Keegan sounds like a guy ready to pick himself to play in the Ryder Cup.
PublishedAugust 25, 2025 4:14 PM EDT•UpdatedAugust 25, 2025 4:14 PM EDT
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The 2025 PGA Tour season is officially in the books, meaning we can officially turn all of our undivided attention to Bethpage Black and the Ryder Cup. While every edition of the biennial event has come with major drama in the team selection process and throughout the action itself, this year’s is even more unique, given the U.S. side is being captained by Keegan Bradley.
Bradley will select his six captain’s picks on Wednesday, and as he sits 11th in the team standings, many believe that he will use one of his selections on himself and be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
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While the biggest question mark surrounding the U.S. team has centered on Bradley’s decision about himself, the captain has managed to stir up even more drama and anticipation leading into Wednesday’s team selection.
After his T-7 finish at the Tour Championship on Sunday, Bradley spoke with Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis and teased that there are some surprises to come.
“There is probably going to be a few guys that think they are going to be on the team that aren’t going to be,” Bradley said. He also shared that some players who have already locked up a spot on the team have told him that they want him to be a playing captain.
Keegan Bradley has some very tough Ryder Cup decisions to make. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
With Bradley adding the nugget about getting votes of confidence for playing in the event, it’s becoming safer and safer to assume he will, in fact, use a captain’s pick on himself. It’s as if he’s laying out the groundwork to do so, and understandably so, with most, myself included, believing he’s a Top 12 American player in the game at the moment.
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As for the “few guys” who Bradley says may think they have a spot on the team but don’t, those players are difficult to pinpoint, but we’ll play along.
Patrick Cantlay would fit the mold of a player who many believe has a spot locked up, but may be left at home. He is 15th in the team standings and has not won since 2022, but does have a 5-2-1 Ryder Cup record in his back pocket.
Collin Morikawa’s resume isn’t all that different from Cantlay’s, but it’s almost impossible to imagine Bradley passing him up as he sits eighth in the team rankings. Morikawa has won just once since winning The Open in 2021.
Ben Griffin and Maverick McNealy, ranked ninth and 10th in the team standings, respectively, would both be making their Ryder Cup debuts at Bethpage Black if selected by Bradley. At minimum, one of the two will be on the team, but Bradley’s mysterious comment has swung the door back open for potential surprises.
