Keegan Bradley admits he is unlikely to appear as a playing captain at next year’s Ryder Cup, despite marking his “fairy tale” return to Team USA by securing the winning point in the Presidents Cup.
Bradley won two of his three matches as the United States claimed a convincing 18.5-11.5 victory over the International team in Canada, with his success over Si Woo Kim in the Sunday singles the point that confirmed the USA would extend their unbeaten streak in the biennial contest.
The former major champion has already been named as captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, where he insists Team USA regaining the trophy would be more important to him than a possible third appearance as a player.
“I don’t know how that [playing] would ever be possible,” Bradley admitted in Team USA’s victory press conference. “I’m going to push that down the road.
“If I make the team on points, I’ll consider playing, but outside of that, I won’t do that because this is really important to me next year. I don’t care about my personal gains of playing in the tournament, I only care about winning the Ryder Cup.
Bradley won two points from his three matches in Team USA’s Presidents Cup success
“I think the best way to do that is to let these boys play and let them do what they do. I don’t see it [playing] happening, but we’ll see.”
Bradley’s journey to Presidents Cup win
Bradley was a captain’s pick after his BMW Championship victory in August, marking his first in a Presidents Cup since 2013 and first for Team USA since featuring in the 2014 Ryder Cup defeat at Gleneagles.
He partnered Wyndham Clark to a final-hole victory over Taylor Pendrith and Christiaan Bezuidenhout as part of a clean sweep for Team USA on the opening day, before the pair were beaten 4&3 by Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim in the same format on Saturday.
Bradley was then drawn to face Si Woo again on the final day, where he won four holes in a five-hole stretch to move three ahead before surviving a late wobble to claim victory on the par-four last and take USA to the 15.5 points required.
Team USA won 7.5 points on offer in the Sunday singles
“I’m still trying to figure out how all this happened,” Bradley said after his victory. “A month ago I wasn’t even in the BMW [Championship], and then we were here and then getting the Presidents Cup point. I’m just proud of everybody.
“It’s a fairy tale. It’s a movie almost. I just can’t believe it. You just have to work as hard as I can, and good things happen.
Bradley sprays captain Jim Furyk and team-mates with champagne after winning the Presidents Cup
“It’s taken me a decade to get back into that room with these guys. I really took for granted how special these weeks were. I watched a lot of these things on TV and was really sad to not be here.
“The last time I played in one of these I was the clinching point for the Europeans in the Ryder Cup. Fast forward 10 years later, and I got to do that. Really something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”
Important Ryder Cup ahead for Team USA?
The United States now switch focus to next year’s Ryder Cup, where they look to reclaim the trophy from Luke Donald’s European team, with Bradley wanting to building on their Presidents Cup success and win on home soil.
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Bradley says he will carry the culture captain Jim Furyk set for their Presidents Cup victory into the 2025 Ryder Cup
“We’re going to copy a lot of what Jim Furyk did this week,” Bradley explained. “He set a culture here for us, and we’re going to carry that over into Bethpage [Black] and I hope a lot of these 12 are on that team.
“I gained a knowledge of the team room. You always hear about the US team room not being whatever, and this the greatest team room I’ve ever been a part of. It’s the first time I’ve been on one of these where I’ve really, truly felt like I belonged on the team.
“I’ve never seen a group of guys more friends than these guys are. I’m sort of new to the group, but they inspire me because they truly want what’s best for each other. When they’re inside the ropes, they want to kill each other, but when they’re outside the ropes, they care for each other.”
Bradley added in his press conference: “These boys know how important the Ryder Cup is in a year. I think it’s arguably one of the most important Ryder Cups the United States has ever had.
“We’re going to go in there ready to play, and we’re going to go in there to win the Ryder Cup. I’m going to take a lot of lessons I learned from Jim, Tabitha [Furyk’s wife], all the vice captains and apply that to next year’s team.”
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