Keegan Bradley has received resounding support from American players to be the playing captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Now, someone in a far higher office is in Bradley’s corner.
President Donald Trump posted to his social media platform Sunday to endorse Bradley for the 12-man team.
“Keegan Bradley should DEFINITELY be on the American Ryder Cup Team — As Captain!!!” Trump said on Truth Social, going on to announce that he’ll be in attendance at Bethpage Black on Friday, the first of the three-day event on Sept. 26-28 in Farmingdale, N.Y.
Trump wrote that he was invited by the PGA Tour. The PGA of America, not the tour, is the governing body that runs the biennial competition against Team Europe and confirmed that Trump will attend at its request.
Bradley, 39, appears to be seriously considering himself for the team. That would make him the first playing captain at the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
He was passed over for the 2023 U.S. team that traveled to Rome and lost a one-sided affair to Team Europe. In July 2024, he was appointed captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup and initially said that he would not spend one of his six captain’s picks on himself.
He changed his tune after winning the 2024 BMW Championship and the 2025 Travelers Championship. Ranked No. 13 in the world entering this week, Bradley was in contention on Sunday at the Tour Championship in Atlanta before fading to a final-round 70 and a tie for seventh place.
“When I get done here, we’re going to talk to my vice captains,” Bradley said after his round. “We sort of put everything on hold the last couple days. I think they were trying to leave me alone. But we’ll get in touch with them and get our final decisions together. Saw a lot of Americans play great today, which makes me happy.”
–Field Level Media
