Will he? Won’t he? The question that has been bugging everyone ever since Keegan Bradley announced his intent to be the playing captain at the 2025 Ryder Cup. “I’m definitely still going to be the captain. I’m not stepping down or any of that. I’ve put too much work into this, but I do have incredible vice-captains,” he said.

The 39-year-old has time and again said that he will only consider the role if he makes the playing position on merit. As things stand, Bradley sits only 2,152.48 points away from toppling Justin Thomas from the 6th spot on the leaderboard. Considering the form that he is in, he might grab enough points on the PGA Tour to qualify for the spot. He sure has the support of a legend for it.

1-time major winner and former Team U.S. captain, Paul Azinger, joined The Golfer’s Journal Podcast with Casey Bannon recently. During the closing moments of the podcast, Bannon asked Azinger if he would also consider being a playing captain if he were at the age and form that Bradley is right now. The legend quickly replied, “100%.” The host questioned if that would be the right thing to do, to which Paul said, “It’s just a different thing to do. I don’t think you can say if it’s smart or if it’s not smart.”

The 12-time PGA Tour winner is implying that the decision is situational and it can’t be judged right or wrong until the tournament is over. “What can a captain do in the end? He has to create the right environment, and he has to get the guys to bond and outprepare the other team. You just hope you have the best players.” The goal of forming a Ryder Cup team is to ensure you have a better squad than the opposition. You should be able to outperform the other team and win the prestigious event. Whether it involves Bradley or not is a strategy he and his team will need to build.

Speaking of the strategy team, it’s vital for the 39-year-old to have the right guidance to form the team. As Azinger said, “He’ll have to have great assistance around him, and that’s gonna be the key. Because it’s an overwhelming task. I don’t know that he will be able to do it.” While showing confidence in Bradley’s abilities as a player, the 2008 Team U.S. captain also cast a shadow of doubt on his qualifications as a leader. Azinger suggested that being a playing captain means the 8-time PGA Tour winner will need a lot of assistance to lead the squad while also managing his own strokeplay.

However, Paul was still quite optimistic that Keegan would fulfill the role efficiently. “I’d let him do it. I would do it if I was playing like that. Bet you couldn’t stop me from playing. That’s the way he feels, I promise. He’s not going to pick himself. But…” said the 65-year-old before Bannon jumped in with, “He’s trying,” which Azinger agreed with. Bradley has certainly been trying hard to prove himself on the course. Apart from his win, he has 4 other top-10 finishes, including one in the 2025 PGA Championship. He is also ranked 8th on the FedEx Cup leaderboard currently.

Going in as the playing captain to win the Ryder Cup for Team U.S. will certainly look great on his resume. As Azinger said, “It might get him in the Hall of Fame or something if you can do that.” Casey agreed with what his guest had to say as he also added, “Especially from not being picked (in 2023). That sort of redemption arc is something serious.” Bradley was overlooked by Zach Johnson for the 2023 Ryder Cup which Team U.S. lost in Italy. It came as a huge surprise since he had scored more points than Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, and Justin Thomas, all of whom got picked.

Speaking of Keegan Bradley missing the pick in 2023, Azinger said, “Well, that was a mistake by the PGA of America. I love Keegan. He’s my bud. But, it’s a little early for Keegan. I think it was like a guilt pick (to have him as captain in 2025). There’s guys out there that deserve to be captain (more than Bradley).” The legend from Holyoke and other analysts believe that the PGA of America only picked Bradley as the captain for 2025 because they didn’t treat him farely in 2023. He also named a list of other veteran golfers who deserved to get the captaincy before the 39-year-old received it.

Either way, he is the captain now and nothing can change that. However, Azinger does believe that the PGA of America has moved away from the process of choosing a captain. Let’s see what he had to say.

Why Paul Azinger believes Keegan Bradley shouldn’t have been picked?

As Paul Azinger suggested, the PGA of America skipped a few guys like Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard, and David Toms. The legend thinks the criteria for choosing a Ryder Cup captain has drastically changed from being a former PGA Championship winner to not even needing a major win. Bannon questioned if Bradley should be blamed for the issue, to which Azinger said he’s not blaming the PGA Tour pro. “They just didn’t need to pick him yet,” he said, as he mentioned how he was expecting Bradley to get picked a captain in the future. In fact, he also revealed how he had messaged the Team U.S. captain that his time will come long before he was picked for 2025. But when the news about him getting picked for Bethpage surprised the legend.

Speaking about choosing who to pick as captain, the 65-year-old revealed, “The don’t ask past captains either, by the way.” This confirms that it doesn’t matter how successful a Ryder Cup captain has been, the PGA of America doesn’t consult them to pick who should be the next leader. But he is excited about what might happen with Bradley as the captain. He said, “Now you got a guy that can possibly make the team and be the captain. Epic! Got to watch it.” But Paul Azinger admitted that one of Keegan Bradley’s biggest challenge is that “he has to win the crowd,” like Luke Donald. So far, the Team U.S. captain’s popularity has helped him get reactions. Fans at Bethpage will also be rooting loudly for Bradley if he steps on the course as the playing captain.