Keegan Bradley shares astonishing fact about Patrick Cantlay’s Ryder Cup selection

Keegan Bradley is all set to captain Team USA to a victory on home soil next month. In a recent interview, he revealed a strange incident while on an important phone call with Patrick Cantlay.

During the Ryder Cup press conference on Thursday, August 28, the Ryder Cup captain recalled what went on behind the scenes while he chose players for his captain's picks. He went on to note a drastic difference between how the phone call went with Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay.

While the former PGA Tour star showed a great deal of emotion after hearing that he had been chosen by Bradley, the latter showed little to no emotion, according to the captain, as he delivered the good news.

As he revealed the astonishing fact, he began to laugh along with the media sitting in front of him.

Here's a look at what Keegan Bradley had to say about his interactions with Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay (via Instagram @golfdigest):

"You know, getting to make the call to be your first, on your first Ryder Cup, is a huge deal. And I really, I really enjoyed those two calls. Sam showed a lot of emotion, which I appreciated. Pat didn't give me any emotion, which [laughs] but it was great. I've been looking forward to those calls for months."

Here's a look at the clip from the 2025 Ryder Cup Captain's Picks press conference (via Instagram @golfdigest):

The upcoming 2025 Ryder Cup at the iconic Bethpage Black in New York will be Sam Burns' second start in the prestigious tournament. He played in the 2023 edition of the event in Rome as one of captain Zach Johnson's picks.

On the other hand, the highly anticipated tournament in September will be Patrick Cantlay's third appearance at the Ryder Cup. He has a record of 5 - 2 - 1 at the team-formatted event against Team Europe.

Who are Keegan Bradley's picks for the 2025 Ryder Cup?

While the top six golfers on Team USA's points list automatically qualified to be on the team, the remaining six players on the roster were up to Keegan Bradley to decide.

Joining Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay at Bethpage Black soon will be Ben Griffin, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and Cameron Young. The PGA Tour sensations will join Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, and Bryson DeChambeau.

Here's where each of Keegan Bradley's six captain's picks ranked on the points list (via Ryder Cup):

Sam Burns - 16th place (6,688.29 points)
Patrick Cantlay - 15th place (6,716.39 points)
Ben Griffin - 9th place (9,745.76 points)
Collin Morikawa - 8th place (10,049.44 points)
Justin Thomas - 7th place (10,467.26 points)
Cameron Young - 14th place (7,209.64 points)

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 Florida, 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 Lathika Krishna