Keegan Bradley Warned to Avoid Tiger Woods’s Mistakes as Debate Over His ‘Dual Ryder Cup Role’ Rages On

Time is ticking away, and the countdown to the most awaited match, the Ryder Cup, is just 259 days from today! And let us tell you that the 2025 tournament holds a special significance. Why? Well, this year’s match will mark itself as the first Ryder Cup where U.S. golfers will receive paychecks to play for their country. That being said, golf enthusiasts and players are eager to relive the winning moment from 2021 when Team USA defeated Europe with a 19-9 victory.

However, amid all that excitement and anticipation, doubts too have begun to creep in among Ryder Cup analysts. Especially after the PGA Tour announced Keegan Bradley as the US team captain for 2025. Following Bradley’s appointment, many golfing experts expressed surprise, giving reason for his age and lack of experience as a vice-captain.

Webb Simpson thinks Keegan Bradley will “just give up the captaincy”

If we look at Bradley’s scoreboard, his 7 PGA TOUR wins speak for him. His last performance at the 2025 Sony Open too, where he finished 13 under par with 19 birdies, demonstrates his skill and potential. Who knows, maybe he’ll make history by becoming the first playing captain in the Ryder Cup since Tiger Woods led the U.S. to victory in the 2019 Presidents Cup.

However, not everyone is on this page. Some even believe the 38-year-old would “just give up the captaincy.” We are talking about Webb Simpson, who shares the same number of PGA Tour wins as Bradley. Simpson recently joined Gary Williams’s podcast on Golf Channel and said, “I personally would love to see him play because he loves Bethpage; he feels at home there; he would have the home crowd behind him for sure.” 

He continued expressing that Bradley “loves the Ryder Cup—we know how much passion he has for it.” And we do not doubt that. The 2024 BMW Championship winner himself revealed in an interview that he thinks about the cup all the time.

But to qualify, Keegan Bradley would need to be under the top 6. He stands at 11th according to the latest OWGR ranking. Interestingly, Simpson dropped his views on this topic too. He said, “I don’t think he’ll be playing if he’s not top six, but I think if he’s top six, I personally am going to push him to play.”

The host, Gary Williams too added his perspective, emphasizing the captain’s primary responsibility: “to insulate his players as best he can from all the noise.” He continued, “How can he, as a player, insulate his players while also being the captain?” And honestly, juggling both roles could be exhausting.

Webb Simpson echoed this sentiment, drawing from Tiger Woods’s experience as playing captain in the 2019 Presidents Cup. “The 2019 Presidents Cup team saw Tiger Woods do both, and it looked very difficult,” Simpson said, referring to Woods playing 3 matches during his 2019 captaincy instead of all 5.

The US Open winner continued, “I’ve heard, for the Ryder Cup, you know, that there’s more on the captain for the Ryder Cup than there is for the Presidents Cup,” emphasizing the fact that Keegan Bradley should give up his position after his selection.

Interestingly, the 39-year-old is not alone in this thinking. A former Ryder Cup captain has also expressed similar views.

Other players who have also raised doubts about Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup captaincy

As Keegan Bradley strives to excel as both player and captain in the 2025 Ryder Cup, doubts have begun to surface. Notably, former Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk shared his doubts about Bradley’s ability to juggle his responsibilities as captain with his desire to play in the tournament. “I’ll go out on a limb; I personally don’t think you can be a playing captain. It’s Job is too much responsibility. It takes too much of your time away from preparing,” Furyk said.

Dame Laura Davies, a seasoned golfer and former Solheim Cup captain, shares similar views. In a podcast interview with The 19th Uncut, she emphasized, “If you’re going to be the captain, you can’t still be thinking you’re a player.” Her perspective is drawn from her own experience as the captain.

But we would love to know what you think. Will Keegan Bradley’s determination alone be enough t0 be able to juggle his roles this Ryder Cup? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!