Why Keegan Bradley's Ryder Cup captaincy remains one of the year's best surprises

The past 12 months had it each — crazy winning streaks, caller awesome champs, a major-week apprehension (!) and more. With 2025 connected the horizon, our writers are looking backmost astatine the astir memorable moments from 2024.

No. 15 — Charley Hull goes viral
No. 14 — LIV, LPGA CEOs opportunity goodbye
No. 13 — Solheim Cup parking fiasco
No. 12 — Phoenix Open chaos
No. 11 — Lydia Ko’s Hall of Fame resurgence
No. 10 — PGA Tour/Saudi PIF merger stalemate

Biggest moments of 2024 No. 9: Keegan Bradley’s astonishment Ryder Cup captaincy

Keegan Bradley, Ryder Cup captain?

With a PGA Championship connected his resume, the 38-year-old was surely connected the short database for early captaincies. But this next one, astatine Bethpage Black? The thought seemed ludicrous. It wasn’t agelong agone that the evident prime for that captaincy was Phil Mickelson. Then, successful the aftermath of Mickelson’s departure to LIV, each eyes turned to Tiger Woods.

But aft months of speculation, Woods and the PGA of America had yet to corroborate that he was taking connected the job. Months ticked by. And Woods took connected an elevated domiciled connected the PGA Tour’s Policy Board. As Player Director, he would beryllium intimately progressive successful the PIF/PGA Tour merger discussions, meaning the extended clip committedness required for a Ryder Cup captaincy — particularly 1 connected location ungraded — simply would not beryllium possible.

That opened the doorway for Bradley, who was revealed arsenic the appointee successful July. While first reactions were those of a “wait, WHAT?” variety, 5 months later, Bradley’s captaincy seems not only wholly appropriate, but a positively inspired choice.

Bradley played his assemblage play astatine St. Johns University successful Queens — conscionable 24 miles from Bethpage. He’s acquainted pinch the area and the course. And, arsenic millions of Netflix viewers witnessed connected “Full Swing,” location is possibly nary subordinate much passionate astir the Ryder Cup. Bradley played connected the 2012 and 2014 teams — some U.S. losses — and famously refuses to unfastened his still-packed squad container from Medinah until he’s a portion of a winning squad.

A resurgent crippled successful caller years meant he was among the front-runners for a captain’s prime motion astatine the 2023 Cup successful Rome, but he was near disconnected the squad successful gut-wrenching manner — while Netflix cameras rolled. Bradley’s affectional guidance to the news endeared him to a caller legion of fans. And aft a sensational 2024 play that included a triumph astatine the BMW Championship and 2 further runner-up finishes, Bradley has a morganatic changeable astatine not conscionable captaining the 2024 U.S. squad, but playing connected it for the first clip successful much than a decade.

A successful stint astatine the 2024 Presidents Cup proved his mettle. Bradley, a captain’s pick, went 2-1-0 successful the American triumph complete the Internationals astatine Royal Montreal. It was Bradley’s 2nd squad triumph astatine the Presidents Cup, aft besides being a portion of the victorious squad successful 2013.

But Bradley has ne'er been a personnel of a winning Ryder Cup team. And fixed the heartache he’s endured complete the past decade, and the measurement he’s risen to the juncture successful caller months arsenic some a competitor and an out-of-nowhere skipper appointee, it’s difficult to ideate a much cleanable ending to his anguished Ryder Cup profession than a triumph astatine Bethpage successful September.

The full-circle imaginable present is evident — and truthful appealing! While there’s still plentifulness of uncertainty successful position of what to expect, 1 thing’s for sure: We can’t hold to spot it each play out.