PGA Tour star Keegan Bradley named as 2025 Ryder Cup captain
Keegan Bradley will lead the United States squad in the 2025 Ryder Cup, it was officially announced on Monday, July 8. Although the PGA of America had initially stated that the announcement would be made on Tuesday, they ultimately chose to make it sooner.
Earlier, Sports Illustrated's Bob Harig reported that Keegan Bradley would be the captain of America's designation. Earlier, there had been a lot of talk about the names of other potential candidates, like Tiger Woods.
Keegan Bradley does not fit the traditional profile of Ryder Cup captains, as he is only 38 years old and is still in the prime of his professional career. Back in 2023, he had a chance to be one of Zach Johnson's selections to play in that year's edition, but Johnson decided to go in another direction. Now, less than a year later, Bradley is in charge of leading the team.
Bradley has a 16-year career in professional golf with 12 victories, six of them on the PGA Tour. His best result so far has been winning the 2011 PGA Championship. That triumph led to the first of his two Ryder Cup experiences in 2014. Two years later, Bradley would return to the American team for the 2016 edition.
Earlier, a report in The Telegraph reported that Tiger Woods had turned down the captaincy of the team. Although this report mentioned Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, and Fred Couples as potential replacements for Woods, the PGA of America selected Bradley.
Keegan Bradley's Ryder Cup performance at a glance
Bradley has played in two editions of the Ryder Cup (2012 and 2014). His overall record is four points from seven matches, and his best performance came in 2012.
In his first Ryder Cup experience, played at Medinah Country Club in Illinois (known as the Miracle at Medinah), Bradley had two winning matches on the first day, playing both foursomes and four-balls as a duo with Phil Mickelson. On the second day, Bradley and Mickelson teamed up again and prevailed, although they only played the foursomes match. Finally, Bradley was one of eight Americans to lose their individual match, in his case to Rory McIlroy.
In the 2014 edition, played at Gleneagles, Bradley didn't have the same fortune. Once again, he was partnered with Mickelson, and the two of them started the day winning the four-ball match. However, they lost in foursomes during the afternoon and Bradley never played another team match. In the individual match, Bradley lost to Jamie Donaldson.
Bradley's experience in team events includes participation in the 2013 Presidents Cup, when the American team defeated the international team 18.5 to 15.5. On that occasion, Bradley played five matches and earned 2.5 points for his team.