Keegan Bradley sat heartbroken on the arm of his couch as the news was delivered: He would not be one of captain Zach Johnson’s choices for the 2023 U.S. Ryder Cup team.
“Full Swing” — the Netflix docuseries that chronicled Johnson’s decision and largely focused on Bradley vs. Justin Thomas — had cameras there to capture the moment Bradley received the crushing news.
“I understand. I am wishing you good luck and hope you guys go over there and win it,” Bradley told Johnson as he was consoled by his wife, Jillian.
Bradley, who just earned 2025 captain honors, was later shown cheering on Team USA from his couch, though his countrymen needed much more help than that, as they were crushed by Team Europe.
Johnson faced plenty of criticism for the way the Americans performed, losing the first four matches of the event and never seriously threatening a comeback in a 16 1/2 to 11 1/2 defeat in Rome.
Bradley, who had two wins last year and was playing superior golf to Thomas in the summer, was a sympathetic figure.
“I just hope, someday, I get to win a Ryder Cup and open that thing and just have, like, a peace-of-mind moment because I’m thinking about the Ryder Cup every second of every day,” Bradley said in “Full Swing.”
And now, he has his chance.
Not as a player but as the U.S. Captain after the PGA of America selected him to lead the team in 2025 at Bethpage.
It came after Tiger Woods turned down the opportunity, but was still a shock to some as the fiery Bradley is not considered part of golf’s inner circle — one of the reasons he thought he was passed over by Johnson.
“I thought I put together a really good year with two wins, including in Hartford over an elite field,” Bradley told Golf Channel after the Ryder Cup roster was finalized last summer.
“I’m proud of what I’ve done. … I think [Justin Thomas] is a generational talent. … I’ve always been an outsider in the sport, but I have tried to get closer to the guys I thought would be on the team. … I feel like moving forward I’m going to have to automatically qualify for the Ryder Cup.”
Bradley will officially get the nod with a noon press conference Tuesday in Manhattan.
