LIV Golf members Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Jon Rahm expressed genuine surprise and full-throated support after the PGA of America's stunningly tapped Keegan Bradley as captain for Team USA at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Tiger Woods turned down the gig.
“I heard so many people say it was going to be Tiger, Tiger at Bethpage,” Rahm said Wednesday ahead of LIV's event in his native Spain. “I'm like, ‘that makes sense, right.' He's won the U.S. Open at Bethpage, and it is Tiger Woods. So, I felt like that made a lot of sense.”
Rahm has participate in three Ryder Cups for Team Europe, including their dominant victory at Marco Simone in Rome last September. Bradley, an well-documented Ryder Cup aficionado, was curiously left off the United States' cohort by captain Zach Johnson, despite outperforming Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas in the run-up. (Bradley spoke to me about the snubbing, which was painfully captured by Netflix.)
Bradley — who can still qualify as a player — said he was in “complete shock” when he got the call. During the spring, both Tiger Woods and ex-PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh acknowledged ongoing conversations surrounding the captaincy. Ultimately, Tiger's turn will more likely come in 2027, as the 15-time major champion is bogged down with various behind-the-scenes PGA Tour duties.
Bradley and Mickelson went 4-1 as partners across the 2012 and 2014 competitions. Bradley has never won a Ryder Cup match without Mickelson.
“But I understand Keegan, as well, right,” continued Rahm. “His Ryder Cup showings, he was a very enthusiastic player. He made his mark. Him and Phil had a great partnership, and there's some great highlights from him at Medinah.
“So, he's a man from the Northeast. I know Boston and New York, usually not friends, but I think for that week, they will just adopt him for the week. Yeah, I can see it. I can understand why he was picked.”
“I think it's a great pick the more I think about it,” Mickelson chimed in at the same press conference. “He played a lot of golf at Bethpage when he went to St. Johns. His passion for the Ryder Cup is greater than just about any player I've ever seen. His love for the Ryder Cup is more than anybody I know. I think he's going to lead with that type of passion.
“I think he's incredible. I'm really, really happy for him.”
At the announcement in New York on Tuesday, Bradley said he would consider LIV Golf players for the team.
“I’m not worried about the LIV Golf stuff. I’m going to have the 12 best players on the team. I don’t care what or where they play. So we have a mission to win this tournament. I want the best players on the team. By the time we get to Bethpage in 2025, we have no clue how the layout of the golf world is going to be.”
For last year's event, Team Europe stripped Ryder Cup stalwart Henrick Stenson of his captaincy after he joined LIV (Luke Donald took over, and will return at Bethpage). Fellow veterans Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Paul Casey, and Martin Kaymer were shunned due to DP World Tour policy.
Johnson took one LIV player, Brooks Koepka. The 2023 PGA champ was one of the few Americans to hold his own in Rome, as Team Europe rolled to a 5 1/2-point victory.
Reigning U.S. Open champ Bryson DeChambeau — whose LIV status indirectly cost him a Paris Olympics spot — was pumped about Bradley's fresh mindset. The 38-year-old will be the youngest captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
“As far as picking the best players, that's the right approach and I couldn't be more happy for him as captain,” DeChambeau stated.
“I think it's a great opportunity for him, especially as it relates to younger players. He's going to see that younger threshold, and obviously relate to them a lot more, I would say, because of his age. … He's seeing the younger generation game. He's out there still playing and competing and it's great to have some relatability.”
DeChambeau has competed in two Ryder Cups. He was Team USA's third-best scorer at their blowout win at Whistling Straits in 2021.
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