t want to. I just wanted to be the captain and, of course, you know, this is what happens. But we’ll see. I’m going to do whatever I think is best for the team.
When Seth Waugh called and told me they wanted me to be the next Ryder Cup Captain, the first thing he said was, “We want you to be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer.” I mean, my head was spinning. I didn’t know what they were talking about, but they knew having a playing captain was a possibility.
I’m always trying to be the best that I can be, and I feel like I’m playing the best golf of my career right now. But until I won, I was focusing on being the U.S. Captain, not being a player. I never would have thought about playing if I hadn’t won. This definitely opens the door to play.
How do you divide your time between Keegan Bradley the PGA TOUR player and Keegan Bradley the U.S. Ryder Cup Captain?
Bradley: It’s been a challenge since I was named Ryder Cup Captain. But when I’m inside the ropes, I’m a player and when I’m outside the ropes, I’m 100 percent committed to taking care of Ryder Cup things.
The hardest thing for me has not been thinking of the Ryder Cup when I’m practicing or during my day-to-day duties when I’m home with my family. The biggest obstacle is shutting that part of my brain off, which is interesting because, when I get inside the ropes in a tournament, it’s really the only time I can do that. Sometimes for us golfers, being inside the ropes is actually a peaceful place. I’ve had that at times this year, but there have definitely been times where I’ve been practicing and a thought will come into my head and I’ve got to write it down.
Your roots are in New England, but you are something of a transplanted New Yorker since you played college golf at St. John’s University, where you were inducted into the St. John’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020. How did you end up there?
Bradley: I wasn’t really recruited by any schools out of high school, but we made up a little video of my high school highlights and sent it to about 50 Division I schools. To be honest (longtime PGA of America Professional), Frank Darby and St. John’s was the only school that gave me a full-ride scholarship.
I lived between the Grand Central Parkway and the Union Turnpike. St. John’s wasn’t exactly a golf powerhouse, but Coach Darby used the resources available and recruited a bunch of blue-collar, scrappy players who turned out to be pretty good. Several of my former teammates, such as Joe Yastrub and Mike Gallo, have gone on to great careers as PGA Professionals. St. John’s was a great place for me to develop and I had a great experience. I remain close friends with Frank Darby to this day. I wouldn’t trade my experience at St. John’s for anything.
Bethpage Black became your de facto home course at St. John’s. Is it true you and your St. John’s teammates sneaked onto the course frequently? How did that work?
Bradley: The Black is my favorite course in the world, and I’ve played the course hundreds of times. Bethpage Black was the first major championship course I ever played, and I have a lot of really great memories.
We didn’t talk about it at the time because we didn’t want to get anyone in trouble, but we had an understanding with the superintendent that we could play The Black on Mondays (when it was closed to the public). We would park over by the maintenance shed by the third tee and play the third through 14th holes all the time. It was just so special to go out there and play. We would play in one group — seven, eight, nine of us, and we’d play as much as we could. I’m not sure many people ever got to do that, to have that great course all to themselves.
What did you learn about Bethpage Black while playing all those rounds?
Bradley: Every hole at The Black is tough, which is fitting for New York. There are no breather holes. It’s a long, tough major championship course that gets your attention from the first tee and demands that you hit quality shots from start to finish. Any round of par or under par at The Black is a great round. It showed how difficult it can play during two U.S. Opens (2002 and 2009) and the 2019 PGA Championship (where Bradley finished T29 at 2-over).
The Black is a major championship course every day of the week, 365 days a year. It will be a great Ryder Cup course because it can be set up extraordinarily difficult, or it can be set up to allow the guys to take a few chances and be rewarded for great shots. It will be in great condition for the Ryder Cup and I know my experience will be a big plus for our side – but you still have to go out and hit all the shots.
What criteria are you using to select the 12 players who will represent the United States on the 2025 Ryder Cup Team? After the six automatic qualifiers, how do you decide who your Captain’s Picks will be?
Bradley: I have told everyone for the past 18 months that the best way to ensure you are on the U.S. Ryder Cup Team is to be among the top six on the points list, to earn your way on by playing well in all the major championships and by winning. If you’re not in the top six to automatically qualify, anything can happen.
It should also be pointed out that we refer to the final six on the team as Captain’s Picks, but in reality we use input from the Vice Captains, Ryder Cup Committee and even players themselves who have made the team to determine those final six. We go with who is playing the best, who can handle the various Ryder Cup formats the best and who can handle the situation. We also look at all the analytics to help us see whose games match up well with Bethpage Black.
How much of a home-course advantage will the U.S. Team enjoy at Bethpage Black, and is there any concern that New York fans might be too boisterous?
Bradley: New Yorkers in general consider Bethpage Black their home course because it’s a public course anyone can play. Everyone has a story about waiting in their cars before sunrise to try to get a tee time at The Black and everyone has a Bethpage Black story. It’s a source of pride for New Yorkers when The Black hosts a major championship, and the volume will be even louder for the Ryder Cup.
I have total faith in the fans of New York to cheer on their team proudly and loudly at the Ryder Cup. There is nothing in sports like the Ryder Cup atmosphere, but I don’t want them to cross the line or do anything that would affect play. It’s going to be a tough atmosphere, an electric environment. It’s going to be tough for both teams. It’s really important to us — the U.S. side — that it’s a fair place to play for both teams.
You have been hearing U-S-A, U-S-A cheers wherever you go and wherever you play since being named the U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captain. Has the support surprised you?
Bradley: The support has been phenomenal, especially if I am playing well in a tournament. But I get it (the cheers) when I’m pumping gas, I get it in restaurants, at the grocery store. I never expected this sort of support for the Ryder Cup Captain, but it’s been great.
The week when I won the Travelers, it was really loud – it was Ryder Cup loud when I made that putt on the last hole to win. Of course, that was a home game for me (in Connecticut) and it will be a home game for us again at Bethpage Black.
What is your main objective in preparing for the 45th Ryder Cup?
Bradley: Our focus is solely on winning the Ryder Cup.
