It was the Keegan Bradley show on the final day of the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational! He may have not won the Signature event, but he certainly left a mark at Bay Hill. At the end of the penultimate day, the Team US captain was lurking at T27 with a +1. But his spectacular last round performance made him jump up to T5 with a 7-under par.

That’s right, Bradley scored a -8 in the final round of the prestigious event. 7 of those under par scores came in the front 9. Not many golfers have achieved that feat, let alone doing so at the Bay Hill Golf Club. Even Tiger Woods has not scored a 7-under par 29 in the front 9. Does that make Bradley better than Woods? Well, that could be debatable. But it does put the former in a prime position to qualify for a Ryder Cup playing captain position.

The 2025 Ryder Cup is only 6 months away now. And things are heating up. Bradley has big decisions to make. Whom will he choose as his ‘Captain’s Picks’ for the tournament? But that’s not the only thing that he is focused on right now. He is also concerned about qualifying as a player on merit. Yes, the Team US captain wants to make it to the top 6 of the US Ryder Cup rankings. But a Sky Sports analyst believes that it’s not possible to do at present.

Jamie was joined by ex-PGA Tour pro Brad Faxon on Sky Sports Golf’s YouTube channel as they discussed Keegan Bradley’s situation. The host kicked off the conversation with, “You cannot, in this day and age, be a playing captain.” Faxon pointed out how Bradley has stated, “If I finish in the top six, I’m going to play. If I don’t finish in the top six, I’m not going to consider playing.” He has maintained this stance since he revealed his plans to be a playing captain, but it seems the community wants him not to do what Tiger Woods did back in 2019 at the Presidents Cup.

Faxon also said that Keegan had mentioned, “I do have a lot of great Vice Captains.” The 8x PGA Tour winner believes that Keegan Bradley wants his vice captains to take the majority of the decisions while he focuses on playing in the Ryder Cup. The former pro-golfer mentioned how the Team US captain was distraught to learn that Zack Johnson hadn’t picked him in 2023. He acknowledged Bradley’s driving ability and how he is rooting for the latter to go in as the playing captain.

Faxon continued to mention how the top pros need an ego and the confidence to succeed. And Bradley has it in abundance. Listening to everything Faxon had to say, Jamie concluded the segment with “Mark the date, March the 10th, Keegan Bradley is going to play on the Ryder Cup team and Webb Simpson is going to captain the (Team) US.” Bradley selected Webb Simpson as his first vice-captain for the Bethpage showdown. Simpson is a three-time Ryder Cup participant as a competitor and will assume vice captaincy for the first time in New York.

The concluding statement might receive a lot of criticism. But if Bradley does take up the playing captain position, then how will he fare? Let’s take a look at another player who chose that route and what happened back then.

Why should Keegan Bradley not follow Tiger Woods’s suit?

The 2019 US Presidents Cup Team was led by Tiger Woods. He and his squad dominated their rivals to capture the title in the end. Interestingly, Woods had picked himself as a ‘Captain’s Pick’ to play in the team. And on paper, it might seem like he had a successful spell. But the reality might be something different.

Webb Simpson mentioned how the pressure got to Tiger Woods back then. Simpson stated, “The 2019 Presidents Cup team saw Tiger Woods do both, and it looked very difficult.” For context, Woods did play 3 of the 5 events and won every time he teed off. However, after playing in the Fourball and Foursome on Thursday and Friday, respectively, he understood how stressful being a playing captain is. So, he didn’t take the field again until it was mandatory for him to do so in the singles matches on Sunday. That’s what prompted Simpson to advise Bradley to give up his goal of being the playing captain in the 2025 Ryder Cup.

Do you think Keegan Bradley can successfully fulfill the role of a playing captain in the 2025 Ryder Cup? Share your views in the comments section.