Conundrum Ryder Cup of Keegan Bradley: Can he Captain USA and appear as a Black Bethpage player? | News Golf

Keegan Bradley seeks to lead the United States team to the glory of the Ryder Cup in September, but could his role go from the captain to the presence of a player after his last success PGA Tour?

Bradley was announced last summer as the next captain of the American team, after Tiger Woods refusing the role, the former PGA championship succeeded Zach Johnson and responsible for finding the Bethpage Black Trophy.

The 39 -year -old man will become the youngest American captain of the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963, when he remains the possibility that Bradley can reproduce what Palmer did in this year’s competition and serve as a captain for the American team.

What led Bradley to get closer to a double Ryder Cup role? Will Bradley be automatically qualified, or could he potentially be named as a choice of captain? We take a closer look at what it could mean for the plans of the United States Ryder Cup …

How does Ryder Cup qualification work?

The qualification for the Ryder Cup team from Team USA began at the beginning of 2024, with one point by $ 1,000 won for all those who cut the players and each of the four majors this season.

The same number of points is offered for each regular PGA Tour event in 2025, from the sentry in January and the qualification campaign taking place until the BMW championship in August.

There is an additional weighting given for the majors of this year, with 1.5 points per $ 1,000 won for all the players cup at the Masters, the PGA, US Open championship and the open.

The six best players on the Ryder Cup points list at the end of the qualification campaign in mid-August will make the team, with six captain choices, then announced after the touring championship the following week.

How did Bradley become a candidate for the Ryder Cup?

Bradley impressed last season, saying that the finalist ended at the Sony Open in Hawaii and Challe Schwab Challenge before winning the BMW championship – the second in the Fedexcup qualifiers.

He presented for the United States team in the Presidents Cup after the conclusion of the season, helping them to the victory of the international team, then made a good start for 2025 with five top-20s in his first seven departures.

Bradley followed an eighth equally in the PGA championship with another solid performance at the commemorative tournament, before a dramatic end of the traveler championship returned to him three behind with four holes to play to tear a victory at a time.

What has Bradley already said about the game?

Bradley was in the top 20 of the world when he was appointed, making him insure a place Ryder Cup as a player always a possibility, although he previously insisted that it would be only a consideration if he qualifies automatically.

“It will be really difficult for me to do this team, but if I do the team, I will play,” he said after the victory of the BMW championship last summer. “I don’t see myself being a captain’s choice. But I will be proud to be the captain.”

He reiterated his position before the PGA championship, despite a strong start to the year, where he added: “I don’t even think of me as a player at this stage. If I arrive at the end of the year and I am in this conversation, I will change this. I don’t think myself as a team player right now.”

How did his traveler championship win things?

Bradley overturned a three -stroke deficit in a remarkable final in the Travelers championship, where a last holes birdie – combined with a Tommy Fleetwood closing bogey – saw him tear off a victory.

The victory of the PGA Tour Signature event has earned Bradley 3,600 points of the Ryder Cup team and made him pass eight places in the ninth row of the ranking, leaving him a little more than 2,150 points behind Justin Thomas in the sixth place of automatic qualification.

Bradley’s success also raised it in the World No 7 – the highest world ranking of his career – and in the top 10 in the Fedexcup ranking before the last two months of the PGA Tour season.

What has Bradley said since?

Bradley thought about the possibility of being a game captain with the media after his victory, admitting that his eighth victory of the PGA Tour – and fourth in as many years – “opens the door to play” and makes a third appearance of the Ryder Cup.

“My whole life every year, I wanted to play here in the Ryder Cup team, and it would be the first year I may not want,” he said.

“I just wanted to be the captain and, of course, you know, that’s what’s going on. But we will see. I’m going to do everything I think is best for the team.”

Can he still qualify automatically?

Bradley appears at the Rocket Classic and will have the opportunity to earn other points at the open and in the Fedexcup playoffs, as well as any other PGA Tour event in which he chooses to set it up before the end of the qualification period.

Even if Bradley fails to enter the first six in the Ryder Cup ranking to qualify automatically, it is almost certain to stay as one of the 12 best classified American players in the world ranking before announcing his captain’s choices after the Tour championship.

How common is it for a captain to play in the Ryder Cup?

If Bradley qualified to appear in the Ryder Cup as a player, or selected himself as a captain’s choice, he would be the first to occupy the role of captain since Palmer made both for the 23-9 victory of the USA team over Great Britain and Ireland in 1963.

Dai rees du Pays de Wales was a player of players for Great Britain and Ireland several times, more recently in 1961, while Walter Hagen occupied the two roles for the United States during five of the first six editions of the biennial competition.

There has been no game captain in the Ryder Cup since then, although Tiger Woods occupied a double role for the United States team during their victory for the 2019 Presidents Cup against the Melbourne International Team.

Can he juggle the game and the captain?

Bradley revealed that the possibility of being a game captain was discussed for the first time when the PGA of America called him last June to offer the role of Ryder Cup 2025, the double role being discussed in the background throughout the preparation of this year’s event.

“They (Pga of America) knew that it was a possibility and that we would have things in place for that (playing the captain),” admitted Bradley on Sunday. “If Tiger (Woods) or Phil (Mickelson) or these guys obtained a captain at my age, they would have done it in the same way.”

Former PGA Tour John Wood Caddy was appointed team director for Team USA before the captain’s name, a role designed to assume some of the administrative responsibilities, while WebB Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, Kevin Kisner and Jim Furyk were appointed Vice-Captains.

“Each vice-captain that I choose will know that this (additional roles) is a possibility,” said Bradley during the “celebration of the year to go” last October. “They will know what is happening this way. I think my vice-Captains will all be more than capable of doing it.”

The role of Bradley’s Ryder Cup has not yet been officially finalized, although the care and the captain are more and more likely. One or the other result will share opinion and exert more pressure on him – a noisy crowd from New York – to win a victory at home.

When is the Ryder Cup live on Sky Sports?

Sky Sports will continue to be the home of the Ryder Cup, with the three days of the 2025 live edition from September 26 to 28. Broad the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and more without contract.