The PGA of America made it official on Tuesday with the announcement that Keegan Bradley will be the U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the matches at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sept. 26-28, 2025.
The announcement came from the headquarters of the New York Stock Exchange, 25 miles from Bethpage.
It was a surprise to most that it wasn’t Tiger Woods (who is now the odds-on favorite for 2027 at Adare Manor in Ireland) and that Bradley will steer the ship with no prior experience as a captain or vice-captain on an international basis.
Bradley is a native of Woodstock, Vt., which makes him the only PGA Tour winner ever from that state. He has won six Tour events, the last coming at the 2023 Travelers Championship.
Here’s what else to know about Captain Bradley
How much Ryder Cup experience does Keegan Bradley have?
Bradley is a departure from recent PGA of America philosophy in drawing captains from a list of players who have been vice-captains. Bradley has yet to serve on the staff of a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup.
He also has only played in two Ryder Cups, going 4-3 in 2012 and 2013. All four of his victories were doubles matches with Phil Mickelson.
Keegan Bradley has been a quick study
Yes, Bradley will be the youngest Ryder Cup captain at 39 years old when the event is played since Arnold Palmer in 1963 (34). But when Bradley won the 2011 PGA Championship, he was the third player in history to win his first major start, after Francis Ouimet in the 1913 U.S. Open and Ben Curtis in the 2003 British Open. Bradley also won on the Hooters Tour in his fifth professional start.
Keegan Bradley is good on the slopes
Many golfers played other sports when they were younger. Most of them gravitated towards baseball and basketball.
But Bradley would whip any Tour player on the slopes. He was an All-State ski racer in Vermont before his family moved to Massachusetts and he won a state high school title in golf.
Keegan Bradley was a rare star from the Big East
Bradley went to St. John’s University and won nine college golf tournaments for coach Frank Darby, the second-most in school history. He played in the 2008 NCAA Tournament as an at-large player. Bradley was inducted into the St. John’s Hall of Fame in 2020.
Bradley became familiar with Bethpage State Park since the Johnnies played an annual tournament there.
Which relative of Keegan Bradley is in the Hall of Fame?
In addition to his father Mark Bradley being a career club pro, Bradley is the nephew of World Golf Hall of Fame member Pat Bradley, who won 31 LPGA titles and six major championships. He has another aunt, Peggy, who was a seven-time club champion at the York Golf and Tennis Club in York, Maine.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Meet Keegan Bradley, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain for 2025 at Bethpage
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