Graeme McDowell reacts to Keegan Bradley not picking himself and has clear opinion on if it’s the right call

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Keegan Bradley has confirmed his six picks for the Ryder Cup, with the captain himself absent from that list.

Bradley is in a no-win situation ahead of the Ryder Cup, which returns next month at Bethpage Black in New York.

The American Ryder Cup team is all set following the picks from Bradley, which included high-profile names Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa.

Maverick McNealy missed out on a Ryder Cup spot, with the same to be said of Bradley after he opted not to pick himself.

Bradley finished 11th in the automatic qualification rankings, and claimed his eighth career PGA Tour win at the Travelers Championship earlier this season.

Graeme McDowell reacts to Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup decision

He made 21 starts in total on the PGA Tour in 2025, making 19 cuts and finishing in the top 10 on six occasions.

And his decision to abstain from playing at the Ryder Cup has now drawn a reaction from Graeme McDowell, who is currently playing on LIV Golf.

READ MORE: Justin Thomas gives his immediate reaction to Keegan Bradley not picking himself to play at the Ryder Cup

The 2010 US Open champion, who finished 34th in LIV Golf this season, wrote on X: “Tough spot here for Keegan.

“He deserves to play but sets himself up for huge criticism if Team USA don’t perform at Bethpage with him as playing captain. So much pressure and weight on those shoulders. Made the only call he could.”

Keegan Bradley lifts weight off his shoulders ahead of Ryder Cup

Bradley’s potential to play on the American team dominated the Ryder Cup discussion for some time, with the debate now firmly put to bed with his decision.

It was indeed a very tricky situation for the 39-year-old, who will have been under real pressure for some time.

There will now be a huge weight lifted from his shoulders, but he does now of course need to prove that he has made the right call.

Golf fans will never know what could have happened if he had captained and played, which really would have been an intriguing situation.

For the time being, it looks like Bradley has made the correct call, with playing at a Ryder Cup difficult enough without the added responsibility as captain.

He would, however, have made himself a national hero if he had played and led his team to victory in New York.

But at the same time, the American would undoubtedly have come under huge fire if such a decision had backfired with a home loss.

Luke Donald will very likely have been keeping tabs on Bradley’s major update, with the European Ryder Cup captain now preparing himself for the announcement of his picks next week.