Keegan Bradley reveals Zach Johnson shockingly called him with Ryder Cup captain news

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Keegan Bradley revealed that Zach Johnson, who famously snubbed him from his Team USA last year, was the one who gave him the call to tell him he had been selected as Ryder Cup captain. 

Bradley was appointed as the USA's captain for the tournament at Bethpage Black in New York this week, just 10 months after he was left heartbroken by Johnson's decision to leave him behind, despite ranking higher than some Americans that made the trip to Rome. 

However, in a full-circle moment, Bradley revealed that it was his predecessor who gave him the happy news. 

'I have such respect for him,' Bradley said during his introductory press conference with the PGA of America Tuesday. 'I'm so honored that he was the one who called me.' 

His now infamous phone call with Johnson, who was heavily criticized for his decision to leave Bradley off the plane to Rome, was captured in one of the most emotionally charged moments of season 2 of Netflix's 'Full Swing.'

Keegan Bradley (left) revealed that Zach Johnson (right) was the one who gave him the call

'I was crushed. It took us a while to get over that,' said of the phone call Tuesday. 'My whole family, we were devastated. 

'I know what a tough decision Zach had… I now have a different respect for what he was going through.' 

Bradley admitted that the news came as a complete shock as he had not interviewed for the job and was offered the position with no prior warning. 

At age 38, Bradley will be the youngest US Ryder Cup captain since playing-captain Arnold Palmer in 1963, who was then 34.

And one of the tough decisions that could keep Bradley up at night is whether he could follow in Palmer's footsteps and become a playing captain himself - something he didn't entirely rule out. 

'I want to make this team,' he admitted. 'I feel like I'm in the prime of my career and I can make this team.'

Bradley's passion at the biennial events has been lauded and will be seen as an important asset

Bradkey has competed at two Ryder Cups, owning a career record of 4-3-0

Tiger Woods had been the first choice for the position, but the 15-time major winner turned down the role as he felt he couldn't dedicate the time required. 

'With my new responsibilities to the Tour and time commitments involved, I felt like I would not be able to commit the time to Team USA and the players required as a captain,' Woods said in a statement. 

'That does not mean I wouldn’t want to captain a team in the future. If and when I feel it is the right time, I will put my hat in the ring for this committee to decide.'

However, world No. 19 Bradley insisted that he has already spoken with Woods about the captaincy and has told the PGA Tour legend that he can be as involved in the team as he wants. 

Tiger Woods turned down the chance to captain Team USA at next year's Ryder Cup 

PGA of America President John Lindert described Bradley as a 'slam-dunk' pick as he opened up on the decision process.  

'We had a couple of phone calls and discussed a variety of attributes that we wanted in our next captain,' Lindert explained. 

'As you start to check off the boxes and you have a PGA Champion, someone who went to school here, familiar with the New York fanbase, very familiar with Bethpage Black, is the son of a PGA member, there are a lot of boxes that Keegan checked off. His enthusiasm for the Ryder Cup stood out above everything else. 

'We just felt that was the 'aha' moment, when Keegan's name was mentioned. All hands went up and we were 100 percent behind it.'