Keegan Bradley Knows Travelers Title ‘Changes Story’ For Ryder Cup Play

CROMWELL, Conn. — Keegan Bradley previously said he would only play for the United States Ryder Cup team if he earned one of the six automatic qualifiers. At the time, Bradley said he wouldn’t take one of his captain’s picks when selecting the final six players.

But Bradley couldn’t have predicted he would play arguably the best golf of his career with one win, five top 10s and nine top 25s in his first 15 events this season. He couldn’t have predicted he would win the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands for the second time in three years. He couldn’t have predicted he would sit No. 7 on the Official World Golf Rankings and No. 9 on the U.S. Ryder Cup Rankings after his trip to Cromwell, Conn.

“Yeah, I mean, listen, this changes the story a little bit,” Bradley said after he captured the Travelers Championship with a walk-off birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole, concluding the four-day signature event 15-under par. “I never would have thought about playing if I hadn’t won. This definitely opens the door to play.”

Bradley reflected on the initial call he received about the 2025 Ryder Cup, which is scheduled for Bethpage Black Golf Course in September. Ironically, he received the call exactly one year ago Sunday. Then-CEO of the PGA of America, Seth Waugh, told Bradley the group wanted him to be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1962. It caused Bradley’s head to spin, but indicated the U.S. would be prepared for such a situation if it presented itself.

It has.

Bradley sits behind a top six including Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, J.J. Spaun, Russell Henley, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas, all of whom would be automatic qualifiers if the selection date was June 23. The top six players in the points standings after the BMW Championship on Aug. 17 will automatically make the team. Bradley is firmly entrenched in the next six along with Colin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Harris English, Maverick McNealy and Brian Harman.

“To be honest with you, I never really planned on playing,” Bradley said. “I really wanted to just be the captain. I really felt strongly about that. I want to serve the guys. They asked me to do a job. I want to do it to the best of my abilities. Now, with the amazing vice captains that I have, and I have a better perspective of playing in the Presidents Cup and being around a lot of the guys, I feel a lot more comfortable if I went that route.”

Bradley isn’t writing anything in stone. He knows it’s still early in the PGA Tour season, and knows a lot can change whether it be his own play or the other golfers vying for a spot. But Bradley’s play, coupled with his comfortability with vice captains Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker, are making him think twice about serving as a playing captain.

“I don’t know if I’m going to do it or not, but I certainly have to take a pretty hard look at what’s best for the team and we’ll see,” Bradley said.

The New England native heard “USA! USA!” chants throughout his four days at the Travelers Championship, the lone PGA Tour event in the Northeast. None were louder than the ones he heard walking up the 18th fairway after putting his approach shot within six feet, or the ones he heard after making the tournament-winning putt minutes later.

Bradley has heard those cheers everywhere he’s played since accepting the role as the U.S. Ryder Cup captain. His fellow New Englanders, though, were louder, Bradley said.

“I’ve always gotten really great support here, but I don’t know, today was insane,” he said. “It’s something that I didn’t expect when I got this job. It just never crossed my mind. I get it when I’m playing good golf, I get it when I’m pumping gas, I get it in restaurants, people are saying it, but I never expected this sort of support for the Ryder Cup captain.

“I had this epiphany at the PGA Championship when I was getting these loud USA cheers that I don’t think any player in the history of the game has experienced what I’m experiencing in that I’m a Ryder Cup captain, in my eyes still one of the best players in the world trying to win majors and tournaments, and not a lot of people have experienced coming down the stretch of a tournament as the Ryder Cup captain, of big tournaments, and I’ve tried to embrace that and tried to feed off the energy, but they were really loud this week.”

While it’s certain Bradley will hear those chants and cheers when he returns to the Northeast for the international event, it’s uncertain whether they’ll be directed at the U.S. captain or playing captain.