Keegan Bradley Sets Sights on Team USA Return After Ryder Cup Captaincy Loss in 2025

Keegan Bradley's stint as Team USA Ryder Cup captain saw his side suffer a 15-13 loss at the Bethpage Black Course in New York last year.

Keegan Bradley Sets Sights on Team USA Return After Ryder Cup Captaincy Loss in 2025

Keegan Bradley (Image via X/@GOLF_com)

This week, Keegan Bradley will make his 16th start at the PGA Championship. Ahead of the second major of the year, the golfer has set his sights on returning to Team USA as a player at the Ryder Cup following the loss in 2025, where he captained the team.

Bradley, the 2011 PGA Championship winner, was appointed as Team USA captain in 2024. He was named as the successor of Zach Johnson after the Americans lost 16.5-11.5 in Rome, Italy, in 2023.

Before the 2023 event, Bradley was in contention to make the team. However, Johnson did not choose him as one of the 6 captain picks, leading to him missing the tournament. After the loss, some of Johnson’s picks and decisions were heavily criticized.

The 2025 edition saw Bradley leading the team. The 39-year-old was in fine form and found himself in the mix again. However, he decided to pick himself up and choose to remain as the captain.

In front of home fans in New York, the Americans struggled once again early on. The 8-time PGA Tour winner was called out for some of his decisions as the Europeans took a massive lead after the end of play on Saturday.

The U.S. put up a strong fight on Sunday. They picked up 8.5 points from the singles action on Sunday. However, this was not enough as they lost 15-13 and suffered back-to-back defeats.

During The Players Championship earlier this year, the American international claimed he was having a hard time moving on from this defeat. He also expressed that he was open to taking the role of captain again.

After the loss in 2025, reports emerged that Tiger Woods was once again the favorite to become captain in 2027. The golfer admitted that the PGA of America had reached out to him. However, following his car crash and DUI arrest, the 15-time major champion announced taking a break from golf, ruling him out as the next captain.

In April, Jim Furyk was named the captain. The 58-year-old, who previously captained the team during the loss in 2018, was appointed as the successor of Bradley.

With him now in charge of the team, Bradley wants to return as a player. In the press conference ahead of the 2026 PGA Championship, Bradley claimed that he would love to play under the leadership of Furyk.

I told myself after Rome I was never going to get that emotionally invested. I was going to play my game and try to get on the team. But I’d really like to make that team in Ireland. I’d really love to play for Jim Furyk, who is an idol of mine, but also become a great friend and mentor.

Keegan Bradley said

As a player, Bradley has made the Ryder Cup team twice in 2012 and 2014. During this debut at Medinah, he went 3-1-0 but ended up on the losing end as Team Europe pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in golf history.

In 2014, he was one of the captain’s picks. He went 1-2-0 in this edition as Team USA suffered another major loss. A defeat in 2027 at Adore Manor in Ireland would make it 3 successive wins for Team Europe.

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Keegan Bradley claims PGA Championship has “no agenda” compared to other majors

Ahead of the 108th PGA Championship, Keegan Bradley dropped a bold claim. The former major champion expressed that this event does not have any agenda compared to the other three majors.

Keegan Bradley
Keegan Bradley (Image via Imago)

While speaking to the media, Bradley praised Kerry Haigh, the Chief Championships Officer at the PGA of America, for his work in setting up the courses for the major events. During this, he explained that the U.S. Open has an agenda of making the tournament as hard as possible.

He then pointed out the weather conditions at The Open Championship (the British Open) and made a simple comment about how stressful and tough the Masters Tournament is.

I think what separates the PGA to other majors is they have no agenda at this tournament. … You go to the U.S. Open, you know their agenda is they are going to make this ridiculously hard to the point of being unfair. At the British Open, the weather, and the Masters is the Masters. It’s just going to be tough and stressful.

Keegan Bradley told the reporters

The U.S. Open last year did see golfers struggle at the Oakmont Country Club. Winner J.J. Spaun was the only player to finish under par after 72 holes as he finished 1-under par, 2 strokes ahead of runner-up Robert MacIntyre, who finished 1-over par.

The last time the Aronimink Golf Club hosted a PGA Tour event was in 2018 during the BMW Championship. Bradley overcame Justin Rose that time in a playoff round, which ended a 6-year winless run for him. The PGA Championship this week will also mark the 15th anniversary of Bradley’s only major triumph.

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