Keegan Bradley hails out-of-action Tiger Woods as ‘extremely helpful’ in the Ryder Cup process

Keegan Bradley has been extensively planning for the highly anticipated 2025 Ryder Cup. With less than two months to go for the team-based event, he turned to one of golf's legends for some advice.

As the 39-year-old prepares to take on New York's iconic Bethpage Black in September, he leaned heavily on Tiger Woods despite the latter being sidelined from competition.

Here's what Keegan Bradley had to say about taking help from Tiger Woods (via Instagram @rydercupusa):

"I have spoken to Tiger a ton...He has been extremely helpful through this process."

Here's a look at the official post from Team USA's Ryder Cup social media (via Instagram @rydercupusa):

Tiger Woods was expected to captain Team USA at the 2025 Ryder Cup. However, he turned down the role to focus on other things.

First-time Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley praised the 15-time Major championship winner's mentorship despite Woods' potential captaincy rumors last year. The two world-class golfers share mutual respect for each other's accomplishments and passion for American golf.

Tiger Woods has played for Team USA in eight editions of the Ryder Cup. He has 13 wins, 21 losses, and three halved matches while winning with Team USA only once in 1999.

Keegan Bradley, on the other hand, has played in two editions of the Ryder Cup. He has four wins, three losses, and zero halved matches under his belt.

Keegan Bradley revealed who in the PGA wants him to be playing captain

Nearly exactly a year ago, Keegan Bradley got a call naming him the captain for Team USA. During the 2025 Travelers Championship, he revealed that he got a phone call from fellow PGA Tour sensation Zach Johnson and the former CEO of the PGA of America.

In the call, they expressed their wish to make Keegan Bradley a playing captain this year. Recalling the event, the American golfer said (via ASAP Sports):

"Well, when the PGA of America called me, and Zach Johnson was on the call, and Seth Waugh was the person who called me. And he mentioned that he wanted me to be -- because when I get the call I'm thinking I really want to be on the team. And the first thing he said was, We want you to be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer, which is a heavy burden. But, you know, I'm also fortunate, if Tiger or Phil or these guys got a captaincy at my age they would have done it the same way. I've just been lucky enough to be asked to do this at a younger age."

In September, Keegan Bradley will be the youngest Ryder Cup captain in Team USA's history at 39. Arnold Palmer last accomplished the feat in 1963 at 34. He was also the last playing captain in the prestigious event's history.

About the author

Lathika is one of the newer additions to Sportskeeda’s budding golf journalism team and has brought plenty of in-game experience to the role. Having been a golfer for over 12 years now, some of her crowning achievements include winning titles on the Indian Golf Union Ladies tour and Junior Girls Amateur tour.

She currently competes in Division 1 golf in New York, and hopes to play in the U.S. Open and Chevron Championship one day. She is set to cover the 2025 Ryder Cup as well. She is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Management, and holds a Sports Marketing certification from Northwestern University, which helped her learn to draft press releases and ultimately transition into journalism.

Lathika has thus developed a knowledge base that allows her to view golf from both player, spectator and media lenses, enabling her to bring statistics, insights and an understanding of fan emotion together in her copies. She only uses verified information from reliable sources like the PGA TOUR.

Her favorite golfers are Nelly Korda and Tiger Woods, both for their playing style as well as their mental strength. Much of her time away from work is spent playing golf, but she also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and learning new hobbies or upskilling.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar