Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley leaves himself off the US team for Bethpage Black

U.S. captain Keegan Bradley went down the list of six names to fill out his Ryder Cup team, one by one, the suspense building whether he would call his own name and become the first playing captain in 62 years. Turns out Bradley knew all along. He had only one job in mind. He has only one goal in mind. And he said Wednesday in announcing his six captain's picks — none named Bradley — that the best chance for the Americans to win the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black was to leave his golf clubs at home. "I know 100% for certain that this is the right choice," Bradley said. Top American players, who saw him beat two strong fields in the last year, thought he should be on the team for the Sept. 26-28 matches on New York's Long Island. So did President Donald Trump. "I really appreciate it, Mr. President. I hope you're not disappointed," Bradley said. For all the speculation — especially after Bradley made a bold run at winning the Tour Championship last week — he said he had known "for a while" he would not be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963, and the team had been set leaving East Lake. "I grew up wanting to play the Ryder Cup. It broke my heart not to play, it really did," he said. "Ultimately I was chosen to do a job. My ultimate goal was to be the best captain I could be." Instead, Bradley went with a pair of Ryder Cup rookies in New York native Cameron Young and Ben Griffin, who finished at No. 9 in the standings. Joining them as picks were Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay, all of them on the last U.S. team. That gives the Americans four Ryder Cup rookies — U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun and Russell Henley qualified on their own — for Bethpage Black. The other qualifiers were Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau, the only player from Saudi-backed LIV Golf who made it. Brooks Koepka of LIV Golf was a captain's pick for the 2023 matches. The Americans return only six players from that Rome squad. Europe, which will announce the rest of its team on Monday, is likely to return 11 of the 12 players who won in Rome two years ago. Luke Donald returns as captain. Bradley made a compelling case as a pick, and he likely would have been chosen without much argument if he had not been captain. He has won twice in the last 13 months against strong fields — only Scheffler has won more since then. He finished at No. 11 in the Ryder Cup standings and was the eighth-best American in the world ranking. He said when he was appointed in July 2024 he would play only if he qualified. And then he won the Travelers Championship and said, "This changes the story a little bit." All along, it became a singular talking point about the Ryder Cup. "No matter what decision I made, I'm going to be defined by this decision," Bradley had said at the Tour Championship, calling it the biggest decision of his career. Instead, he will stick to being captain, a decision that is sure to be second-guessed if the Americans don't win. Rory McIlroy had said in June there was a chance the Americans would not have their best 12 players if Bradley did not pick himself. McIlroy, who has played in the Ryder Cup every time since 2010, also said he didn't think it was possible for someone to play and be captain because of the spectacle this event has become. Bradley conceded as much, saying the Ryder Cup was a "completely different animal than it was in the '60s." The Ryder Cup was barely a blip on the golf landscape in America until continental Europe was invited in 1979, and Europe began routine winning. Europe has won or retained the precious gold trophy 12 of the last 18 times dating to 1985. Bradley has been on two teams, both losses. He famously refused to unpack his golf bag from his first Ryder Cup in Medinah in 2012, saying he wouldn't open it until he was on a winning team. His next chance is at Bethpage, as a captain. And he indicated it really wasn't that difficult of a choice. It might have been different if he had won again after the Travelers in June (he didn't have a top 10 until Sunday at East Lake). Or if the players he chose had not played well in the closing stretch of the season. "I've said through this process over and over and over, I was going to do what I thought was best for the team," Bradley said. "And this was the decision that I thought was best." Thomas is playing in his fourth straight Ryder Cup, making him the most experienced American on the team. He also was part of the committee that selected Bradley — at 39 the youngest Ryder Cup captain since Palmer was 34 — to be captain last year. "He wants to do whatever is best for the team," Thomas said. "I know all of us are gutted for him. But him leading us to victory will be cooler than any experience he can have as a player. We don't doubt him for one second."