Keegan Bradley decides against picking himself in shock Ryder Cup team selection as rookies are called up

Keegan Bradley has resisted the temptation of becoming the first Ryder Cup playing captain in over 60 years after confirming his picks for the upcoming event at Bethpage Black.

Bradley, who was gutted to miss out on playing in Rome two years ago, was announced as the Team USA skipper last year and has enjoyed a fine season since.

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The discussion over whether he should select himself among his six captain’s picks has been the hot topic in golf for weeks.

And now, despite all the major reporting suggesting he would pick himself, the 39-year-old has confirmed he will NOT be teeing it up in New York this September.

Arnold Palmer was the last playing captain back in 1963 and the pressure would have been huge on Bradley had he selected himself for the dual role at Bethpage.

Instead, the world no.11 will lead the team as skipper only alongside his vice-captains Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker and Gary Woodland.

Who are the US captain’s picks?

Bradley has instead picked Justin Thomas as expected while Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay have seen off competition to make the team again despite not being in great form.

Bradley has also picked Sam Burns plus rookies Ben Griffin and Cameron Young.

Burns has not won since March 2023 but is a close friend of Scottie Scheffler and was the best putter on the PGA Tour this season.

Griffin has enjoyed a breakout year, winning twice at Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the Charles Schwab Challenge.

And Young won the Wyndham Championship earlier this month and has been in brilliant form since May.

Bradley finished above Young, Cantlay and Burns in the US Team Rankings.

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Bradley not playing will shock many in the world of golf and he has revealed how he came to his final decision.

He said: “This was a really tough decision. There was a point this year where I was playing.

“I grew up wanting to play Ryder Cups and wanting to fight alongside these guys. It broke my heart not to play [in Rome], it really did.

“I was chosen to do a job and be a captain for this team and my ultimate goal was to be the best captain I could be. This is how I felt I could do this.

“If it got to the point where it felt the team was better with me on it I was going to do that. I know 100% for certain this was the right choice.

“These six guys played so incredibly coming down the stretch here and made my job so much easier.”

He added: “The decision was made a while ago that I wasn’t playing. The last 48 hours we had the team set, we weren’t scrambling at all.

“All these guys stepped up in a major way and played their way onto this team. It’s something I’m proud of and really wanted.

“It was an extremely difficult decision but one I’m really happy with, I’m happy with these six players. I’m glad it’s over.”

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Who qualified automatically for the US Ryder Cup team?

Bradley’s six picks join the six automatic qualifiers in making up the 12-man USA team.

Open champion and world No1 Scottie Scheffler confirmed his place first and will lead the team at Bethpage.

US Open champion JJ Spaun and two-time major winner Xander Schauffele also made the team outright a while back.

And, following the recent BMW Championship, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau confirmed their spots too.

DeChambeau will be the only LIV Golf player on the American side with Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson not considered.

The other PGA Tour players who were unlucky to miss out include Maverick McNealy, Brian Harman, Andrew Novak, Chris Gotterup, Akshay Bhatia and Wyndham Clark.

The USA side will also be without several household names with Jordan Spieth, Max Homa, Tony Finau and Rickie Fowler overlooked.

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Meanwhile, Luke Donald, who led Europe to victory in Italy in 2023, will confirm his six captain’s pick on Monday, September 1.

Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton and Rasmus Hojgaard have secured automatic qualification.

Donald’s pick appear to be far more straight-forward than for Bradley with Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick and Sepp Straka expected to make the side.

Once the teams are fully confirmed, the 2025 Ryder Cup will take place at Bethpage Black from Friday, September 26 to Sunday, September 28.