Keegan Bradley explains why Phil Mickelson was the ultimate Ryder Cup partner

Keegan Bradley was terrified the first time he played in a Ryder Cup.

“I remember Medinah in 2012 being so nervous to the point of I didn’t want to play really, I was that uncomfortable,” Bradley told GOLF’s Subpar hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz. “And I got on the tee and I was paired with Phil, one of the greatest players ever.”

Bradley joined Subpar this week to talk about playing golf with Michael Jordan, hanging out with Tom Brady, team events with Mickelson and more. Bradley has played in two Ryder Cups and one Presidents Cup, and he’s never been paired with anyone but Mickelson. That’s been fine with him, as they’ve been 6-2-1 together, including 3-0 in Bradley’s first appearance in 2012.

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“I loved playing with Phil for a couple of reasons,” Bradley said. “One, in alternate shot, I knew I could hit it anywhere. He’d hit one out [of trouble] or I miss the green and he’d chip it to a foot. And the other thing is in best ball, my strength is I hit it pretty straight down the fairway and Phil is dinging it over here or over there, and he’s hitting shots out of the woods to 10 feet. I loved our dynamic as a partnership, and I was very willing to let Phil kind of take and lead that way and he was the boss.”

Bradley added that having an influence like that as a rookie was invaluable.

“What he’s great at is, if the situation is really tense he has a great way of making a joke or saying something that kind of makes you laugh that can kind of disarm you,” Bradley said. “He’s just the best. He’s just a fun guy to be around.”

You can check out Bradley’s complete Subpar interview below.

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Josh Berhow

Golf.com Editor

Josh Berhow is the managing editor at GOLF.com. The Minnesota native graduated with a journalism degree from Minnesota State University in Mankato. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.