Keegan Bradley was everything Team U.S. needed at Bethpage to win as a captain and a player. The 39-year-old was in the form of his life leading up to the Ryder Cup. Yet, he believed that others deserved to be in the squad more than him. Hence, he didn’t pick himself as a Captain’s Pick. Today, weeks after Team U.S.’s loss, he is still upset that he couldn’t help the squad turn things around in New York. And J.J. Spaun believes that Bradley is not the reason the team lost at Bethpage

Spaun joined Trey Wingo for a conversation on his YouTube channel. During the podcast, the host asked him if he also felt that Bradley was extremely unfortunate to miss out on the Ryder Cup in 2023 and then lose as captain in 2025. Spaun told Wingo, “Yeah. He was put in a tough spot. The whole team believed he should have been on the team, and we almost talked him into it. But he didn’t accept the role.”

Turns out, it wasn’t just the fans who were rooting for Bradley to choose himself as the playing captain. Spaun confessed that he and the rest of the team also wanted the 2025 Travelers Championship winner to join the field. However, things didn’t go as they had hoped, as Keegan didn’t pick himself in the end. Wingo even inquired how close Team U.S. was to convincing pick himself. And it turns out, they had nearly made him do it.

“It got down to literally before he had to make picks. He thought about it for that long before he had to finalize the lineup. We all said, if you weren’t the captain and you are sitting here, number 10 in the world, is that captain going to take you? Of course! 100% of the time. With your experience, nonetheless. It was tough.” Bradley was undoubtedly one of the best players Team U.S. could have had in their 12-man squad. Had he not been the captain, he would have been a guaranteed Captain’s Pick. He had a tough choice to make, picking between his team and his personal goals. In the end, he chose to do what was best for the team, earning everyone’s respect.

“I have so much respect for Keegan because not only did he handle all this Ryder Cup responsibility, captaincy responsibility, he played great, he won an elevated event, he’s a father, a husband. He’s dealing with triple the amount of work that the normal guy has to deal with, taking on this Ryder Cup captaincy role. I didn’t really know him very well before this whole Ryder Cup experience. He fairly keeps to himself. He had to come out of his shell to be a captain. I think it took a lot out of him.”

Before becoming the captain, Bradley wasn’t known for being that expressive. However, over the last two years, he went through a range of emotions while dealing with the leadership role. Whether it was during the Full Swing documentary, strategizing for the Ryder Cup, making the Captain’s Picks, or leading the team, fans saw a different side of him that they had never seen before. And Spaun perfectly described it; he really came out of his shell to be a captain. And Bradley made sure everyone knew.

“He made us aware that this has been life-changing for him. Being part of the team as a captain and being the leader and having to be the one to initiate and to interact… Before he could hang around as a player and be in the mix. But now, he was the leader. That’s not really his personality. Now he’s grown a brotherhood with us, 12 guys on the team.” Over the course of 2 years, Keegan Bradley was able to not only build a team but also develop a great bond with everyone he led. And that showed with the kind of effort everyone put in for him on Sunday. But Spaun confessed that the result didn’t reflect that, and he wished they could have done more.

“Going into Sunday, I really felt for him. Because he put so much effort into giving us everything we needed to succeed and showing us how important it was to play for our country. It almost felt like I wanted to play more for him because I knew he had sacrificed so much. Also, with him being forced out of playing, in a sense. It was just tough. He handled it so great. I just wish we had won for him and our country.”

While losing the tournament was upsetting enough, Spaun felt that it was even more sad because of how much effort Bradley had put in to try and push the squad for a win. Even on the last day, when they were 7 points down, the Team U.S. captain still had faith that his team could make a comeback. That is how much he believed in them. And they nearly proved him right for a moment by pulling it off. Maybe that’s why he was so infuriated that they couldn’t take those last few steps to cross the line. Maybe that’s why he was frustrated about the envelope rule when, in reality, it wouldn’t have changed the result.

Either way, what’s done is done, and the 2025 Ryder Cup is over. It’s time to look ahead to the next challenge, and that will be in 2027. With Team U.S. heading to Europe now, does J.J. Spaun think Keegan Bradley should return to the squad again? Let’s see what he had to say about that.

Does J.J. Spaun think Keegan Bradley should be a part of the 2027 Ryder Cup team?

Trey Wingo also questioned J.J. Spaun about what he thought of Keegan Bradley returning as a Ryder Cup captain. He wanted to know if the 2025 U.S. Open Champion would support him should he decide to return to the role. Spaun imagined an entire timeline of redemption for Bradley.

“I do. I think it will be ultimate redemption if he plays his way on, and then maybe two years later, captains and wins, that would be the ultimate comeback. I think he deserves another chance. It was almost like they were trying to usher in this new wave of tradition. He did a cool thing, bringing in a lot of vice captains that we all know. GDub, Kiz, Sneds, and Web, guys that we still see week in and week out. They are older and there for us in a mentoring way, to be our vice captains.”

Commending Bradley’s strategy at Bethpage, Spaun still had faith in his abilities as a player. However, he believed that Keegan would be a great captain in the 2029 Ryder Cup when it is played in the United States again. He also enjoyed working with the team of vice captains Bradley had assembled: “It felt like a tight-knit squad bringing guys that we see more often around as vice captains. Obviously, with Keegan being a younger face, it’s been refreshing for the PGA of America. Hopefully, they continue going down that route, because ultimately, that will pay off.”

Who leads Team U.S. in 2027 is still a mystery. But if you ask J.J. Spaun, he seems to be in favor of Keegan Bradley taking over the captaincy in the 2029 Ryder Cup.