Keegan Bradley was already in a unique position when he was named the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain earlier this year.
At just 38 years old, Bradley will be the youngest captain for the United States in decades. He’s still very much in the middle of his career, too, which he proved on Sunday afternoon with his win at the BMW Championship. That made him just the third active U.S. Ryder Cup captain in history to win on the PGA Tour.
Though there’s still more than a year before the Ryder Cup, Bradley has undoubtedly played himself into the mix for next month’s Presidents Cup. That’s not a spot many expected him to be in.
“I’m happy to do whatever, play whatever role they want me to play,” Bradley said after his win at Castle Pines in Colorado on Sunday. “I think being the Ryder Cup captain has put me into this category of sort of player when they haven’t really had a Ryder Cup captain that’s been playing full-time on the Tour.
“One of my goals was to make that Presidents Cup team. So we’ll see. I hope I didn’t throw a huge wrench in everybody’s plans, but I’m proud to be in consideration.”
Despite his win, Bradley still fell well short of earning an automatic bid for the U.S. Presidents Cup team. The qualification period ended on Sunday afternoon, and the top six golfers both on the U.S. and International side earned guaranteed spots on their respective teams. Bradley finished 10th in the Team USA standings. His only way onto the team now is if Jim Furyk uses one of his captain’s picks on him next month.
Bradley and the U.S. team even hinted about it on social media on Sunday night.
But for now, Bradley is trying to keep his focus on the Tour Championship. His win on Sunday moved him up an incredible 46 spots in the FedEx Cup standings to earn a place in the field next week at East Lake.
“When I showed up here this week, honestly I didn’t think I’d be going to Atlanta … I was just trying to win the tournament,” he said. “I’m playing great. I feel very lucky to be in Atlanta.”
Regardless of what happens with the Presidents Cup, Bradley could realistically be the first captain to actually play in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer did so back in 1963.
While he’s all for that, Bradley said he doesn’t think he could use a captain’s pick on himself.
“I would love to be a playing captain,” he said on Sunday. “No one has really had the opportunity that I’ve had … It’s going to be really hard for me to make that team, but if I make the team, I’ll play. I don’t see myself being a captain’s pick, but I’ll be proud just to be the captain.
“If I have to go out there and play, I’d love to do that, too.”
Bradley’s win on Sunday was the seventh of his career, and his first since the Travelers Championship last year. He’s had two runner-up finishes this season, including a playoff loss at the Sony Open in January, and he’ll move to No. 11 in the Official World Golf Rankings on Monday.
Since he said he probably won’t use a captain’s pick on himself, Bradley will have to play his way into the top six to earn an automatic bid on the team. He won’t have much room for error there, considering how well Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and others have played this season.
But if Bradley can ride Sunday’s win into a strong 2025 campaign, it’s not out of the question by any means. He could very easily be competing at Bethpage Black alongside his team next fall.
“I still feel like I’m in the prime of my career,” he said. “I feel like there’s a lot of parts to my game that are the best it’s ever been, and I feel like I got years ahead of me. I wanted to make this Ryder Cup team at Bethpage where I was the captain. That’s always a goal of mine. I feel like I can still keep playing at a high level for a while.”
