The announcement naming Keegan Bradley as U.S. Ryder Cup captain shocked the golf world. Will Bradley surprise everyone again by naming LIV Golf’s Phil Mickelson as a vice captain?
Don’t put money it.
With just one year to go until the highly-anticipated 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, Bradley and European captain Luke Donald joined reporters in Manhattan on Tuesday for a wide-ranging press conference about the event.
Once thought to be no-brainer pick for the 2025 U.S. captain role, Mickelson has become persona non grata among the American golf establishment since he helped launch LIV Golf in 2022. Now Bradley has the role many expected Phil to take, but on Tuesday, Bradley had only good things to say about the six-time major champion.
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Bradley went into detail about how Mickelson took him under his wing at the 2014 Ryder Cup, where they teamed up successfully on the course.
“I really, early in my career, I really took for granted Phil’s leadership that he gave me,” Bradley shared on Tuesday. “You know, I was playing with one of the best players to ever touch a golf club. In alternate-shot, he just said, ‘We’re going to play your ball.'”
But Mickelson’s tutelage went even farther, according to Bradley.
“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 said. “He mentored me before the [2014 Ryder Cup]. 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.”
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Bradley was so affected by Mickelson’s leadership, he said he plans on passing along Phil’s lessons to the 2025 U.S. team.
“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.”
But in a media scrum just after the press conference, Bradley was asked directly by Golf Digest’s Christopher Powers whether Mickelson could potentially play the role of vice captain next year at Bethpage Black. While Bradley didn’t say ‘no,’ he did reveal that he doesn’t think Mickelson would want the job.
“To be honest, I haven’t gotten that far,” Bradley said. “Personally, I don’t think he’s really interested in doing it. I owe a lot to Phil and I think he’s done so much for the American side of the Ryder Cup, but I’m not so sure he’s looking to come in as a vice-captain.”
