When Keegan Bradley announced his six captain’s picks, he made sure to emphasize his love for the Ryder Cup. “It broke my heart not to play,” he said, as he shared how it had been his long dream to compete against Europe at the biennial event. But he chose to sit this time, making almost a sacrificial decision. There were many who called him to pick himself up, including the President of the United States, and there were others who advised him not to do so. In the end, Bradley went with the norm of the modern era Ryder Cup: captains don’t play. His decision might have upset many, but not this former Ryder Cup captain.

Speaking to Golf Channel, Lanny Wadkins, who captained Team US in 1995 at Oak Hill Country Club, New York, defended Bradley’s decision to stay behind the ropes at Bethpage Black. “It was a great decision on Keegan’s part. I think he made exactly the right choice. I think Keegan’s going to be a fantastic captain.” But in the same breath, Wadkins made a crucial comparison: “Keegan’s not Scottie Scheffler. Had he been Tiger Woods or Scottie Scheffler, [it] might have been a different deal.”

The decision to select Keegan Bradley as a captain was rather easy if one asks John Lindert, PGA of America President. “It very simply came down to one person, and that was Keegan,” Lindert said last year. There are several reasons for this. Bradley was in two editions of the Ryder Cup (2012 and 2014). He is a former PGA Champion; his father is a PGA teaching professional; and his aunt, Pat Bradley, has won six majors and has her name in the Hall of Fame.

Moreover, Bradley is the youngest US Ryder Team captain since Arnold Palmer (1963), and this was probably the reason why people thought he would choose to be on the team. You see, Palmer was, too, a playing captain, but the last one to do so. Bradley had a chance to break that drought, but he went the other way. “Keegan checked a lot of boxes, and his passion for the game, his passion for the Ryder Cup, is evident and just him being from around this area…I think that all went into the decision,” Lindert explained.

Also, Wadkins isn’t the only former Ryder Cup captain to approve Keegan Bradley as the leader for this season. Davis Love III also had some kind words for Captain America. “If you made a long list of people with credentials, Keegan would be a strong candidate,” he told Golf Digest. “Keegan is a very good choice. I’m so excited for him just because he deserves it after the last few years.” Keegan was snubbed from Team USA last time in 2023 despite having a remarkable run.

So in hindsight, Keegan Bradley looks like the perfect captain. But still, Wadkins’ comparison of Bradley to Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler cuts deep. The reason is simple, though, however blunt it might be. Everyone knows Woods and Scheffler are probably the best golfers the sport might ever see in the modern era. Woods has already crafted his legacy, and Scheffler is in the process of doing so. He has already won four majors, and won his 19th PGA Tour victory the other day at the Procore Championship. Woods, as the world knows, has 15 majors to his name. So, if the captain’s hat had been on these two, it would have arguably been ten times more difficult for them to exclude themselves from the 12-member squad. Notably, Woods was offered to be the captain of this season, which he denied due to his overflowing schedule. That’s when the ball was passed to Bradley.

Now, if you compare their accolades to those of Bradley, you could clearly see the difference. That’s exactly what Wadkins said, too. “As good a player as Keegan is, the amount of separation between him and, say, Sam Burn, is not that great. Not compared to Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods. Those two guys, maybe a different situation.” This year, Bradley managed to win only one event on the PGA Tour – the Travelers Championship. Both Burns and Bradley registered six top-10 finishes this season. Interestingly, Burns had a stronger second half of the season.

Still, Wadkins believes, like many others, that Bradley is well-suited to be the captain. “I love his energy, what he brings to it. His personality is perfect personality for Ryder Cup captain. He’s a fighter. He’s into it. He takes no crap off anybody. I like that with him a lot.” And he is right. When Rory McIlroy commented on the challenging aspect of being a captain as well as playing on the team, Bradley didn’t hesitate to brush him off: “They can make comments on what I can and cannot do…I don’t care.”

Nevertheless, he has emerged as a great leader so far, urging his boys to participate in Napa Valley, taking note of all their moves.

Keegan Bradley’s Napa Valley move

Keegan Bradley wasted no time putting his stamp on the US Ryder Cup team. At the Procore Champion last week, he followed his players around the Silverado Resort North Course in his golf cart. He spent the practice rounds bouncing between groups, watching, and, most importantly, building chemistry. With Scottie Scheffler (who won the tournament), Ben Griffin (2), and others, Bradley turned the Napa Valley event into a fine-tune-up before the Bethpage Black showdown.

Bradley made it clear that this wasn’t an accident. After the last time loss in Rome, where most of the American side skipped competitive play in the weeks leading up to the Ryder Cup, he wanted to do things differently. For Bradley, who admits he’s not a “status quo” captain, it’s about sharpening skills while strengthening bonds. “I remind myself and the vice captains all the time that we were picked to do this job because we wanted a little shift in what we were doing.”