Keegan Bradley says Netflix capturing his 2023 Ryder Cup snub had no role in his captaincy decision this year
Zach Johnson didn’t pick Keegan Bradley for his 2023 US Ryder Cup team. The moment Bradley receives the sad news was caught by Netflix’s Full Swing camera crew. The docuseries showed the golfer sitting heartbroken on the arm of his couch while being consoled by his wife, Jillian.
A year later, Bradley was announced as the 2025 Ryder Cup captain. However, the 38-year-old believes that his emotional Netflix episode has nothing to do with the decision.
Responding to a media query about the possibility of the events helping him get the job, the PGA Tour golfer said that it is “such a huge decision” and the officials wouldn’t base it on how someone was portrayed on TV. He noted that the Ryder Cup committee had a ‘very serious job’ in making the captaincy decision and he’d be “very surprised” if the Netflix episode was a factor in the decision.
Speaking to the media after the captaincy announcement, Keegan Bradley said (at 23:52):
“In my heart, I would think that it didn't. Because this is such a huge decision and I don't think it would be ever based on how someone was portrayed on TV. I think that the Ryder Cup committee has a very serious job, especially with the event being at Beth Page in New York, in America, to make a decision that's best for the team.
"I couldn't imagine that they would decide based on how Netflix portrayed me in filming. But with the Ryder Cup's decision, I was very grateful and I would be very surprised if any of that went into that decision.”
It is pertinent to note that Bradley’s dramatic Full Swing episode showed him telling his wife about his wish to win the international event in the future. The golfer claimed that he was “thinking about the Ryder Cup every second of every day.”
Notably, he now has a chance to realize the dream of winning the event as he takes the captaincy role, passed on from Johnson.
Keegan Bradley's take on letting Netflix into the US Ryder Cup team room
Bradley, in the same interview, lauded Netflix for Full Swing. The 2011 PGA Championship winner said he had an “unbelievable experience” with the filming. However, he noted that letting the crew film the US Ryder Cup team next year will be a team decision.
The newly appointed skipper admitted that being filmed by a docuseries crew during events is “not something that is for everybody.” He dubbed it a “nerve-wracking process.”
Answering a query on whether he would want Netflix in the team room next year, Keegan Bradley said (at 21:53):
“I had an unbelievable experience with Netflix. They were great to me um it was a big decision to put my family on TV. That's not a decision that's for everybody… I have not even thought about it I don't know who's going to be on the team. But it's definitely a decision that's going to be based on what's best for the team.
"It's not something that is for everybody. It's a nerve-wracking process to go through being filmed all the time and that's something that I'll have to cross later on.”
It is pertinent to note that Bradley’s captaincy role has garnered mixed reactions from fans. While many applauded it, some others questioned his experience for the big role. It’ll be interesting to see if Full Swing’s next season features this storyline.