Can Keegan Bradley play in the Ryder Cup?

Keegan Bradley continued his fine form with a dramatic win at the Travelers Championship, beating Tommy Fleetwood with a birdie on the final hole.

Bradley was a shot behind the Englishman on the final hole but had a putt to win after Fleetwood three-putted for bogey. Bradley converted where Fleetwood couldn't winning the Travelers Championship for the second time in three years.

When winning at TPC River Highlands two years ago, Bradley jumped from 28th to 18th in the world rankings and was a serious consideration for the American Ryder Cup team.

Bradley was controversially overlooked by captain Zach Johnson, who picked Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler - three players playing worse than Bradley, but all of whom were close friends with the skipper.

The trio contributed just 2.5 points from 10 matches as the USA were resoundingly beaten in Rome, losing 16.5-11.5.

Bradley was then selected as captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup, somewhat surprisingly considering there was every chance Bradley could play his way on to the team.

Can Keegan Bradley play in the Ryder Cup?

Yes. If Bradley finishes in the top six of the USA Ryder Cup points standings he will qualify automatically. After his win at the Travelers Championship, Bradley jumped to ninth in the standings.

Bradley, as captain, also has the freedom to pick himself as one of six captain's picks, though that hasn't occurred in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer was a playing captain in the 1963 Ryder Cup.

Bradley played down his hopes of being a playing captain but admitted his win at River Highlands 'changes the story'.

After his win, Bradley said: "Every year I was out here, I wanted to play on the Ryder Cup team and then this would be the first year where maybe I didn't want to. I just wanted to be the captain and of course, this is what happens.

"This changes the story a little bit. I never would have thought about playing if I hadn't won. This definitely opens the door to play. I don't know if I'm going to do it or not but I certainly have to take a pretty hard look at what's best for the team and we'll see."

It certainly puts Bradley in an awkward position. Typically, the Ryder Cup captain is someone with little to no chance of playing, but Bradley has jumped up to seventh in the world.

Bradley's form over the last 12 months has been superb. After winning the BMW Championship last season, Bradley posted top-10s at the Hero World Challenge, Sony Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational and more recently at the PGA Championship and the Memorial Tournament.

If anyone else were captain, Bradley would be hard to leave out, and it's getting increasingly hard to make the case there are currently 12 better American golfers than Bradley.

Liam Williams

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