It’s been a surreal couple of weeks for Keegan Bradley.
Earlier this month, Bradley was named the United States captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black from Sept. 26-28. However, he knew well before the official announcement and kept it tightly under wraps.
“I sat on the being the Ryder Cup captain for almost three weeks without anybody knowing and that was tough,” he told the media at this week’s 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota.
“I wasn’t telling a soul. I was sort of dealing with the news myself as well. I was very — I didn’t know I was going to be the Ryder Cup captain, so I was dealing with that with my family, getting a plan together on how we’re going to do this. I really wanted to be the one to call Luke Donald and tell him, so I wanted to keep that quiet.
“It was nice to not have anybody know so I could sort of move under the radar making all these plans. But now, having it be out in the open has been helpful, too.”
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Many around the game believed it was Tiger Woods’ turn to head Team USA, but due to several prior commitments, Big Cat withdrew his name from consideration, leading the PGA of America to Bradley.
However, Bradley hopes to have Woods’ input as much as possible.
“Yeah, I’ve told Tiger that I want him to be as involved as he wants to be,” he said. “We didn’t — with the British Open going on, we’re not really chatting too much about that. We both have a job to do, and I don’t want to bother Tiger with that. I think in the coming months — we’re still 14 months out here, so we’ve got a long time.”
The 38-year-old’s team is starting to come together, as he named Webb Simpson as his first vice captain on Tuesday.
Bradley’s made two previous starts at the 3M Open, finishing T-46 (2019) and T-39 (2021). Since a T-2 performance at the Charles Schwab Challenge, he’s failed to finish inside the top 30 over his last four starts, including a missed cut at the British Open.
Sahith Theegala of the United States plays his second shot on the 13th hole during day three of the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club on July 13, 2024 in North Berwick, Scotland. (Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images)
He’ll get an up-close look at two rising U.S. stars at TPC Twin Cities, as he’s paired with Nick Dunlap and Sahith Theegala for the first two rounds. Theegala currently holds the No. 11 spot in the Ryder Cup point standings. Dunlap, on the other hand, just collected his first pro win and second win of the season at the Barracuda Championship (he won the American Express as an amateur).
Both players may end up with a chance of making Bradley’s squad.