Will he? Won’t he? The question has been puzzling everyone ever since Keegan Bradley stated his intentions to enter the 2025 Ryder Cup as a playing captain. The concept seems abrupt to many today, but it was a common trend in the golden days of golf. According to Golf Monthly, some of the greatest golfers in history like Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, and Arnold Palmer have all multi-tasked at the Ryder Cup in the past. In fact, the three mentioned above have never lost as playing captains in the prestigious tournament. So, as far as records go, playing captains have won 12 out of 23 times.

However, those are not the odds Team U.S. might find favorable considering they lost the 2023 Ryder Cup. For the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, and Co., they would prefer a captain who is only focused on winning. Especially after their recent cries for getting paid to participate in the Ryder Cup being fulfilled by the PGA of America. It seems that they have a major point to prove by winning the 2025 Ryder Cup. Hence, to them, Bradley’s intent of being a playing captain doesn’t fair too well. But that’s not the only concerning situation in the Team U.S. dressing room.

Turns out, even Keegan Bradley is facing challenges trying to work around being a playing captain in the 2025 Ryder Cup. When questioned about how he was balancing being a Ryder Cup captain and a full-time player, Bradley simply said, “It’s tough”. Wouldn’t that ring the alarm bells at the PGA Tour’s headquarters? To elaborate, he added, “I’m thinking about the Ryder Cup at every moment. Even when I’m trying not to, I still have thoughts”. The appointed captain sounds a bit nervous, don’t you think?

Bradley stated that the stress of the Ryder Cup doesn’t take over only when he is playing as he calls his time on the course “therapeutic”. Continuing his conversation with Dan on the Dan on Golf YouTube channel, Bradley was asked if he had a set of 12 players in his mind already. The 38-year-old vaguely distinguished the players qualifying on merit as the “main guys that are up there, you know, the best players in the world” and the captain choices of “10 to 20 guys who “could” be on the team”.

The murky response was followed by a shocking revelation. “We’re still way too early” said Bradley, confirming that they have still not shortlisted players for the captain’s choice. In fact, the Team U.S. captain also claimed that they would only think of who can make the list after “the U.S. Open”. For context, the major event will conclude 3 months before the beginning of the Ryder Cup. Does that give Team U.S. enough time to prepare for the Ryder Cup? I guess we will only know once the tournament is played from September 26-28, 2025.

Shocking as it may be, but, who might make it into the playing 12 come September 2025? Let’s look at the possible candidates.

Is Keegan Bradley fighting to top the leaderboard?

Keegan Bradley’s intent to join the playing 12 might prove to be detrimental for Team U.S. There is no question that he is a skilled golfer. Bradley proved that with his recent performances. But is he the best choice for the 12 biggest names in Team U.S. We don’t think so. Especially seeing how the European golfers have dominated the PGA Tour in the 2025 season. Considering everything, several better players would add more value to the squad than Keegan Bradley.

Collin Morikawa is one of them. Despite going winless in 2024, Morikawa still had a great year finishing high on the leaderboard consistently. The 28-year-old is one of the best golfers in the world at the moment and is rightfully in the top 6 of the Team U.S. ranking for now. But, just in case he doesn’t make the cut, he should surely be a captain’s choice for Bradley. The same goes for Justin Thomas, who is known for constantly competing with the best in the world. Thomas has fallen short of victory a few times in 2024 and finished as the runner-up at the 2025 American Express as well. He is definitely a strong candidate for the team.

Other great players who can make it into Team U.S. ahead of Keegan Bradley are Brooks Koepka, the man who scored 3.5 points in 5 matches in the 2023 Ryder Cup; Max Homa, the 2025 Genesis Invitational runner-up; Maverick McNealy, Billy Horschel, and Patrick Cantlay just to name a few. The Team U.S. captain has a tall order to climb before he makes it to the list.

With all the facts laid out, do you think Keegan Bradley should still be pursuing the playing captain role for the 2025 Ryder Cup? Share your opinions in the comments section.