Keegan Bradley came under fire for his apparent blunders as Ryder Cup captain throughout the tournament.
Selecting Collin Morikawa and Harris English as foursomes partners at a course not suited to either of them raised eyebrows on Friday morning. Then he doubled down, and did it again.
Bradley admitted that he made a mistake setting up Bethpage Black. He turned the Ryder Cup into a putting contest by cutting down the rough, which became a non-penalty for players.
But one of his most confusing quotes of the week came when Viktor Hovland had to pull out of Saturday’s fourball due to a neck injury. Bradley didn’t know the Ryder Cup rules for when a player is unable to compete in Sunday’s singles event.
When a player withdraws from Sunday’s action, the envelope rule comes into effect. Each team puts a player’s name in an envelope before the tournament, and that player will not participate on Sunday if an opposing team member is unable to play.
Bradley didn’t seem to understand this when asked on Saturday evening, which was confusing. Surely he would have had to submit his player name before the event? That is if he was really the man in charge of Team USA.
Keegan Bradley’s rule misunderstanding hints at Team USA power struggle
If Bradley was the main shot-caller in Team USA, as the captain should be, then he must have known about the envelope rule. He would have submitted the player’s name before the tournament. But Bradley said he didn’t know about the rule, so how did a name get submitted?
Furthermore, Bradley’s actions suggest that he thought that Harris English would be a key player for Team USA at the Ryder Cup.
Not only did he select him to play in the hugely important first session on Friday morning, but Bradley doubled down on Saturday after English was beaten badly by Europe’s star pairing of Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood.
“We’re sticking to our plan,” was Bradley’s justification. But if English was such a key part of America’s plans before the tournament, and irreplaceable on Saturday, why was his name in the envelope? Something doesn’t add up.
Bradley was a confusing and surprising selection to be Team USA’s captain. As an active player, he was likely to be in contention to play at the Ryder Cup, and he hadn’t played in the tournament since 2014.
He was publicly left off Team USA in 2023, rejected by Zach Johnson on Netflix’s Full Swing. Some surmised that Bradley’s selection as captain came off the back of the fan reaction to his snubbing. But perhaps there’s another reason.
Bradley cares about the Ryder Cup. Probably more than any American on the team. As a captain or a player, he wants to be a part of the event badly.
Not only would that make him more likely to accept the role, but it would also make him indebted to those who selected him for it. And at 39 years old, he was the fourth-youngest captain in Team USA’s history.
So if Team USA was looking for a yes man, who better than Bradley? He’s not an established enough figure to say no to the PGA of America, which granted his greatest wish of being a part of this 2025 event.
Bradley’s words didn’t match his actions. But they make a lot more sense if you consider that he could have been answering for someone else’s decisions. Bradley was the captain, but he may not have been the one calling the shots for Team USA.
Tiger Woods isn’t the ‘yes man’ Team USA wants
Tiger Woods was the obvious choice for captaincy in 2025. But he rejected the role, and no one quite understands why. Some think it ties into Woods’ abysmal Ryder Cup record. He only won once as a player, so why run the risk of losing another as a captain, especially on home soil?
After Bradley’s poor performance as captain, rumours of Woods’ captaincy for 2027 have surfaced. He could be the man to unite Team USA with a common goal in mind: snatching the Ryder Cup back from Europe in their own backyard.
The advantage of having Woods as captain is that he’s a true figure of authority. When he speaks, players listen. And as a captain, his word would be final.
That’s precisely what Team USA needs. One voice that cuts through hundreds of others. One that carries authority and demands respect. But is that what Team USA wants?
Handing the captaincy to Woods would be loosening their grip on control. He would call the shots, and he would be the voice of authority.
So if Woods is appointed captain, it shows the PGA of America is willing to put egos aside with the goal of winning in mind. But if he isn’t, it begs the question: Does the PGA of America want to win the Ryder Cup, or do they want to win it on their terms only?
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