Keegan Bradley’s journey to United States Ryder Cup Captain | PGA TOUR Studios

PGA TOUR Studios: KEEGAN presented by JLAB delivers a story of loyalty, resilience, and the unbreakable bond. When Keegan Bradley was left off the 2023 Ryder Cup team, it was his close-knit circle of friends who helped him stay grounded. Now with that same group of friends who once snuck on the course at Bethpage, Keegan returns as Ryder Cup Captain, proving that true friendship can carry you all the way to the top.

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Here he is again on the precipice of a whole new life. I had this singular goal my whole life to get on the PJ tour. It’s there. Unbelievable. And as I got older, it just became more and more like severe. Keegan Bradley. And that every move that I made was to get to this point. What an electric finish for Keegan Bradley. You never know when it’s your last team. You never know when it’s your last point you’re going to win for the country. wanted so desperately to get into big championships in moments like this. Kean said, “I want to make the RDER Cup team and I quote, more than anything in the world.” It was like full circle moment that I had done this. Took me 10 years. It’s a movie. It’s like a story book ending. Keegan Bradley. [Applause] The thing I’m most excited for is to see our groups together in the tournament. I can’t wait to see the boys out there when the gun goes off and to see how they respond to the crowd. New York fans are extremely passionate and I think that multiplies even more when you’re playing on their course at Beth Page. It’s much more than a golf course to a lot of these people. Keegan, why is the writer Cup important to you? I think as a as a kid in sports, you always are craving that team atmosphere. When you’re a part of it, it changes you forever. What I been telling the team as well is you never know when your last rider cup is. Hello, guys. Hey, how you doing? I think we can all agree that me being the captain was a definitely a shock to everybody. So, I didn’t have the experience Luke had. And growing up where I grew up in New England, I actually had people my whole life tell me that I wasn’t going to be able to do this. [Music] I got started in professional golf as a PGA club professional late in my life, but it’s been Keegan’s whole life. And my sister Pat Bradley, World Golf Hall of Fame. This is my sister and I playing in the JC Penney Mix Team Classic. Keegan’s on the Bag. I grew up in Vermont and ever since I could remember I wanted to play in the PJ tour. Never crossed my mind that I couldn’t do it. But growing up in Vermont, there were a lot of challenges in that and then we had like real winters. And when the winters came, I ski raced. And then when it was starting to be spring, I just couldn’t wait to get the clubs out and go play golf. When I became a golf professional at the Hastack Golf Club in Wilmington, Vermont, he just came with me every single day. My dad and I lived in this trailer at in Bolton, Massachusetts for a summer. I keep this picture here. I loved every second of this time in here. Little tin cup, too. You know, we had campfires at night and we’d go golf. Our life was golf. I slept on the table folded down and you put the cushions that you sat on as the bed. My dad and I are both 6’3, pretty big guy. This was tiny. We had no house phone. We had no cell phone. There was a convenience store like I don’t know 50 yards from my house and I had the number of the pay phone at the time. And so like I’d be like, “All right, you got to call me at 4:30 and I’ll be waiting and the thing would ring and I’d pick it up.” He would just play and practice every single day. I loved it. There was never a thought of this is weird. I This is so cool. This is so fun. We moved there my senior year and they actually had an amazing golf team there. One of the best junior golfers in the world was John Curran who played on this golf team. I had never met another person that had the same just obsession with golf. And so here’s Keegan and here’s John Curran and then all of a sudden who’s this kid from Vermont? Boom. And they pushed each other. I had never had a person that would be like, “All right, it’s pouring rain. It’s 40°. We’re still going to play.” I’d always be by myself. We were one sport athletes, so like we all we did was golf. And in Massachusetts, the season’s really short. So, we would go every day in the winter, we’d go to the golf dome, which is like this indoor driving range. We would go to the golf course and shack balls and down the fairway, even though it was closed. I’d never been around anyone with the same passion for what I wanted to do. the same sort of like grit, the same sort of intensity. It was always just like very in the present. This is what we’re doing today. I don’t know. We were both obsessed with it. I look back at that time in my life as a very important time. This is when things could have gone one of two ways. And that year at Hopkin High School shaped me. Keegan won the Massachusetts High School State Championships. It was an amazing high school team. They won by 21 shots. Keegan was the medalist. Neither of us were destined to be successful at golf. Like we basically just made it happen. I was so lucky that without John, I don’t know if I would have, you know, gotten to where I am. [Music] Hi, I’m Teen Bradley and I’d like you to welcome here to New England on a beautiful fall day. I wasn’t getting recruited. I wasn’t. No colleges wanted me to come to their college. I’d just like to tell you I’m a hard worker and uh I know I’ll help your program if you give me the opportunity. Yeah. Hi, I’m Mark Bradley. I’m Keegan’s dad and I’m also a PGA golf professional. I thought, okay, we’re doing this resume to send to colleges and it’s paper and it’s hard copy and I did this, I did that. You know, it’s all fine and dandy, but why not a video? It’s a driver and chip, some pots and I had this thick accent back then. It was it was horrible. And you know, as a golf professional and someone who has taught many a lesson, you know, this is the swing that uh that I taught Keegan that if you know golf, he’s he’s got it. Coach Jarby calls him from St. John’s. Keegan answers it. I’m watching him from the couch. We asked him what the offer was going to be and he said full scholarship. And we, my dad and I like acted all cool like, “Okay, great.” And then we were like high-fiving and it was just like amazing moment. You know, here’s a kid. He grew up in New England, Vermont. Now all of a sudden going to college in Queens. This is a serious change. It’s tough to get to these big schools. And I think ultimately he landed a great spot at St. John’s. He was a freshman, but I knew he was the best player, so he was kind of the leader even though he was the freshman. I gave him the nickname grandpa because he would go to bed so early just because he wanted to put in the work the next day. We all lived in the golf house together. Myself, Keegan, Sebie was always there. Kevin Valardo, I would argue that we were the closest team in the country. Turns out I just like loved St. John’s and the people that I met there, basically all New Englanders that came in. Nothing could have taken me from St. John’s. We were really tight-knit. Like, we really cared about each other. And it shows because we’re all in our mid to late 30s now and we’re still best friends. When we were in college, we didn’t have a driving range. We would just play. Mondays, we would go to Beth Page Black. The course was closed on Mondays. They were doing like course maintenance or something similar to today. And so, we used to park like right over this tent in those woods back there is the maintenance area. We would play 3 through 14 cuz they wouldn’t let us on the other side of the road. Some of the coolest memories we have from playing at St. John’s. It’s the inner loop and we’d be the only people on the golf course. Sometimes they wouldn’t even have pins in the green. I don’t know how many people have been able to play that course with literally no one there. We’ve had so many incredible memories on that golf course, us together, just playing in like an eightome. That’s why this St. John’s thing was the perfect place for him to go because of all those guys. He went full speed, you I think he won 10 12 times in his four years there. When you’re playing on a golf team, you’re you’re really like together and we created this bond that we’ll have forever. I was playing the Hooters Tour and like a lot of people that are playing the mini tours, they’re either come from a lot of money or they have huge backers. So for me, I’m playing the mini tours. I’m I’m doing it to make money. I figured I needed to make two grand a week to break even, which is like coming in the top 10, you know, every week. I was completely broke. I had under $1,000 in my bank account. Q School was due that week and it was Q School’s 4,500 bucks at the time. Unimaginable money. I got the nerve to call my friend Doc. His name is Glenn Morocco. Everyone calls him Doc. He’s a doctor. Who I had met at a club that I had worked at. He calls me up and I say, “Hey, Keegan. What’s up, Doc? I I’m so embarrassed to to say this, but I said, “Where are you?” He goes, “I’m in Texas. I got Hudas tournament and uh I’m dead broke and I I can’t afford to pay for for Q school. It’s 4,500 bucks and it’s due Thursday. It’s Tuesday.” And I’m like, “Okay.” I said, “Give me your bank account information and I’ll wire you some money.” He goes, “That’s not why I called you.” He goes, “I don’t want it from you. Is there any way we can get an event going? we can raise some money. And I’m like, Keegan, I got it. He goes, don’t worry about it. And he sent me six grand. So, I paid for tour school and then I had an extra 1,500 in my bank account, which is might as well have been a million dollars. The side that he let out was just the stress of the world coming off of his chest. And I went on that week and I won the Hooters Tour event. I won 35 grand. And you know from from that point to winning the PJ was like a year and a half would be for Keegan’s eighth birthday of the day. Those 18 months were crazy. They were happening so fast. It’s literally been my dream since I’ve been 2 3 years old. You know, he went on to get through Q school, win the Byron Nelson. Golf’s got another young star in Keegan Bradley. I get my tour card and now I’m like really like almost like frothing and then when the PGA he is one of the best intensity putters out there. But it was like unbelievable. He was on a heater. No matter what I was doing, we we’d come back. We all moved to together basically down here in Jupiter, Florida. And it was like we were in the St. John’s Golf House in Queens. It was inspiring for him to to go out there and succeed. So, first of all, he could like buy a bigger house and we could all live in. I won the PGA and the PG of America flew me home in a private jet. I had never been on one before. The guys are like cannot wait for to come get me. I got the trophy in the plane. Like, this is like crazy. And we landed and I’ve come out with the trophy and we just it just was like a pretty special moment, you know, to share with the guys. It almost felt like we all won it. the group of people that have supported and been around him from the beginning were around him when he was he didn’t have any money. He had never won a PGA Tour event. And I think he looks at, hey, my true friends are the ones that were here from the beginning. So from that moment when I called Doc, a year and a half went by and I was a two-time PJ tour winner and a and a major champion. Without Doc doing that, I don’t know what would have happened. I have these people in my life that just like come along. This is a miracle. Okay. Want to hit a few shots, Logan? Okay. No, this ball. Good one. Yes. Nice. Will you tell me what to do? Cuz I’ve never hit off this one before. Here. One, two, three. What? Oh man, did you see it splash? Early in my career, I played in my first two RED Cup teams and my first President’s Cup team all in a row. And I truly thought I was going to play on every one of these teams for the rest of my career. Showing why he has the talent, the intensity, the moxy to be one of the best in this game. It never crossed my mind that I I wouldn’t. So this was my RDER Cup bag at Madina. Really special. And this is the RDER Cup bag signed by the entire team from Glenn Eagles. Then not only was I not playing on them, I wasn’t even in the picture to play on them. How do you keep the frustration from creeping in if you’re Keegan Bradley goodness? I remember thinking like you have to be at peace that you’re never going to do this again. You have to be okay that part of your career is over. And I did. I I was okay with it. He kind of fell out of the conversation for a little bit. And as you get into your 30s, you you may need something to kind of like remotivate yourself. The RDER Cup has been that for him. Just two top three finishes in his last three seasons. Gets win number five. [Music] New England’s very own takes the title at the Travelers and then started to play a little bit better. And then I was like, “No, I I really need to do this again. I I really and and I Rome was the one I really wanted to play.” Not making the RDER Cup team was a huge hit for him. Devastated when he didn’t get the call. My friends were there through this whole thing and they were pissed. My friends were. That’s a low point for sure for him, right? Everybody’s texting them saying sorry. After I got the call that I was on the team, I remember calling John and telling them and we were bummed out. But I kept telling the guys, if you don’t finish in the top six and you got to rely on the pick, you can’t be upset you’re not on the team. Keegan gets left off the team and then we all watch the 2023 Rder Cup where USA lost in Rome. Then you come off that kind of like hangover and it’s a big question mark like who’s gonna be our next guy? Like who is gonna protect Beth Paige Black? Captain Keegan Bradley. He’s here in the chance. [Music] Keegan Bradley. He’s been announced the 2025 Rder Cup captain. Someone say, “Well, it’s because of what happened perhaps, but this guy’s from Boston College in New York. It’s a bet pa black. There’s a lot of things there that make Keegan a good pick. That was not on my radar of things it was going to come out of his mouth. But at the same time, I was like, “Dude, this is this you’re going to be amazing. Like, this is going to be awesome.” I think it came out of nowhere for Keegan himself. He answers all the questions of the ridicule that the team has received the last few years. He’s more connected to the players. He’s still an active PGA Tour player. His connection to the course and the area, I think Keegan’s the perfect pick. It was like full circle moment that I had done this and and you know worked took me 10 years when I spoke to the players and I could really sense I could sense their excitement. I felt like okay this is great. How you doing today? Hey good. Appreciate you taking the time to look at those customs. Did you have any questions about the actual models? Yeah. No, I love them. I love the red, white, and blue and the stars and uh very patriotic. I love it. So, we’re giving the guys special themed Jab headphones and it’s always fun at the Ryder Cup cuz everything you get is red, white, and blue and you’re excited about play for your country. You think the guys will enjoy them? I think they’re going to love these. They’re super comfortable and they’re very team USA ready. For me, everything is like 100%. Take a lot of pride in being the Rder Cup captain, working every day. So, it’s difficult for me to just casually do things. I’m trying to do what I think is best for our guys. And what’s unique about me being the captain is I know these guys really well. Awesome. Awesome. I love the uh the silhouette of the player on the box. I think that’s super cool. So special when you go into your hotel room at a Ryder Cup and you get all the gear and this will be one of those great things. Got it. Thanks for taking the time. Thank you. [Music] RDER Cup team. It’s a 12 player team. Six guys are exempt off points on a two-year point scale. The captain has six captain’s picks to fill out his 12man team. We got another six to fill out the team. You know, trying to round out this team the best we can to play Beth Page in the RDER Cup. I would love to be a plane captain. No one’s really had the opportunity that I’ve had. Keegan Bradley takes the BMW again. I’m so proud. It’s the first time that I’ve ever seen him win live. So, this is very, very special day. Wow. Have things changed for Keegan Bradley and his golfing life. If I make the team, I I’ll play. I I don’t see myself being a captain’s pick. Keegan Bradley has the decisive point to win the President’s Cup. I didn’t know if I’d ever get to do this again and to win the point. My goodness. The last time I played I was the point to lose the RDER Cup. So, if this is my last round as a player, maybe it is. I’m happy with that. Nine iron for Bradley who attended this tournament as a young boy hoping and dreaming one day he would make his life out here considers this a major. Can he deliver one here at the final hole? Did he ever? You’re telling me you don’t want this guy on your RDER Cup team? As close to a Ryder Cup moment as I’ve ever felt. They didn’t pick him because they didn’t think he could make it. They picked him because they think he might make it. Keegan Bradley to overturn it all in the last hole and win it with one puck. A Keegan comeback not to be believed. This is a huge burden to carry and he’s still playing. So there’s a lot of things that he had to think about now. Well, he might play as well. So he plays with us week in week out. He competes against us. He beats us. Never would have even considered playing on the team if I hadn’t won. Winning a tournament like that with that field is a big deal. If I was looking at a player, I would think like that’s a big step towards making this RED Cup team. He’s got a lot of tough decisions. If he wasn’t captain this year, would he be on the team? He’s had a hell of a year. You said you would only be a playing captain if you earned it on points. Have you convinced yourself that you would be an additive to this team now? Go USA. [Applause] That was the toughest decision of my life, but the guys really finished off the season on a high note and we were really confident with the players that we had on the team and ultimately that was the reason why I decided not to play. For the last year and a half, I’ve been having to do two jobs at once. So, it’s really great that I can sort of hone my focus on one job. Keegan’s been open to hearing every suggestion possible from all of us to say, “How do we make it as normal as can be and go out there and do what we need to do is put points on the board.” You have to earn the respect of the players. Normally, you’re looking at your captain. He’s a guy we all grew up idolizing. For me, I had to really prove to the guys that, you know, this was something that I could handle. And that’s something that I don’t take lightly. It can’t be stated enough how good of a job Keegan’s done for us so far. and the energy that he’s brought has been great and he’s very very organized. He’s doing a really good job keeping the guys fired up. Probably has a journal that he he’s writing in. He learned that from from some of the older guys. He’ll bring cohesiveness. He’ll bring openness. He’ll bring accountability. Plays with a lot of fire. Plays hard and with a lot of determination. I’m just excited to, you know, go to battle with somebody like that. Keegan’s ties to Beth Paige and in the Northeast are going to be vital and used well. I’m lucky to have some good friends and they’re supportive. They’re always there for me. My greatest memories in the sport have been not not even necessarily making a pot or winning a match. It’s the bus ride with my St. John’s team. It’s the those are the moments you remember. John is going to be my car driver. So, he’ll be right next to me during this whole process, which is pretty cool. My friend Sevy who played on my golf team is from Queens, grew up at Beth Page. Mike Balow is a PJ professional. They do all have a little touch on this team, which is pretty cool considering we would go play Beth Page every Monday together. And then, you know, fast forward 20 years, we’re all going to be out there in some form. It’s a movie. It’s like a storybook ending to this Rder Cup at Beth Page. And it’s just incredible that he gets to go back there now as the captain of the Ryder Cup. The fact that he’s the captain and he’s had these friends of his for 20 years that we’ve all stuck together. We’ve been through everything and if they go on and win, if he wins, we win. Going back to a place that I showed up to when I was 18 years old, like dreaming of playing the PJ tour. To come back as the Ryder Cup captain, life feels like a dream. [Music]