Keegan Bradley will soon have to make a difficult and unique decision regarding the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team, and Rory McIlroy knows what he would do if he were in Bradley’s situation.
Bradley is the captain for the U.S. team for the Ryder Cup, which will be played at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y., from Sept. 26-28. With just two FedEx Cup playoff tournaments remaining in the current PGA Tour season, Bradley is running out of time to determine whether he will make himself one of six captain’s picks for the 12-man team.
When asked on Wednesday about Bradley potentially being the U.S. captain and playing in the Ryder Cup, McIlroy said he does not think it can be done effectively. The five-time major champion said he has been approached about the idea of captaining Team Europe while playing in the Ryder Cup but that he “shot it down.”
McIlroy said there are just too many other responsibilities to be both a player and captain, whether it be meetings or other admin tasks.
— Matt Cohen (@Matt_Cohen_) August 13, 2025
He said the event is too big now to handle both roles.
But, McIlroy said Keegan Bradley is one of the 12 best Americans right now.
Bradley has played well this season and ranks 10th in the Ryder Cup standings heading into the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club Owings Mills, Md. He would be a strong favorite to be selected as one of the six captain’s picks for the U.S. team if he were not the captain.
Bradley suggested earlier this year that he would only play on the U.S. Ryder Cup team if he were to qualify automatically by playing well. He changed his stance a bit after he won the Travelers Championship in June and said he would pick himself “if I feel like I’m going to help the team.”
Some fans have wondered whether McIlroy is trying to get into Bradley’s head. Several PGA Tour players have said they believe Bradley should pick himself. Patrick Cantlay, who is 15th in the Ryder Cup standings, told reporters this week that he would pick Bradley if he were the U.S. captain.
“Fortunately, I’m not in that predicament. Keegan, however, is in that predicament. If I was the captain, I’d pick Keegan,” Cantlay said, via ESPN’s Mark Schlabach. “I think he’s played great.”
Bradley may ultimately decide that he is better served focusing solely on leading the U.S. team, which took a beating and lost 16.5-11.5 at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy. Either way, the 39-year-old has already shown glimpses of the intensity he will bring with him to Bethpage.
