Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald met up at Bethpage in New York for a joint captains’ press conference ahead of the 2025 Ryder Cup, and fielded a series of questions from assembled media.
One of the most interesting aspects was when Bradley was asked to recall his rookie Ryder Cup appearance and the influence that a certain Phil Mickelson had on him.
Bradley’s first Ryder Cup appearance as a player was at Medinah in 2012 where he and Mickelson formed a formidable partnership and won all three of their paired matches, two of which happened to have Donald in direct opposition. But it was the way in which Mickelson, a veteran of eight Ryder Cups at this point, mentored his young apprentice that caught the attention and its something that Bradley wants replicated on the team he leads.
“What Phil did for me is he created a relaxed atmosphere, and he told me, ‘Don’t worry about putting it four or five feet by. I’ll make them coming back.’ Little stuff like that, really, it helped me,” Bradley explained, having already informed us that Mickelson had simply told him that they’d be playing Bradley’s ball in foursomes action.
“He mentored me before the event. Took me to dinner. Talked to me nonstop throughout the year about the pressures and what’s going to come and I really learned a lot, and it hasn’t been until now that I’ve really realized what an incredible thing it was that he did for me.
“So it’s important that I communicate to the veterans of the team to do that for these rookies and for these younger players on our team.”
Bradley will be the youngest U.S. Ryder Cup captain since Arnold Palmer when he lead his nation in the 1963 Ryder Cup at 34 years old, but even though he has a realistic chance of becoming a playing captain – especially after a solid performance in the Presidents Cup two weeks ago – all thoughts of taking a playing role are taking a back seat until such time as they can no longer be ignored.
“I made a promise to myself that I’m not going to worry about this until the time comes if I do,” he explained. “It’s really difficult to make the American Team every year; you have to go out and really perform.
“Like I said, right now, my focus is on being a captain but I’m still a full-time player. I’m still playing in all the majors and all the big events next year. So I have a real shot at doing this.
“For now, I’m focusing on my guys and getting them ready to go.”
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