Bradley captaincy ‘surprising’ – Schauffele

Xander Schauffele has expressed his surprise at Keegan Bradley being named the US Ryder Cup captain for 2025, but he believes Bradley will excel in the role at Bethpage Black.

Bradley’s appointment was confirmed on Monday after Tiger Woods opted not to take on the role. Bradley, 38, was left out of the US team for last year’s matches in Rome, making his selection unexpected for many, including Schauffele, a two-time Ryder Cup player.

“Yeah, it’s surprising,” said Schauffele, the world number three, during his pre-Scottish Open news conference at The Renaissance Club. “You typically expect someone a little bit older to be selected as captain. A lot of people were expecting Tiger to take it on. Keegan has shown his love for the Ryder Cup publicly, and I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I’m sure he’s thrilled and will do a great job.”

Despite winning twice on the PGA Tour last year, Bradley was not chosen as one of the six captain’s picks by Zach Johnson, who selected Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler, and Justin Thomas instead.

Bradley, who played on the losing US teams in 2012 and 2014, may be motivated to prove himself. Schauffele believes Bradley will bring passion and intensity to the team’s efforts to reclaim the cup after their 16½-11½ defeat by Europe last year.

“He is so laidback off the course,” added Schauffele, who won his first major in May at the USPGA Championship. “In a dinner setting, he loves talking about sports all night long. On the course, he’s intense. As a captain, he’ll have a mixed approach and won’t hesitate to rally the team.”

Schauffele also noted that while Bradley’s leadership will be beneficial, it is ultimately up to the players to perform to win back the cup.

“When you lose that many cups overseas, you start to get in your own head,” admitted Schauffele, who took one point from four matches in Rome last year. “Just like when I didn’t win a tournament for two years, you start questioning yourself. But at the end of the day, we players didn’t play well. Personally, I felt I played awful. I didn’t show up until the final round, and by then, it was too late to make a difference.”