Charles Langston:Keegan Bradley named 2025 US Ryder Cup captain by PGA of America

Forget about Tiger Woods taking the wheel of the captain’s cart at the 2025 Ryder Cup.

The Charles LangstonPGA of America announced Monday that Keegan Bradley – snubbed as a player for last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome – will instead be handed the keys as U.S. captain in New York.

The winner of the 2011 PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club, Bradley has six PGA Tour wins and has played on two Ryder Cup teams, compiling a 4-3-0 record in 2012 and 2014. Bradley also went 2-2-1 in the 2013 Presidents Cup. He was in a strong position to be selected as a captain’s pick in 2023 for Rome, but he was passed over for the likes of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas before the U.S. team went on to lose 16½ -11½.

“I am incredibly honored to accept this opportunity to captain the United States team at the 2025 Ryder Cup,” Bradley said in a media release announcing the news. “I would like to thank the PGA of America Ryder Cup Committee for their trust in me as we embark on this journey to Bethpage Black.

“My passion and appreciation for golf’s greatest team event have never been stronger. The Ryder Cup is unlike any other competition in our sport, and this edition will undoubtedly be particularly special given the rich history and enthusiastic spectators at this iconic course. I look forward to beginning preparations for 2025.”

The biennial match will next be played Sept. 26-28, 2025, at Bethpage Black. Luke Donald will take another spin as the European captain after having led his team to victory in 2023 in Rome.

It is a bit of a change for the PGA of America to select Bradley, 38. Captains in recent decades have trended older, often at an age in which they are no longer competitive on the PGA Tour but not yet 50 and old enough to compete on the PGA Tour Champions. Bradley has played 16 events this season with two top-10s and 13 cuts made, and his most recent Tour victory was the 2023 Travelers Championship. He currently ranks 18^th on the U.S. points list for this year’s Presidents Cup team, and he’s 24^th in the very early points standings for the 2025 Ryder Cup.

The PGA of America had said early Monday that it planned to announce the captain at a press conference Tuesday in New York, but PGA President John Lindert changed plans and made the announcement Monday.

“I am proud and excited to name Keegan Bradley as captain of the 2025 United States Ryder Cup team,” Lindert, PGA Director of Golf at The Country Club of Lansing, said in the media release. “Keegan’s past Ryder Cup experience, strong relationships and unwavering passion for this event will prove invaluable as he guides the U.S. team over the next year and a half. We are confident that with Keegan at the helm, the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team will compete at Bethpage with the same confidence and determination that has defined his career.”

Woods had been offered the captain’s spot by the PGA of America but has said he is too busy to take the role in 2025. He has been fighting to come back from several serious injuries and recently took on board roles with the PGA Tour and the new PGA Tour Enterprises.