"Not stepping down," - Keegan Bradley shuts down Ryder Cup captaincy doubts despite potential playing role

Talks of Keegan Bradley taking up a playing-captain role at the 2025 Ryder Cup have been flooding social media following his victory at last week's Travelers Championship. On a recent episode of Dan Rappaport's podcast, Dan on Golf, the Team USA captain provided an answer on his role.

Dan Rappaport asked Bradley if he has a plan in place in case he decides to play for his country at Bethpage Black in September. While the 39-year-old did not affirm whether he will be playing for the team, he firmly stated that he will not be stepping down as captain.

Having managed the demanding duties of a captain while being one of the most talented players on the PGA Tour, Keegan Bradley said,

"Well, I’m definitely gonna still be the captain. I’m not stepping down or any of that. I’ve put too much work into this." (10:30 onwards)

When Keegan Bradley was announced as the captain for Team USA, he initially said that he would not consider a playing role. However, his view on the matter changed with the arrival of his vice-captains.

Brandt Snedeker, Kevin Kisner, Jim Furyk, and Webb Simpson now support Bradley in his administrative duties. The 8 time PGA Tour winner stated that he feels a lot more comfortable with the support of his vice captains.

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Keegan Bradley reveals that Travelers Championship win could change Ryder Cup lineup

During the post-round press conference at the TPC River Highlands, Keegan Bradley stated that he was always very keen on wanting to play for Team USA at the Ryder Cup. However, since being appointed as captain, he revealed that this past year, he did not envision serving as a player.

Stating that he would have never considered playing unless he won a tournament, Keegan Bradley said (via ASAP Sports):

"My whole life every year I was out here I wanted to play on the Ryder Cup team, and then this would be the first year where maybe I didn't want to. I just wanted to be the captain and, of course, you know, this is what happens. But we'll see. I'm going to do whatever I think is best for the team. Whether that's me on the team -- this certainly changes a lot of things. I was never going to play on the team unless I had won a tournament and so that's changed, but we'll see."

If Bradley were to be a part of the 2025 Ryder Cup as a playing captain, he would be the first to do so since Arnold Palmer in 1962. He currently sits in 9th place on the points ranking.

Edited by Anisha Chatterjee