Keegan Bradley Reveals He Won't Be Playing Captain As He Announces Full US Ryder Cup Side

HELLO ALL

Good morning, afternoon and evening all, and welcome to Golf Monthly's live coverage of Keegan Bradley's captain picks for the 45th edition of the Ryder Cup.

Speaking at the Home of the PGA of America in Frisco, Texas, the US Ryder Cup captain will reveal his six picks to complete the 12-man squad, with it currently unclear as to who will be selected.

What we do know is that Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau are on the team, so who will join them?

WILL HE OR WON'T HE?

The big talking point in the build-up of Bradley's captain's picks is whether he will select himself or not for Bethpage Black?

Early reports claim he will, while the bookies still have it 50/50 on whether he will be playing in New York, or just captaining.

Certainly, the decision will create talking points, whether he selects himself as a playing captain or not, but the last player to ever be a playing captain at a Ryder Cup was Arnold Palmer back in 1963...

WHO ARE THE FAVORITES TO BE SELECTED?

There's plenty of speculation being thrown around as to who will be selected and, going into Bradley's announcement, which gets underway in 15 minutes, there are some big names who will be favorites.

Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa possess Ryder Cup experience and good records, so you feel they will be in the 12-man team for Bethpage Black.

The final three spots could go to anyone, with Sam Burns, Cameron Young, Ben Griffin and Bradley, likely, the four favorites for the remaining three positions.

THE SIX CONFIRMED NAMES

While we wait for the six captain's picks, we already know of six US players who will be in New York, with two being Ryder Cup rookies.

Unsurprisingly, World No.1 Scottie Scheffler will make a third Ryder Cup appearance, with the American continuing to dominate throughout 2025.

He will be joined by US Open winner JJ Spaun, who will make his Ryder Cup debut. Xander Schauffele will make a third appearance, while Russell Henley is the second rookie on the team.

Rounding out the six are Harris English and LIV Golfer Bryson DeChambeau, who will no doubt bring the noise and passion to the New York crowd at the end of September.

5 MINUTE WARNING

MY PREDICTION

As we draw nearer to the full captain's picks, I thought I would give my predictions and, throughout the day, this has changed multiple times...

Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay are all locks for me, and I think Bradley will go with Sam Burns, Ben Griffin and, finally, himself.

Obviously, take those picks with a pinch of salt, as they could be completely wrong. What we do know is that we are just mere minutes away from finding out the full 12-man line-up.

BRADLEY IN THE ROOM

The captain is here and, decked out in full US gear, the Major winner has opened with: "It's been the best year of my life and best as a professional."

COMPLIMENTS FOR THE TEAM

Before announcing the captain's picks, Bradley is running down his thoughts on all six confirmed players.

Obviously, the captain has high praise for all six, speaking highly of Scheffler, Spaun, Schauffele, Henley, English and DeChambeau.

FIRST PICK - JUSTIN THOMAS

"HE LIVES FOR THE RYDER CUP"

The first pick is Justin Thomas, who will make his fourth appearance at the Ryder Cup.

He holds a record of 7 wins, 4 losses and 2 ties, with Thomas undefeated in the singles

PICK 2 - COLLIN MORIKAWA

"WE'RE PROUD TO HAVE HIM"

The next captain's pick is Collin Morikawa, who will make his third appearance at a Ryder Cup. He holds a record of 4 wins, 3 losses and 1 tie, with the American part of one team win and one team loss.

PICK 3 - BEN GRIFFIN

ANOTHER ROOKIE ADDED

Ben Griffin is the next captain's pick, with the American becoming the third rookie on the 2025 US Ryder Cup side.

He's secured 10 top 10s on the PGA Tour this season, wrapping up two victories at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and Charles Schwab Challenge.

"It's the biggest honor of all time to be on a US Ryder Cup team," he states on call. "I'm really excited to have the belief of my team mates and captains."

PICK 4 - CAMERON YOUNG

A NEW YORKER IN NEW YORK

Cameron Young was born and raised in New York, with the 28-year-old the fourth rookie on the US Ryder Cup side.

He claimed victory at the Wyndham Championship in August, as well as produced several excellent results throughout the 2025 PGA Tour season.

"Making these teams is a mark of achievement. This Ryder Cup, at New York and Bethpage, is so special to me and I've been picturing the moment for a very long time."

PICK 5 - PATRICK CANTLAY

"IT'S AN HONOR"

Unsurprisingly, Cantlay is the fifth pick, with the American holding an impressive Ryder Cup record of 5 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie.

Making his third appearance in the event, he has been a key figure in the last two editions of the tournament and will no doubt be a key figure in New York.

PICK 6 - SAM BURNS

THE FINAL PICK IS BURNS

Wow... Bradley's final pick is Sam Burns! A big shock, especially as reports were claiming that Bradley would pick himself.

Burns made his Ryder Cup debut in 2023, claiming 1 win and 2 losses. It will be his first home Ryder Cup.

"THE DECISION WAS MADE A WHILE AGO"

First question is why Bradley left himself out of the side, with the captain explaining that the decision to not play was made a while ago.

Speaking just now, the Major winner stated that it was an "extremely difficult decision, but one I'm happy with. I'm glad it's over..."

YOUR TEAM USA RYDER CUP SIDE

BRADLEY REACTION

"I grew up wanting to play Ryder Cups. I grew up wanting to fight alongside these guys and it broke my heart not to play, it really did.

"Because you work forever to make these teams but ultimately I was chosen to do a job. I was chosen to be a captain of this team and my ultimate goal was to be the best captain I could be and this is how I felt I could do this."

NAMES REACT

BIG NAMES TO MISS OUT

There are plenty of big names who missed out on the 2025 Ryder Cup, with one of those being captain Bradley.

Among the others include Maverick McNealy, who finished 10th in the US Rankings and also made it to the Tour Championship.

Other big names missing out include Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman.

DECISION PROCESS

"We looked mostly at who had the lowest score at the end of the tournaments. The data and analytics aren't going to matter on the first tee when there are 40,000 fans screaming at you. We want players who are going to go out and win points."

PRESS CONFERENCE OVER

A lot to digest in that hour-long press conference, where we saw Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns selected for the US Ryder Cup team.

The notable story is that Keegan Bradley won't be a playing captain, opting to instead select six players for Bethpage Black.

Among the six picked, Ben Griffin and Cameron Young will be among the four rookies in New York, joining JJ Spaun and Russell Henley in the 12-man side.

WHEN DOES TEAM EUROPE ANNOUNCE THEIR CAPTAIN'S PICKS?

After Bradley's picks, attention now turns to when Team Europe will finalize their 12-man team.

In terms of that date, captain Luke Donald will announce his six captain's picks on Monday 1st September at 2pm BST (9am ET).

RYDER CUP RECORDS OF THE CAPTAIN'S PICKS

As the six captain's picks are confirmed, here's a quick run down of their records in the Ryder Cup.

Justin Thomas: 7 wins, 4 losses, 2 ties

Collin Morikawa: 4 wins, 3 losses, 1 tie

Ben Griffin: Rookie

Cameron Young: Rookie

Patrick Cantlay: 5 wins, 2 losses, 1 tie

Sam Burns: 1 win, 2 losses

WAS HE EVER GOING TO BE PLAYING CAPTAIN?

Bradley stated: "So the decision was made a while ago that I wasn't playing. The last 48 hours we had the team set. We weren't scrambling at all.

"This was a really tough decision. I would say there was a point this year where I was playing, a while ago, and all these guys stepped up in a major way and played their way on to this team.

"That's something that I'm really proud of and something that I really wanted. But it was an extremely difficult decision but one that I'm really happy with. I'm really happy with these six players, and I'm glad it's over."

PRAISE FOR SCOTTY

"What's interesting about Scottie is just how dominant and fiercely competitive he is on the golf course, but you get him outside the ropes and he's totally normal, one of the most humble people you'll ever meet.

"He's taking an active role of helping the younger guys and being there for them, having them ask questions, and he makes our job as captains a lot easier because we have the best player in the world that's also super humble, down to earth, that's looking to help our guys. That's a big asset to have."

BEN GRIFFIN REACTS AFTER PICK

"I've known a good chunk of the team since junior golf, so just on the screen here, Cameron Young, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, I have their numbers because we grew up competing against each other, whether it's Wyndham Cups, AJGA or AJGA events.

"I did know a decent amount of these guys, but now I know the bond is going to get even closer, and I'm really excited to get close with a lot of the guys on the team and build friendships and work towards a common goal. It's going to be really exciting.

"Going back a year ago, Ryder Cup wasn't necessarily on my radar. My radar was more of I need to get over the hump and win on the PGA Tour and kind of tackle one thing at a time. Ultimately this summer it's just kind of led to where I felt like I was one of the best golfers in the world and was competing and playing well in Majors and in big moments.

"Just really excited to have the belief from everyone and especially from Keegan that I'm a part of this team, and I'm excited to go showcase my talents."

THE TOUGH CALLS

One of the hardest parts of being captain is letting players know if they have, or haven't, made it. Back in 2023, Bradley agonizingly missed out on a captain's pick, with his reaction caught on camera during Netflix's Full Swing docuseries.

Speaking about the calls, Bradley stated during his press conference: "Calling the players and telling them they're not on the team was way more difficult because I just know these guys really well.

"I know how much it means to them, and I know there was a couple guys that I had to call that were on the team in Rome that -- I've been on these losing teams, and you just desperately want to get back and get another shot at it.

"It was really difficult, but again, I kept reminding myself of how I like the calls to go, and you also as a player have a pretty good idea of is this call going to go well, it's probably not going to go, or it's medium.

"Every single guy I called was so great, and it was really great to hear because I've only experienced my calls, and I'm pissed, and these guys were really friendly and really caring, and it meant a lot to me."

DID BRADLEY CONSIDER PLAYING?

"If I felt like I needed to play on this team to help the team win, I would have. It was really inspiring to see how well these guys played coming down the stretch because again, I've been in this situation where you're on the bubble of these teams, and it's like you're playing Q-school every round.

"Q-school, there's no fun involved when you play these rounds. I've been in that position, and it's horrible, and you wake up every day on a Friday morning and you know this is a really important round I have to show the captain.

"These six here basically did that for months, and they've played some of the best golf they've played in their careers, and that shows you a lot, and something I was extremely proud of.

"One of the great joys I've had this year is when I'd look up at the leaderboard and I'm just seeing American names. I'm not looking for my name; I'm looking for these guys' names. You don't have to look very far from the top for most of these guys. That was a real fun thing for me to do.

"It seemed like every week that I looked for these guys, they were right there. Really proud of them because I know how tough that is."

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM BRADLEY

"When this first started, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if we could handle this with playing a full-time schedule. A lot of people didn't think I could still play and do this. I'm really proud of the year that I had, but I'm more proud of the guys and how they've been.

"Again, I'm not afraid to say that I look up to each and every one of these guys, just how they carry themselves, how they conduct themselves, the way they play, the way they treat each other.

"I've never seen... their friend wins a tournament, they're genuinely happy for that other player, and I see them rooting for them when no one is watching, watching TV and cheering them on. It was inspiring to me, and it changed me as a person and as a player forever.

"I'm not afraid to say, again, that I look up to each and every one of them, and they've taught me so much, and I look forward to returning to Bethpage as the Ryder Cup captain and hopefully winning the Ryder Cup on Sunday."

WHAT'S NEXT?

After Bradley's captain's picks, attention now turns to Luke Donald and his captain's picks on Monday 1st September.

Who will the Englishman choose? Certainly, there are a number of big names who haven't automatically qualified, but will he go for experience or, perhaps, opt for a few rookies?

We shall find out Monday!