Keegan Bradley is again on Group USA for the primary time in a decade. However he has grander issues on his thoughts than simply this week’s Presidents Cup.
He’s continuously excited about subsequent yr’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, the place he would be the youngest captain in 62 years to steer the American aspect. Bradley lives and breathes the Ryder Cup; he stated so at final yr’s BMW Championship—roughly two weeks earlier than Zach Johnson handed him by for the 2023 staff in Rome.
The Europeans then trounced the Individuals, which is why Bradley is obsessive about altering the fortune of the crimson, white, and blue in 2025. He needs revenge, and he needs to win.
So it’s no marvel he’s already making ready for subsequent yr’s competitors whereas on the bottom this week at Royal Montreal.
“It’s been actually enjoyable for me to get to know these guys a little bit extra,” Bradley stated.
“Now that I’m the captain of the staff, it’s been an actual mission of mine to get to know the fellows a little bit higher. Possibly a few of the youthful guys that I possibly wouldn’t have sat down with at breakfast or no matter, I’ve carried out that, and it’s been nice for me.”
What makes Bradley’s 2025 captaincy distinctive is that he’s at the moment the Thirteenth-ranked participant on the planet. He’s not an older veteran whose prime is a decade behind him. Neither is he out of contact with one of the best gamers. He’s nonetheless competing in opposition to them week in and week out, as evidenced by his win at final month’s BMW Championship. He’s contained in the ropes, seeing how the video games and tendencies of his fellow execs play out in actual time. However now he will get to be taught extra about their personalities, what clicks and what doesn’t, which is the hallmark of a powerful staff.
But, he will get to take action as a fellow participant, not an assistant captain, which is what Bradley would have been had he not performed his means into consideration for this yr’s Presidents Cup.
“Being an assistant would have been nice as properly, only for him to be in a staff room and see all of the interior workings of every thing,” stated John Wooden, the present staff supervisor of the U.S. Ryder Cup staff, to Taking part in By way of.
“For him to make the staff and play alongside the fellows that he’s going to captain subsequent yr, I simply assume it takes the respect that everybody has for him to a special degree. This man can nonetheless play; he is aware of what it feels wish to be in these ropes. I believe these guys on the staff will see that this yr and have a brand new appreciation for what goes into it.”
Bradley added that he can be a participant for “99.9 %” of the time this week, however he’ll proceed to get to know everybody a little bit higher as this competitors wears on. That can solely assist the Individuals a yr from now as they appear to win the Ryder Cup again on their dwelling soil.
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By way of. Remember to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You may comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as properly.
