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    • Keegan Bradley ‘would love’ to be Ryder Cup captain and part of Presidents Cup team
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    Keegan Bradley ‘would love’ to be Ryder Cup captain and part of Presidents Cup team

    Vaseline Posted on

    Keegan Bradley was already in a unique position when he was named the next US Ryder Cup captain earlier this year.

    At 38, Bradley is the youngest captain for the United States in decades. He is still in the prime of his career, as he proved Sunday afternoon with his victory at the BMW Championship, making him only the third active US Ryder Cup captain in history to win on the PGA Tour.

    While the Ryder Cup is still more than a year away, Bradley has undoubtedly put himself in the mix for next month’s Presidents Cup, not a place many expected him to be.

    “I like to do whatever I want, play whatever role they want me to play,” Bradley said after his victory at Castle Pines in Colorado on Sunday. “I think being the Ryder Cup captain puts me in this category of player, where they’ve never had a Ryder Cup captain who’s played full-time on Tour.

    “One of my goals was to get on that Presidents Cup team. So we’ll see. I hope I haven’t thrown a huge spanner in the works for anyone’s plans, but I’m proud to be in the running.”

    Despite his victory, Bradley still fell far short of earning an automatic bid to the U.S. Presidents Cup team. The qualifying period ended on Sunday afternoon, with the top six golfers from both the U.S. and international sides earning guaranteed spots on their respective teams. Bradley finished 10th in the Team USA standings. His only chance of making the team is if Jim Furyk uses one of his captain’s picks on him next month.

    Bradley and the American team even hinted at it on social media on Sunday evening.

    But for now, Bradley is trying to focus on the Tour Championship. His victory on Sunday moved him up a whopping 46 spots in the FedEx Cup standings to secure a spot in next week’s field at East Lake.

    “When I came here this week, I honestly didn’t think I was going to Atlanta… I was just trying to win the tournament,” he said. “I’m playing great. I feel very happy to be in Atlanta.”

    Regardless of what happens with the Presidents Cup, Bradley could realistically become the first captain to actually play in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer did so in 1963.

    While he’s all for it, Bradley doesn’t think he can use a captain’s pick on himself.

    “I would love to be a playing captain,” he said Sunday. “Nobody has really had the opportunity that I’ve had… It’s going to be very difficult for me to get into that team, but if I get into the team, I’ll play. I don’t see myself as a captain’s choice, but I’ll be proud to just be the captain.

    “If I have to play, I’m happy to do so.”

    Bradley’s victory on Sunday was the seventh of his career, and his first since last year’s Travelers Championship. He has finished runner-up twice this season, including a playoff loss at the Sony Open in January, and will move to No. 11 in the Official World Golf Rankings on Monday.

    Since he said he likely won’t use a captain’s pick on himself, Bradley will have to play his way into the top six to earn an automatic bid to the team. He won’t have much room for error there, given how well Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and others have played this season.

    But if Bradley can carry Sunday’s win into a strong 2025 season, it’s certainly not out of the question. He and his team could very well be competing at Bethpage Black next fall.

    “I still feel like I’m in the prime of my career,” he said. “I feel like there are a lot of parts of my game that are the best I’ve ever had, and I feel like I’ve got years ahead of me. I wanted to make this Ryder Cup team at Bethpage, where I was the captain. That’s always been a goal of mine. I feel like I can continue to play at a high level for a while.”

    Vaseline
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