Keegan Bradley’s potential inclusion in the United States team is currently the biggest talking point ahead of the Ryder Cup.
Bradley was probably named the captain with the expectation that he would not be in a position to represent his country as a player.
However, the 39-year-old has enjoyed an excellent 2025 season on the PGA Tour, winning the Travelers Championship in June and achieving multiple other top 10 finishes.
Justin Thomas, who is likely to play for the USA at Bethpage, has now shared whether he thinks Bradley should play.
Justin Thomas comments on Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup playing captain dilemma
Thomas was asked after his first round at the Tour Championship whether he expects Bradley to take the blame if the United States lose the Ryder Cup.
“It is,” he answered, before explaining that, while the captains have a big responsibility, they have not been to blame for any of the USA’s recent Ryder Cup defeats.
“Yeah, obviously it’s more so this year with it being a captain that has every right in the world to be playing on the team,” Thomas added.
“But I’ve felt that way every team, that the captain is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t, with his picks, with who he sends out when, with the pairings.
“I get it, it’s all very important stuff, and I have yet to see anything on our end like an ‘Oh, my gosh, this captain lost us the Cup.’
“Every losing team I’ve been a part of, we’ve played pretty crappy, so it’s unfortunately been our fault. But it’s a very, very tough spot for the captains to be in because it’s almost like they can’t win in that situation.”
Thomas then admitted that if he were the Ryder Cup captain, he would want Bradley on his team. “Yeah, I would.”
Justin Thomas says whether the Ryder Cup is on his mind at the Tour Championship
While American players have often been criticized for showing less passion for the Ryder Cup than the Europeans, Justin Thomas has always risen to the occasion.
However, this has sometimes negatively impacted his performances on the PGA Tour in the weeks leading up to the event because he has been too focused on it.
Thomas said that he has not had any issues staying in the moment this year after learning from his previous mistakes.
“It’s not. It’s not [on my mind],” he continued. “I feel like I learned a lot from two years ago, the amount of pressure I put on myself for that, and I was playing golf tournaments to try to qualify for a team and get points as opposed to just trying to go win the golf tournament.
“I feel like I did a great job with that last year with the Presidents Cup. I wasn’t overthinking it. I wasn’t out here on Sunday with putts on 17 and 18 thinking about points like I was in ’23.
“Yeah, I just am trying to take care of my job, and I feel like if I do what I can and should do, then it shouldn’t be an issue.”
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