Jon Rahm gives his hot-take on shock Ryder Cup captaincy pick, says Tiger Woods would’ve ‘made a lot of sense’
Keegan Bradley was revealed as the US team captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup earlier this week. The announcement came as a surprise for many, who were backing other names like Tiger Woods for the position. LIV Golf’s Jon Rahm was one of them.
Just days after the shock announcement, Rahm came out to state that Woods leading the US team at Beth Page would have “made a lot of sense.” However, he didn’t downplay Bradley’s pick.
The Spaniard recalled the American golfer’s Ryder Cup showings and dubbed him a “very enthusiastic player.” The LIV Golfer noted that the 2011 PGA Championship winner has “made his mark” in the competition to earn the post.
Rahm, who helped the European team to victory last year at Rome, noted that Bradley also has had a “great partnership” with Phil Mickelson in the past, making him a possible ally for LIV players in the international competition.
Commenting on the appointment of Keegan Bradley as the new US Ryder Cup team captain, Jon Rahm said during his LIV Golf Andalucia press conference (at 5:44):
“I don't know why, I heard so many people say, it was going to be Tiger (Woods) at Beth Page. I'm like that makes sense. He won the US Open at Beth page and it is Tiger Woods. So, I felt like that made a lot of sense. But Keegan as well… His Ryder Cup showings, he was a very enthusiastic player. He made his mark.
Him (Bradley) and Phil (Mickelson) had a great partnership and there's some great highlights from him in Medinah. So, he's a man from the Northeast. I know Boston and New York are usually not friends. But I think for that week they'll just adopt them for the week. I can see it, I can understand why he was picked.”
Keegan Bradley shows readiness to pick LIV Golfers for his Ryder Cup side
New US Ryder Cup skipper Keegan Bradley has shown interest in picking LIV Golfers for his team. The 38-year-old golfer, in a news conference in New York, revealed that he will select the strongest 12 golfers for the American team for next year's competition.
Bradley, who narrowly missed automatic selection for last year's defeat in Rome under former skipper Zach Johnson, claimed that he is focused on getting results and doesn't care where his teammates play.
Speaking to the media after the Ryder Cup captaincy announcement, Keegan Bradley said, as quoted by BBC:
“I want the 12 best players and I don't care where they play. We have a mission to win this tournament, I'm not worried about the LIV stuff. By the time we get to Bethpage in 2025, we have no idea how the layout of the golf world is going to be.”
It is pertinent to note that last year’s skipper Johnson faced some criticism for paying little attention to players from the Saudi-backed circuit. He received flak for not picking players like recent US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau.
It’ll be interesting to see how Bradley forms his team amid the ongoing civil war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.