“I actually kind of felt bad for the boys” – Skipper Keegan Bradley on being paired with possible Ryder Cup teammates

US team Ryder Cup skipper Keegan Bradley reflected on pairing with a possible biennial tournament teammate at the 2025 PGA Championship. At this week’s Major, the American golfer is to play the first two rounds in a group with Andrew Novak and Maverick McNealy.

In the post-round press conference of the tournament, Keegan Bradley was asked about his experience of playing with fellow PGA Tour stars and if he requested that pairing. In response, Bradley said (via ASAP Sports):

"I definitely did not request that pairing. I actually kind of felt bad for the boys when I saw it. I remember my first time playing with a captain, I played with Tom Watson at the Greenbrier, and I was nervous to do that."

"I was proud of the way they played today. They are such good guys and incredible players, and there's nothing in these two days that's going to determine yes or no if they're on this team. I'm proud of the way they played today."

Notably, for the Ryder Cup, out of the 12 players in a team, six are automatically qualified based on the ranking in the team standings for the event, while the remaining six are picked by the captain. Andrew Novak and Maverick McNealy are currently ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, in the US Ryder Cup standings and have a good chance to qualify.

Moreover, they could also be the captain's pick for the event. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, and Russell Henley are in the top 6 of the auto-qualification ranking for the US team.

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Keegan Bradley reflects on playing captain at the Ryder Cup

Keegan Bradley had a good start at the 2025 PGA Championship, and in the post-round press conference, he said he is looking forward to being the playing captain in the Ryder Cup. The American said (via ASAP Sports):

"I don't know. I want to help the team the best I can. If that means playing, then I'll do that. But you know, I think it's pretty difficult to do both. But I have incredible vice captains, including Jim Furyk, who has done this before. Snedeker and Webb and Kisner have all been assistants."

Keegan Bradley started at the PGA Championship with an opening round of 3-under 68. He started the game on the tenth tee hole and added a total of four birdies and an unfortunate bogey on the ninth. He was tied for ninth.

Even European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald had a fantastic start at the PGA Championship, and he was tied for fourth place at 4-under. Meanwhile, McNealy and Novak both placed a round of 70 on Thursday and tied for 29th place at 1-under.