Keegan Bradley could lean on Tiger Woods for inspiration NEWS By
Keegan Bradley could well lead Team USA as a playing captain into next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, a path Tiger Woods has already taken at the Presidents Cup.
Keegan Bradley may well need to take a leaf out of Tiger Woods’ book if he is to succeed as a potential playing captain at next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
Bradley is the man who has been put in charge of the American side, as they bid to win back the title they lost on European soil in Italy last fall. With that at stake, Team USA will be looking to put together the strongest team possible to clinch the crown, and this could well include their team captain.
Bradley – who is still only 38 years old – has found some of the best form of his career in recent months, capped off with a FedEx Cup playoff victory at the BMW Championship last month.
And if this run continues, this could well see the PGA Tour star become the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer, who took on the role way back in 1963. In the Presidents Cup, you only have to go back as far as 2019 to find the last Team USA captain who also featured as a player.
Unsurprisingly it was the great Woods who took on the role, guiding his country to a nail-biting 16-14 victory over the International Team in Melbourne, Australia. As well as his off-course role, Woods more than contributed to it too, winning all three of his matches against his International rivals.
Bradley will no doubt be hoping to follow in Woods’ footsteps if the opportunity to both play and captain arises. Many have doubted whether the role is possible on the Ryder Cup stage, however, Bradley appears confident he will be able to carry out both roles if it comes down to it.
The Team USA skipper has admitted the only way he will compete on the course is if he makes it into one of the six automatic spots, insisting he would not select himself as a captain’s pick. Still keen to take on the role though, he declared last month: “I would love to be a playing captain.
“No one has really had the opportunity that I’ve had. I think you could have given Phil [Mickelson] or Tiger [Woods] a chance to be captain at my age and they would have played on the teams. But it’s never really had a chance to happen. It’s going to be really hard for me to make that team, but if I make the team, I’ll play.
“I don’t see myself being a captain’s pick. But I’ll be proud to just be the captain. If I have to go out there and play, I’d love to do that, too.” For this week at least, Bradley’s focus will be on playing, having earned himself a spot in Jim Furyk’s 2024 Presidents Cup team. Bradley had originally been appointed as a vice-captain but was relieved of his role by Furyk to allow him to focus on his playing responsibilities in Canada.
