Ryder Cup: Golf Fans Can't Believe Keegan Bradley Didn't Pick Himself As Playing Captain

A selfless decision from Captain Keegan.

Keegan Bradley could have easily chosen himself to play in the 2025 Ryder Cup. He passed. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Keegan Bradley made a selfless decision on Wednesday morning when he chose not to name himself to the United States' 2025 Ryder Cup team.

Instead? He selected Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cam Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns as his captain's picks. Those six will join automatic qualifiers Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, and Bryson DeChambeau on the 12-player U.S. team.

Bradley—currently the world's No. 11 golfer, and eighth-ranked American—could have easily justified picking himself to play on the team. He's won two PGA Tour events since the last Ryder Cup in 2023 and has made all but two cuts during the '25 Tour season.

His selflessness both shocked and impressed golf fans following the news. Here's a look at some of their reactions across social media:

Every statistic says that Keegan Bradley was a top 12 American over the past year. This is the wrong decision and we let ourselves get scared by hypotheticals.

— The Belk Report (@BelkReport) August 27, 2025

The 12 US guys have to rally around Keegan Bradley to win it for him, right? He sacrificed his best chance to play on another Ryder Cup team to instead lead it.

— Ryan Ballengee (@RyanBallengee) August 27, 2025

The fact of the matter is a group of players made it especially hard for Keegan Bradley to pick himself.

Cameron Young, Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay all played some of their best golf of the season down the stretch. If any of them didn't, Keegan would probably be on the team. pic.twitter.com/myrLvGnJyY

— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) August 27, 2025

Keegan Bradley going with the ultimate “name on the front is bigger than the one on the back” by not selecting himself.

I do think he is one of the 12 best, but I don’t think he wanted the weight that came with being the story regardless of the outcome. Have to respect that…

— Stephen Watson (@SWatsonTV) August 27, 2025

Wow Keegan Bradley did not pick himself. I’m very surprised and very happy. 🇺🇸 https://t.co/ZmyvpARpIj

— Golfballing (@golfballingpod) August 27, 2025

Keegan Bradley on not selecting himself:

“I grew up wanting to play Ryder Cups. I grew up wanting to fight alongside these guys and it broke my heart not to play. It really did… but ultimately I was chosen to do a job. I was chosen to be a captain.”

— Underdog Golf (@UnderdogGolf) August 27, 2025

Keegan Bradley didn’t pick himself for Ryder Cup… I appreciate our Captain making that tough decision but, as a Keeganatic, I wanted to see him competing on the course for our country.. nonetheless

USA Team is DAMN good and they’re about to run wild all over the Ryder Cup pic.twitter.com/pT7oM3gb2m

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 27, 2025

The irony, of course, is that Keegan Bradley was left off the Ryder Cup team two years ago, which undeniably led to him being named captain for this one, and he undoubtedly would've been named to the team if anyone else was the captain.

— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelGolf) August 27, 2025

Keegan Bradley NOT picking himself might be the GOAT TGOAG (Too good of a guy) move. I don't agree with it, but I respect it.

— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) August 27, 2025

Shoutout to Keegan Bradley for making sure he wouldn't have the spotlight for the wrong reasons in the Ryder Cup.

HOWEVER.

He's 125% on this team if he isn't the captain, he played that well this year and deserved it.

Sticking to that. Go dominate, fellas. Bring it home.

— Sam Wagman (@swagman95) August 27, 2025

The 2025 Ryder Cup will be played at Long Island's Bethpage Black course from Sept. 26-28.

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