Nice guys finish last. In an unscripted and particularly poignant scene during the sixth episode of Netflix’s Full Swing (Pick Six; Season 2), American golfer Keegan Bradley receives a phone call from his peer, Zach Johnson. Viewers are already aware of what is about to unfold: Johnson, who is leading the US squad for the 2023 Ryder Cup, has made his ‘Captain’s Picks’, and Bradley isn’t one of them. Bradley made a valiant effort late in the season —winning the season-ending Travelers Championship— to make the team on points.
The 37-year-old has just missed out on an automatic slot but is considered a shoo-in nonetheless. As Johnson conveys his regrets, Bradley is remarkably poised and composed: He wishes the team good luck and tells Johnson that he understands the decision. What makes Bradley’s demeanour even more striking is that this entire drama is being captured live by a camera crew. Earlier in the episode, Bradley opened up on camera about how much a spot on the team would have meant to him. It’s heartbreaking, even for the viewer.
Bradley was one of the surprise heroes of the popular television series: Despite a great deal of public disquiet over his not making the team, Bradley never complained publicly, going as far as supporting Johnson. “There is no wrong decision for who is on the team, everyone is such a great player,” he said. Later in the season, Bradley was shown rooting passionately for the team during the Cup cementing his image as a genuinely likeable athlete. As events were to bear out, no amount of support could help the American team. What was essentially a bunch of great players, did not come together as a cohesive force and were pulverised by the Europeans.
It was hard for those of us who watched the television series not to feel a lingering sense of injustice for Bradley who has spoken about being a bit of an outsider on tour. It was clear, even from what was captured on screen, that there’s a close friendship and camaraderie between Johnson, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, and Jordan Spieth. Both Fowler and Thomas were Captain’s Picks in the squad. Not insinuating that they were chosen on any criteria besides their previous Ryder Cup experience (both have stellar records), but fans did wonder about whether Bradley was genuinely shortchanged. The man himself vehemently dismissed that speculation. “I love these guys, and one of the main reasons I wanted to make this team is I wanted to be around these guys, the energy that they have.” He went as far as to support Justin Thomas’ inclusion. “I see the way JT (Justin Thomas) prepares and practices, and If I was a captain, I would want him in my locker room”. Considering that Thomas’ selection was despite the golfer being in a slump throughout the season, it was a classy thing to say. End of story? Not quite.
Nearly a year later, on June 30, 2024, Bradley got a phone call. It was Zach Johnson, with a bit of news, that completely blindsided Bradley. The 38-year-old had been chosen to captain the US squad for the 2025 Ryder Cup. “I don’t think I’ll ever be more surprised by anything in my life,” Bradley said at his introductory press conference in July 2024. Bradley was even more gobsmacked because he got no official intimation even to check whether he’d like to take on the captaincy.“I felt funny after the call,” Bradley said. “I don’t think I reacted the way they thought. I was in complete shock.”
Bradley wasn’t asked because there was no doubt in anyone’s mind. From whatever we’ve seen of, and heard from Bradley over the last few years, including his two appearances in the Ryder Cup and that fervent dash to make the team in 2023, one thing is clear. This man personifies the passion and spirit of the Ryder Cup.
It’s tempting to think (it certainly makes for a great story), that this latest event is some kind of recompense for what happened last year: righting a wrong so to speak. The fact that Johnson made the call to Bradley is no coincidence either: it’s a call that Johnson must have wanted to make. But it would be too dramatic to surmise that the reasons for Bradley’s appointment have anything to do with what happened to him at the 2023 Ryder Cup, but rather, it’s about what went down for the entire team at the biennial trophy. This is not about atonement or assuaging feelings. It’s an out-of-the-box move to try and wrest back the Ryder Cup for the US.
In this context, Bradley knows the venue for the 2025 Ryder Cup—Bethpage Black — intimately. He played the course regularly as an amateur when he was a member of the St John’s University golf team. He’s got a 4-3 record in the two Ryder Cup teams he was part of (2010 and 2012). He’s not divisive — everyone loves Bradley — and should do a great job of pulling the team together. Personally — and he’s spoken about how much he wanted to be a part of the team in 2025—this captaincy is the highlight of a career that previously peaked with a win at the 2011 PGA Championship. This is a man who has famously not opened the bag he brought home from the defeat the US suffered at the 2012 Ryder Cup. He’s vowed not to open it until he’s part of a winning team. That opportunity will present itself in 2025, and he won’t just be a part of the team, but at its helm. But Bradley being who he is probably won’t care about personal legacy, as long as the team wins. Promises to be fun to watch.