The Americans went off the board for their 2025 Ryder Cup captain. 

Way off the board.

Keegan Bradley, at 39, will be the youngest American captain in more than 60 years. He is set to lead the U.S. side at Bethpage Black 14 months from now. 

The move is incredibly surprising on multiple fronts. 

For one, the Americans had been sticking with the European model of having assistant captains rise through the ranks to assume the head captaincy. Following Tom Watson’s disastrous 2014 captaincy, the following four American captains all had extensive experience as assistant captains in previous Ryder Cups. All of them were well past their playing primes while they were captain. The idea had been to establish a consistent model of how teams were constructed and led. 

Bradley hasn’t been an assistant captain. He is still very competitive as a PGA Tour player, having narrowly missed making last year’s team (Netflix crews captured the heartbreaking moment where he learned the news). He has played in the Ryder Cup but not since 2012 at Medinah. Famously, Bradley never unpacked his suitcase from that event after the Americans blew a 10-6 lead on the final day. 

It’s hard to overstate how much of a departure this is for American team golf (which follows a similar formula for the Presidents Cup). Going with a completely inexperienced captain still in the middle of his career is among the most surprising selections in Ryder Cup history. 

It’s also a shocker because Tiger Woods isn’t the captain. 

This particular Ryder Cup captaincy once seemed destined to belong to Phil Mickelson. He has a love affair with New York and a deep history with the event. Once he left for LIV in such a divisive fashion, that wiped out his chances. 

Most figured the captaincy would then go to Woods. He has been a Presidents Cup captain and has been involved as an assistant/team consultant in recent Ryder Cups. 

The position was reportedly offered to Tiger but he apparently turned it down due to concerns that he couldn’t serve as a Tour player director on the policy board while also being a Ryder Cup captain. He figures to have a substantial role in trying to unify the game. 

That left a void for the 2025 captaincy. Rather than going with a former assistant captain, the PGA of America chose Bradley. 

The announcement comes in July, more than three months later than typical. That points to the trouble in securing a captain.

Bradley will be the youngest American captain since Arnold Palmer (34) in 1963. Palmer was a playing captain as the U.S. won in a landslide. 

This will be different. Bradley, despite being ranked No. 19 in the world, almost certainly won’t be playing. The task of a captain in modern Ryder Cups is too much for someone also competing. 

He’ll be charged with channeling his passion for the event into a game plan that gives the Americans a shot at three consecutive victories on home soil. And he’ll be charged with washing the stench off of Zach Johnson’s troublesome captaincy from last year. Being from the northeast is helpful—Bradley is a New England guy who should have plenty of support. 

Will it be a disaster where Bradley isn’t ready for the responsibility? 

Or will his passion and focus unlock a new template for the Americans where thinking outside the box is the new norm?

It will be fascinating to watch. 

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