Major champion, seven-time PGA Tour winner, Ryder Cup captain: 

Keegan Bradley’s resume is already one that most golfers would take in a heartbeat, but that hasn’t stopped the American from having regrets.

One of the biggest challenges? Not making friends.

“I was coming out to the course every day and doing my job. I felt like having friends was going to hurt me in some way,” 

Bradley told CNN Sport’s Don Riddell ahead of the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta this week.

“That’s something this generation of players doesn’t do – they’re all friends and that makes it more fun to be here… 

Something I’ve tried to do a lot more over the last few years is get to know these guys and hang out with them because they’re really great guys.”

What prompted such introspection? In truth, there has been little opportunity for self-reflection in a truly breathtaking year for the 38-year-old.

Just under a year ago, Bradley was licking his wounds after his surprise absence from Zach Johnson’s losing Ryder Cup team. On Sunday, he celebrated his victory at the BMW Championship — a tournament for which he qualified last in the field — six weeks after being announced as an equally surprising selection for captain for next year’s biennial tournament in New York.

Many expected Tiger Woods to replace Johnson, who was under scrutiny after a crushing 11.5-16.5 loss in Rome. When Bradley was named to lead Bethpage Black in September, no one was more shocked than the man himself.

“I have no idea what happened,” Bradley told CNN. “I wasn’t involved in any of the conversations.”

“When I felt the unconditional support of the players as captain, it was one of the proudest moments of my life.”

Bradley’s pride stood in stark contrast to the intense pain of missing out on last year’s team.

The 2011 PGA Championship winner was one of several players not to be called up as captain despite having accumulated more qualifying points than Justin Thomas, whose form struggles saw him ranked 15th in points at the time of selection.

Dubbed the team’s “emotional leader” by Johnson, Thomas was known for being close to Jordan Spieth and other members of Team USA. Bradley reflected on his own reluctance to form friendships early in his career, as well as the emotional toll his “obsession” with being on the team took on him.

“I vowed to never be that stressed about being on another team again,” Bradley said.

“When you’re not in the team because of points, you can’t expect to be selected, so I didn’t hold any grudges. I was disappointed, for sure, but you have to be in that team in the top six so you don’t have to worry about your selection.”

Having vowed to use that pain as motivation, Bradley played some of the best golf of his career in 2024.

After two second-place finishes, a one-shot victory over compatriot Sam Burns at the BMW Championship propelled him to 11th in the world, one shot off his career-best ranking set in 2013.

That bolsters his chances of making Jim Furyk’s Presidents Cup team in Montreal, Canada, next month, while also raising the possibility of a potentially tortuous dilemma: Could Bradley be put in a position where he would have to pick himself for his own Ryder Cup team?

Not since Arnold Palmer led the United States to a resounding 23-9 victory in Atlanta in 1963 has there been a captain in action at the tournament. Should Bradley, currently ranked 26th on qualifying points, finish in the automatic top six, he believes he “would definitely have to play”.

Otherwise, there would have to be an “overwhelming consensus” among the team and captains for Bradley to play and be captain. It would be a “dream situation” for the Vermont native, who is looking to get his first taste of Ryder Cup triumph after losses in 2012 and 2014.

“I want the best for the team no matter what,” he said.

“If my play hurts the team, that’s not something I want to do. If just being captain makes this team better or helps this team, that’s what I want to do.”

“I might not be close to making the team and this conversation might not mean anything, but I certainly hope I’ve put myself in this position to be on the team.”

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Source: USA Today