Should Keegan Bradley pull off the iconic 1962 Arnold Palmer-Ryder Cup move? Fellow pros have different takes. Patrick Cantlay says if Bradley feels “he can play like a normal week,” handling all his other duties, then he should. Rickie Fowler says, “I would pick him too. I think it would be hard to find really any or many Americans that would argue that point.” On the other hand, there’s Rory McIlroy’s take – the Irishman doesn’t buy that Bradley can pull it off.

Or anyone else, for that matter. McIlroy makes some pretty solid and reasonable points about it. Before the 2025 BMW Championship, McIlroy said he turned down being a playing captain for the European team “straight away.” Why? Bottom line: Being a playing captain at the Ryder Cup is a logistical nightmare. And he doesn’t want even his rival to go through that.

To do so, McIlroy highlights the “commitments for the captain,” saying, “you think about the extra media that a captain has to do, you think about the extra meetings that the captains have to do with the vice captains, with the PGA of America.” In his rival’s case, Rory McIlroy explains, “in Keegan’s case, preparing your speech for the opening ceremony — just there’s a lot of things that people don’t see that the captain does the week of the Ryder Cup, especially now that the Ryder Cup has become so big.”

McIlroy’s got a valid point. Ryder Cup captains usually handle a ton of duties: strategy planning, picking player pairings, hyping up the team, and making crucial on-course calls, you name it. Trying to juggle all that with the crazy focus and physical grind of competing at the top level sounds super taxing. And, thanks to these responsibilities, McIlroy says now, “I just think it would be a very difficult position to be in.” 

In fact, McIlroy isn’t alone in his assessment that handling such duties could be hectic. Even Dame Laura Davis stated in June that, “Back then, there was a lot less for captains to do. So I could see a captain playing back in those days, but now with all the huge media coverage and all their commitments, and it’s huge commitments.”

Although McIlroy highlights that “it’s just my opinion, but I think it would just be very difficult to do,” he also agrees that Bradley is playing very well. “That’s why everyone is so interested, and it’s such a compelling case, and it’s going to be… I’m just as interested as everyone else to see how it all plays out.” Bradley is currently 10th in the standings and has 5 top 10s and 1 win this season.

Moreover, this isn’t the first time McIlroy has shared his stance against such an opportunity. In the summer of 2024, he said, “There’s too much work that goes into it [being a playing captain],” and that, “There’s no way you can be as good a captain as you need to be and be playing as well. It’s been mentioned, and I’ve just said, ‘No way.’”

Despite these particular conversations, however, something else is keeping Keegan Bradley awake at night. And it’s the thought that the Americans don’t want a repeat of the 2023 Ryder Cup mess.

Keegan Bradley and the strategic plan to secure the 2025 Ryder Cup title

US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley says several potential team members will play a PGA Tour event between the Tour Championship and the Ryder Cup. Team qualification wraps up soon after the second leg of the PGA Tour playoffs. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler‘s already locked in his spot, and five others join him post-BMW Championship. Bradley will then pick six wildcards for Bethpage Black in New York (Sept 26-28).

There’s a big gap between the Tour Championship and the Ryder Cup. In 2023, some US players practiced at home and recharged. Jordan Spieth later called that a huge mistake. Meanwhile, Europe’s team played the BMW PGA Championship and did a two-week recce of Marco Simone.

In contrast to some US players in 2023, Bradley confirmed he’ll play the Procore Championship (Sept 11-14). Bradley told Sports Illustrated, “no one is required to go,” adding: “The boys feel like this is the best course of action to be ready to play at their highest level at Bethpage Black.” The Procore Championship is part of the PGA Tour’s fall series, helping some qualify for next year’s signature events or secure 2026 Tour cards.

Wyndham Clark, in his Ryder Cup debut in Italy, apologized to partner Max Homa after a rough start – he felt “a lot of us weren’t prepared.” But 2023 US captain Zach Johnson disagreed on the lack of prep. Johnson’s regret was not grasping the “pure commodity of time.” “The common denominator…is just the pure commodity of time and understanding that it’s precious,” he said. Johnson wishes he’d valued time management more to get his guys playing better early on. Well, Bradley will hope the same.