Xander Schauffele’s request to Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley is quite intriguing.
With Monday’s announcement that Keegan Bradley has been named U.S. Ryder Cup captain for 2025, players expected to be part of Bethpage Black’s U.S. team will naturally have selection questions.
Xander Schauffele, the reigning PGA champion who has played on the past two U.S. teams and is currently ranked No. 3 in the U.S. team rankings, was one of the first to speak out about Bradley’s appointment. “Yeah, it’s great,” Schauffele said at a press conference ahead of the Scottish Open. “Normally you would expect someone a little bit older to be chosen as captain. I think a lot of people were hoping Tiger (Woods) would do it. He’s obviously got a lot of work to do. Keegan has made his love for the Ryder Cup public, and it’s all there for all to see.
“I haven’t spoken to him yet, I’ve never met him, but he’s very happy and I think he’ll do well.”
As for Schauffele’s point, Bradley will be 39 when the U.S. and Europe face off on Long Island in September 2025, making him the youngest captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. Palmer was 34 during Team USA’s 23-9 defeat at the Atlanta Athletic Club that year and was serving as captain in a 3-0-1 victory. He remains the last captain in Ryder Cup history.
Bradley, who was infamously snubbed from the 2023 U.S. Team, could very well make some history of his own and become the next playing captain, though if he is to do so on merit he has a hill to climb (Bradley is currently 23rd in the standings). Given the large task the captaincy itself has become, it\’s unlikely it happens, but we\’re sure Bradley has allowed the thought to enter his brain. But if Schauffele had one request from his future captaincy, it wouldn’t be to join the team as playing captain, to team up every day with his partner Patrick Cantlay, or to line up at No. 1 in singles on Sundays.
LookingLess time getting dressed and going out. “Keegan will help us understand when we need to stand up, when we need to practice, and when we need to do this, and hopefully avoid doing things that we don’t need to do. Maybe this will help us,” Schauffele said. “Let’s take a lot of pictures with clothes on. We have two or three dinners to go to that are kind of mandatory, and I think if we cut that down to one or two instead of three, it would be a really big deal.”
