Keegan Bradley appointed surprise Ryder Cup captain after Tiger Woods turns down role

(CNN) — Keegan Bradley was unveiled as Team USA’s 2025 Ryder Cup captain on Monday, a surprise turn of events after Tiger Woods was widely tipped to assume the role.

Six-time PGA Tour winner Bradley was controversially snubbed by Zach Johnson for last year’s beaten team in Rome and will be tasked with avenging that bruising loss to Europe at the 45th edition of the biennial competition at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.

The world No. 19 – who made two appearances as a player at the Ryder Cup in 2012 and 2014 – will be 39-years-old come September next year, making the Vermont native the youngest captain to lead a team at the tournament since Arnold Palmer in 1963.

“I am incredibly honored to accept this opportunity to Captain the United States Team at the 2025 Ryder Cup,” 2011 PGA Championship victor Bradley said in a statement to the PGA of America, who decide the captaincy, on Monday.

“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.”

Woods’ name had been frequently linked with the position in the fallout of last year’s defeat, with the 48-year-old telling reporters at May’s PGA Championship that he was in discussions with the PGA of America over taking on the role.

An eight-time Ryder Cup player and victorious Playing Captain at the 2019 Presidents Cup, Woods had cautioned that he was “dedicating so much time” to his involvement in peace talks between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, adding: “I don’t want to not fulfill the role of the captaincy if I can’t do it.”

Woods had been ready to accept the role if captaincy commitments were reduced in the lead up to the tournament, according to The Telegraph, who reported that the 15-time major winner had turned down the position hours before Bradley’s announcement by PGA of America President John Lindert.

“I am proud and excited to name Keegan Bradley as Captain of the 2025 United States Ryder Cup Team,” said Lindert.

“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.”

Redemption calling

It will be a chance to heal old wounds on a number of levels for US Captain and Co. in New York.

Bradley was one of several players who may have felt aggrieved to be left at home for Rome in early Fall 2023, given he had accumulated more qualification points than captain’s pick Justin Thomas, who had struggled for his best form all season.

Johnson ultimately came under heavy fire for his leadership decisions at Marco Simone Golf Club. A final day resurgence saw the scoreboard end read a more respectable 16.5 – 11.5, but Europe dismantled the visitors across the first two days to extend Team USA’s 30-year winless drought away from home.

Despite a positive 4-3-0 record at Ryder Cups as a player, Bradley has never tasted victory at the event. Three points on his debut in Illinois in 2012 was a joint team-high yet could not prevent “The Miracle of Medinah,” as Team Europe mounted a remarkable final day charge to complete one of sport’s most famous comebacks.

Two years later, Bradley was a member of Tom Watson’s team that fell to Paul McGinley’s European side at Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland.

Luke Donald will retain his role as European captain for Bethpage, making him the first repeat leader of the team since Bernard Gallacher manned the helm in three consecutive tournaments between 1991 and 1995.

“Great opportunities don’t come along very often in life and I’m a great believer that when they do, you need to grab them with both hands. This is one of these moments,” Donald said following his appointment in November.

The Englishman proved a hugely popular chief in Rome, but will be up against the weight of history in two years’ time. Europe has not won on American soil since that famous victory in 2012 and were routed 19 – 9, the biggest winning margin in Ryder Cup history, at Whistling Straights in 2021.

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