Webb Simpson suggests the scenario which could see Keegan Bradley ‘give up’ the Ryder Cup captaincy for the USA

Add as preferred source on Google

The 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black really has the potential to be like nothing else the game has seen.

The Ryder Cup is widely considered to be the very best event in golf. But the prospect of it being played on a stage such as Bethpage makes it even more mouthwatering.

There is also the factor of the USA players being paid to play in the event for the first time. That has, understandably, led to some real criticism of the PGA of America. And that makes the gamble they have taken with the captaincy even riskier, with Keegan Bradley set to lead Team USA.

Bradley has not been involved with a Ryder Cup in more than a decade, with both of his appearances ending in defeat for USA. Meanwhile, he has enjoyed something of a career revival as a player, winning the BMW Championship last year.

Webb Simpson suggests what could happen if Keegan Bradley qualifies for the USA Ryder Cup team

That has led to a debate over whether Bradley could actually qualify for the team himself in 2025. But clearly, that would be a huge roll of the dice given the demands of captaincy. No-one has been a playing-captain in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963.

Bradley has not shut the door on the idea. But speaking on 5 Clubs, Webb Simpson admitted that he is not sure that the 38-year-old will be able to perform both roles if he manages to earn a spot in the team.

“I think being a playing-captain on the Ryder Cup might be too impossible. So I think it might be a situation where he would just give up the captaincy, probably late, whenever the top six is finalised, to someone else or a couple of guys,” he said.

“I know he’s thinking through it. But I was part of the 2019 Presidents Cup, got to see a playing-captain in Tiger Woods do both, and it looked like it was very difficult. He seemed to make it look seamless going 3-0 for the week. Normally, I would want him to play all five matches in the Presidents Cup, but it’s a hard thing to do. And I’ve heard for Ryder Cup, there’s more on the captain for the Ryder Cup than there is for the Presidents Cup.”

The playing captains in Ryder Cup history

Certainly, playing captains were much more common in the early years of the event. Walter Hagen combined playing and captaincy five times. Meanwhile, Sam Snead is the one person to oversee more than one victory as a playing-captain without suffering a defeat.

Obviously, the event has changed dramatically. So drawing any conclusions on Bradley based on Palmer’s experience in 1963, for example, is pointless. However, figures such as Hagen, Snead and Palmer are some of the greatest to have ever played the game.

Bradley is a major champion. But given the monster the Ryder Cup has become, it would arguably be, by far, the biggest achievement of Bradley’s career if he led USA to victory at Bethpage as a playing-captain.