The 45th edition of the Ryder Cup doesn’t tee off until next month, but Brandel Chamblee thinks Keegan Bradley has made a decision that might have sealed victory for the U.S. team

Keegan Bradley will captain the U.S. team at the 2025 Ryder Cup(Image: Getty Images)

Brandel Chamblee believes the U.S. Ryder Cup team may have already secured victory after captain Keegan Bradley opted not to select himself for the 2025 event.

Bradley, who sat 11th in the Ryder Cup points standings, announced his six captain’s picks to round out his 12 on Wednesday. He was widely expected to include himself in a move that would have seen him become the first playing-captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.

But instead, he left himself out in a clear signal he is prioritizing leadership over participation. Chamblee hailed the decision as a potential game-changer for the U.S. team, which is eager to reclaim the cup on home soil after Europe’s dominant win in Rome two years ago.

“I think he may well have won the Ryder Cup in making that decision,” Chamblee said on Golf Channel after the picks were made. “When you start to look at a captaincy or at a team, it’s never any one thing that makes a great player or a great captain, but it’s an assembly of a lot of little things like a mosaic.

“And in the same way you got the sense when Luke Donald, in opening ceremonies in 2023 got up and spoke Italian for two or three minutes, you thought, this Ryder Cup is over,” he added. “Because if he spent and thought about it in that kind of detail how to open the ceremony, what was the rest of the week going to be like and how thorough had he thought about things?

“So Keegan Bradley just thinking about the decision to pick himself, that’s what a leader does, make a personal sacrifice for the collective good of a team. It’s the kind of thing a leader would do that would get his team to sort of run through a wall for him.

Brandel Chamblee is confident Keegan Bradley’s selflessness will help the U.S. team(Image: Getty Images)

“Imagine the rest of that week; he’s going to look at them and be like, ‘I stepped aside to focus on every little detail to help you guys,’ and how empowering that must be for his team.”

The full 12-man U.S. team now consists of automatic qualifiers Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, and Bryson DeChambeau, joined by Bradley’s picks: Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay, Ben Griffin, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and Cameron Young.

Bradley’s choices were largely predictable for five spots, according to Chamblee, but the real drama centered on whether the 39-year-old would claim the final berth for himself. Bradley chose Burns instead, but later admitted it “broke my heart” not to play.

“I grew up wanting to fight alongside these guys,” he said Wednesday at the PGA of America headquarters in Frisco, Texas. “It broke my heart not to play. It really did.

Keegan Bradley’s decision not to select himself has won him plenty of praise(Image: Getty Images)

“You work forever to make these teams, but ultimately I was chosen to do a job. I was chosen to be the captain of this team. My ultimate goal to start this thing was to be the best captain that I could be.

“This is how I felt like I could do this. If we got to this point and I felt like the team was better with me on it, I was going to do that. I was going to do whatever I thought was best for this team. I know 100 percent for certain that this is the right choice, and these six guys, again, played so incredibly coming down the stretch here and made my decision a lot easier.”

Chamblee pushed back against critics who downplay the captain’s role, arguing it’s far more demanding than simply playing. “There is just so many moving pieces,” he stressed. “Group dynamics is an interesting philosophy. And that’s what he’s called upon to navigate that week – and it’s more difficult than playing.”

The decision comes amid heightened scrutiny for the Americans, who are under pressure to perform after suffering a 16.5-11.5 drubbing in 2023. Bethpage Black, the notoriously tough New York public course, promises a raucous atmosphere with its passionate crowds, potentially amplifying the home advantage.

Luke Donald is looking to clinch a second successive victory as Europe captain(Image: Getty Images)

Analysts like Chamblee see Bradley’s move as a masterstroke in team psychology, fostering unity and eliminating any “cross purposes” between captaining and competing. With stars like world No. 1 Scheffler and major winners Schauffele and Morikawa, the U.S. team boasts plenty of quality and depth.

But so does Europe’s – led by returning captain Luke Donald, who will announce his captain’s picks on Monday. For the moment, Masters champion Rory McIlroy spearheads the team, alongside Bob MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Rasmus Hojgaard and Tyrrell Hatton.

With less than a month to go before the Ryder Cup begins, all eyes are now on New York and whether Bradley’s sacrifice can translate to glory on the greens.