The start of the eagerly anticipated 45th Ryder Cup is now just a few days away, and Keegan Bradley may well be wondering to himself what might have been.
Bradley was named as the US Ryder Cup captain back in 2024 when he was just 38 years old and it seemed like a strange decision at the time.
The PGA of America quite clearly made the decision to name the man from Vermont as captain after he was farcically left off the 2023 Ryder Cup team.
After what he produced on the PGA Tour in 2025, though, it’s clear to see that the PGA of America left Ryder Cup captain Bradley in a no-win situation.
Had the 39-year-old not been captain this year, he would have almost certainly been on the US team at Bethpage Black.
Before he named his captain’s picks, Bradley was being heavily tipped to pick himself for the Ryder Cup team.
However, he chose not to do so in the end. Does he regret that decision, though?
Keegan Bradley says if he regrets not picking himself for the Ryder Cup team
Bradley appeared to be in an extremely confident mood when speaking to the press at Bethpage on Monday.
The Ryder Cup captain answered a variety of questions pertaining to the week that lies ahead.
One question really caught everyone’s attention, though, as did Bradley’s answer.
He was asked by reporters during the press conference on Monday whether he has any regrets about not picking himself, and if he’s second-guessing his decision.
The US Ryder Cup captain said: “Definitely. I’ve thought about it every second. But I’ve also thought about how impossible it would be.
“Like I said earlier, I was picked to do this job as captain, and there’s been certain things that I’ve done during the week or lead-up that if I was playing, I don’t think I could have done at the level that I needed to do them at.
“I catch myself every now and then looking down the fairway, seeing the guys walk down the fairway and think how badly I’d like to do that, and how badly I’d want to be in the group with Scottie Scheffler and seeing him play and being his teammate.
“But I feel like I’ve been called for a bigger cause here, to help our guys get ready to play and play at the highest level.
“But in the back of my mind, I’m always thinking, ‘I could have been out there‘.
“But ultimately, I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed being the captain and how I’ve enjoyed not having to worry about getting to sleep and getting my rest or how I haven’t had to think about what time I’m going to go practice or meet my coach and then meet the guys. It simplified things a lot for me.“
Bradley has always been as honest as the day is long, and he lived up to that billing in his press conference on Monday.
It is human nature to second-guess the decisions we make, and it would not be normal for Bradley not to be wondering whether he should have picked himself to be on the Ryder Cup team this year.
As he explained, though, acting as a playing captain may well have proven to be an impossible task.
Keegan Bradley on why the US Ryder Cup team gathered on the first tee at Bethpage
All of the United States players gathered on the first tee at Bethpage Black on Monday ahead of their practice rounds, as the National Anthem was played.
Bradley was asked what the purpose of the first tee gathering was.
He said: “Well, I think anytime that guys can be together, I think it’s really powerful to be on that first tee without the crowds and just be you guys.
“Every second that the guys are together and can have a powerful moment, I think it brings them closer together. That was a really fun time to be out there with those guys and share that moment and hear the National Anthem.
“I really think that I had this vision of doing that for about a year, and to be out there and see it and see how emotional the guys got was a really special time for our team.“
He was then asked whether he was surprised by any of his players’ reactions on the first tee.
Bradley said: “Well, I wasn’t really surprised; it was a powerful moment. You’re looking around and seeing all the guys staring at what we were doing and so into it in such an emotional way. A lot of people have worked really hard to get to this point in their lives.
“Like Luke said, you never know when your last Ryder Cup is. You never know if you’re going to play one or 10 or whatever. For a lot of guys, whether it was the players, the caddies, the coaches, to be on that first tee in New York City at Bethpage Black at a Ryder Cup is a very powerful moment.
“Sometimes in your life and in your career, you have to take stock in what’s happening around you. I think one of my biggest regrets earlier in my career wasn’t enjoying things more. And for that moment out this morning, guys were really taking that in and enjoying it, and that was a beautiful thing.“
The 45th edition of the Ryder Cup could go down in history as one of the most exciting yet and Bradley has clearly left no stone unturned in his quest to bring the trophy back onto American soil.
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