Xander Schauffele weighs in on Keegan Bradley’s possible dual role at Ryder Cup

Talks of US team Captain Keegan Bradley also playing in the Ryder Cup 2025 rose after he won the Travelers Championship in June. The 39-year-old beat European rival Tommy Fleetwood to clinch victory at TPC River highlands. As rumors of him being a potential playing captain at the Bethpage sky-rocket, Xander Schauffele has now come out to back the idea.

Schauffele, who is currently in Scotland for the Scottish Open, said Bradley has “earned” his position as a potential playing captain. He claimed that the latter was “playing the best golf of his career” and was clearly among the “best” right now. The 31-year-old added he wouldn’t be ‘very surprised’ if he joins the US playing side as a top-six candidate.

Xander Schauffele said while commenting on Keegan Bradley’s potential dual role at Ryder Cup, as quoted by ASAP Sports:

“Clearly, he (Bradley) is earning it. If you ask him, he's playing the best golf of his career. We just want our best 12 playing. You know, I think that's sort of what it really comes down to. So he is just flying up the qualifying, that standings leaderboard. Would I be surprised if he got into the top six and wasn't even a conversation anymore?

I don't think I'd be very surprised and I don't think he would, either… You know, if he does, it's going to be a fun situation for himself but I think he's surrounded himself with really good vice captains. I don't think he's going to make a decision he regrets.”

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Xander Schauffele says Ryder Cup captaincy 'big shoes to fill' for Keegan Bradley

However, Schauffele also went on to dub Keegan Bradley’s potential role ‘really difficult.’ The Ryder Cupper issued a light warning to his 39-year-old skipper by valuating the “responsibility” on him. He dubbed the captaincy role a “big shoes to fill” and added “some sort of co-captaincy” as a possibility if the latter planned to play at Bethpage.

Xander Schauffele added, as quoted by ASAP Sports:

“I mean, you'd have to, the responsibility, you have to prepare and practice and get your head in the right place. It would probably be some sort of co-captaincy. It wouldn't be that; on paper, he would still be but at the end of the day, they are big shoes to fill and to do it all alone would be really difficult, even if he wasn't playing.”

For the unversed, the playing captaincy discourse comes just weeks after Bradley said he will have a ‘hard look’ at the possibility. The skipper’s comment, hinting at the dual role, came after his dramatic one-shot victory in the Travelers Championship. Owing to the win, the newly-appointed team captain moved to seventh in the world rankings.

Interestingly, he currently sits ninth in the American Ryder Cup qualification standings. The top six in the list qualify automatically for the team event in Bethpage, New York. It is pertinent to note that the skipper, when announced, revealed that he’d not prefer playing in the squad as a captain's pick. He currently stands a chance to be the first Ryder Cup playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.