Keegan Bradley Surprise Pick to Captain 2025 Ryder Cup Team

In a move nobody saw coming, the PGA of America selected Keegan Bradley to Captain the 2025 Ryder Cup being hosted by Bethpage State Park on the heralded Black Course. Ever since the US was trounced by the Europeans in Rome last fall most on this side of the pond presumed Tiger Woods, winner of the 2002 US Open at Bethpage, would be named the US Captain. Bradley, a 6 time winner on the PGA Tour (including the 2011 PGA Championship), at 39 becomes the youngest US Ryder Cup Captain in 40 years.

A Surprise Even for Keegan

How shocking was the Bradley pick? Keegan never interviewed for the position. He received a call Monday from 2023 Captain Zach Johnson, PGA of America President John Lindert and PGA of America Special Advisor Seth Waugh offering him the position. “I didn’t have one conversation with anybody until I was told I was the captain” said Keegan at his introductory news conference today. “I had trouble when they called me. I felt funny after the call because I don’t think I reacted in the way they were expecting me to. I was in complete shock. And it was heavy.” “I don’t think I’ll ever have a bigger surprise in my live, but something Seth said to me was, you know, ‘Your number was called. It’s time for you to step up.’ And when he told me that, I sort of…it sort of hit me. You know that this is a heavy job.”

Bradley’s Bethpage Connections

There probably isn’t a US professional more familiar with the Black Course. While from New England, Keegan attended and played golf at St. John’s University in nearby Queens, New York. During the time he played for St. John’s there was a poorly kept secret that the SJU team had access to the Black to practice weekly. Former St. John’s coach Frank Darby and former Director of Agronomy (superintendent) Craig Currier had an arrangement by which the SJU team would park at the maintenance building lot on the opposite side of Round Swamp Road from the clubhouse on Mondays when the Black is closed. As long as the team members only played holes 3 through 14 and didn’t cross Round Swamp, nobody would be the wiser. Of course, there was that one time…”my senior year we were playing…and we were just like, ‘we’re going over.’ “We did it. We went over. And we got in so much trouble. They called the police…”