What Keegan Bradley’s Shocking Hiring Tells Us About the Future of the U.S. Ryder Cup Team

Sitting in front of the TV, surrounded by his family, watching the world event that means the most to him, Keegan Bradley did not regret his absence. He even foreshadowed his future.

Yes, there were cameras on him. Yes, he had good reason to be generous with Netflix’s “Full Swing” documentary series. But on that couch, Bradley rallied his son to cheer on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. He watched with his hands clasped over his mouth. And he made another comment that still sticks in the mind a year later.

“I love these guys, and one of the main reasons I wanted to be a part of this team is I wanted to be around them, with the energy they bring,” Bradley said. “I see the way (Justin Thomas) prepares and practices, and if I was captain, I would want him in my locker room.”

If I were captain.

Bradley, 38, won Season 2 of “Full Swing.” He won the Ryder Cup. He was the veteran who couldn’t make the trip to Rome, the one who said that summer, “I think about the Ryder Cup every second I’m awake,” the one who said he never opened the 2012 Ryder Cup suitcase in his garage since the infamous American Sunday meltdown because he’d vowed never to open it until he’d won one. This guy — never the most popular player on tour, a self-proclaimed “underdog” in golf — became a fan favorite.

But, as first reported by SI and confirmed by The AthleticKeegan Bradley is the next captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, a surprising choice. A choice that is more than just an interesting story. It could mean the United States is headed in a new direction for those who understand, those who care.

This decision is certainly a response to the animosity surrounding Zach Johnson’s captaincy in Rome. It’s also a response to the humiliating five-point defeat of the United States and the manner in which it happened. But if we choose to give the PGA of America some credit (which is debatable!), it’s a response to the general situation it has found itself in this year.

There’s an elephant in the room to acknowledge. The United States wanted Tiger Woods to captain the U.S. team at Bethpage in 2025. They wanted it so badly that they waited until the summer, well beyond their usual timeline, for Woods to consider his future. Woods declined, according to the Telegraph , leading to hours of social media debate Monday morning over Plan B candidates like Stewart Cink, Davis Love III and Fred Couples. It all underscored a longstanding concern about the weakening of a generation of captaincy candidates. Phil Mickelson had long been the favorite to captain at Bethpage. But between his move to LIV, his feud with the PGA Tour and a memoir accusing Mickelson of trying to place bets on a Ryder Cup he was playing, his chances of getting the job have diminished. If the United States stuck to the usual protocols for choosing the next man, it would have to choose from a group of former pros aged 50 to 65 who felt representative of the past era.

So instead of choosing one of those three men — all of whom were Johnson’s vice captains last year — the PGA of America decided to radically change its approach. It chose not to follow the playbook.

Bradley is very committed. He’s very motivated, he shows emotion and he understands the different levels that are required in the Ryder Cup. That’s why his story has won over so many viewers on Netflix. He spent two years in the latter part of his career fighting for a chance. The decision to select him shows that’s what the United States is trying to find.

It’s easier to win the Ryder Cup on American soil. With a top-to-bottom team, the U.S. will be better most years. They should get away with those wins, with courses designed to reward American distance. And the naive among us take those blowout victories as major statements. But what Rome taught us — and Paris, and the Gleneages before it — is that road-course Ryder Cups show you who really gets it. Who has it. It’s not just about picking the 12 best golfers in shape or stature. It takes personalities who get it. That’s why Max Homa’s emotional dominance in the 2022 Presidents Cup and his status as the only American to stand out in Rome meant so much. He’s established himself as one of those guys going forward, like Justin Thomas or Jordan Spieth did before him. The U.S. needs to figure out who the others are.

Thomas and Spieth are often associated with the “boys club” that left Bradley in Rome. The image of Zach Johnson sitting around the “Full Swing” table chatting with “J-Tizzle,” Spieth and Rickie Fowler didn’t deter that criticism. Nor did Johnson’s choice to cast world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler’s best friend Sam Burns over Bradley.

That’s not to say Bradley is going to come in vindictively and end decades of such relationships, but picking Bradley in the same year that the masses are calling for an end to this style of decision-making seems fitting. Bradley is not close to that group. Most of his peers have aged out. His playing partner in the 2012 Ryder Cup was, ironically, Mickelson.

It is questionable whether Bradley will embody the American culture built on the emotion and intensity of Cup golf. Not on form. Not on relationships. Who will show up Sunday in singles and want to face the best European? He will have to make a decision about Thomas and Spieth, two of the best Ryder Cup players of their generation but also far, far down the points standings right now.

There are real concerns, of course. Bradley will be the youngest captain in 62 years, since Arnold Palmer was captain of the players in 1963. Bradley, the 2011 PGA Championship winner, is a very good player, but by no means a powerful icon of his era. There is no guarantee that American golf’s superstars will want to follow him closely. His “outsider” label works both ways.

Bradley is currently ranked 24th in the Ryder Cup standings. He won two tournaments last season and just tied for first in the Charles Schwab Challenge. He’ll probably try to make the team. What happens if Bradley is ranked 14th?

We don’t know if this is going to work. It’s a huge and somewhat reactionary risk, the kind of risk that tends to either blow up in your face or become a huge success. Few people expected such an initiative. Maybe that’s the point.

The only thing we really know right now is that Team USA is going to care.

(Top photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)