USA Captain Keegan Bradley announced his six captain’s picks for the American Ryder Cup team from the new headquarters of the PGA of America in Frisco, TX, on Wednesday and it finally put to rest the endless speculation that Bradley would select himself as one of the players for team USA, emulating Arnold Palmer in 1963.
The six selected were:
Justin Thomas
Collin Morikawa
Patrick Cantlay
Ben Griffin
Sam Burns
Cameron Young
They will join the six others — Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau — who qualified automatically in the first six positions.
Bradley’s decision was noteworthy because he is ranked 11th in the world and 11th on the points list for the USA squad. But during his press conference Keegan stated the decision to not select himself was finalized several weeks ago although he held off stating as much until the final announcement of his picks.
In 2023 Bradley was left off the USA squad by then Captain Zach Johnson. The PGA of America selected Keegan to Captain the 2025 team when Tiger Woods declined the opportunity to do so.
Bradley said the decision not to play was made in order to field the best team to win back the Ryder Cup which Europe won in convincing fashion in 2023 in Rome.
Earlier this year when Bradley won The Travelers Championship the speculation he would select himself only ramped up considerably. Even Bradley admitted after the win in Connecticut he was open to the possibility of selecting himself.
In the FedEx Cup playoffs Bradley played better through each of the three playoff events with a T44 (Memphis), T17 (Baltimore) and last week at the Tour Championship the eight-time PGA Tour winner finished T7.
Bradley’s choices leap-frogged over a trio of players (Maverick McNealy (10), Brian Harman (12) and Andrew Novack (13) who all ranked higher on USA team qualifying points than the three chosen — Young (14), Cantlay (15) and Burns (16).
The issue for Bradley as playing Captain would likely have meant a distraction to the overall goal for Team USA to win back the Ryder Cup. Since Europe became a part of the competition in 1979 the overall edge has the Europeans ahead with a 12-9 record. However, since 1995 the margin grows to a 10-4 edge for Europe.
Burns returns to the US Ryder Cup Team after making his debut in 2023, and will bring his strong putting prowess to Bethpage Black. The 29-year-old tallied six top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, including the BMW Championship (T-4) and the Tour Championship (T-7). Burns ranked first on Tour this season in Strokes Gained:Putting (0.924) and Putting Inside 10 feet (90.79%).
Cantlay, 33, competing in his third Ryder Cup, brings a wealth of match play experience to the team. He owns a 5-2-1 career Ryder Cup record, highlighted by a perfect 2-0-0 mark in singles and a 3-0-1 performance in 2021 at Whistling Straits. Cantlay collected ten top-15 finishes this season on the PGA Tour, including T-2 at the Tour Championship.
Griffin’s breakthrough season earned him his first US Ryder Cup Team berth. The 29-year-old collected his first two PGA Tour victories at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and Charles Schwab Challenge. His ten top-10 results this season—which tied for second-most behind only Scottie Scheffler—included The Memorial Tournament (runner-up), PGA Championship (T-8), US Open (T-10), Fedex St. Jude Championship (T-9) and Tour Championship (T-10).
Morikawa, 28, will represent the US for a third time in the Ryder Cup. The two-time Major Champion is 4-3-1 all-time, including 2-1-0 in foursomes and four-ball and going 3-0-1 in his Ryder Cup debut at Whistling Straits in 2021. Morikawa ranked second on the PGA Tour this season in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (1.233) and third in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (0.848).
Thomas is making his fourth Ryder Cup appearance, the most among the twelve team members. The 32-year-old boasts a 7-4-2 record, including 3-0-0 in singles matches. The two-time PGA Champion secured his 16th PGA Tour win in April when he birdied the first playoff hole in the RBC Heritage. He also totaled eight top-10 finishes, including three runner-ups, and recorded rounds of 63, 62 and 61 in competition this season.
Young, 28, is one of four Ryder Cup rookies on the US Team. The 28-year-old finished the 2025 season on a high note, earning his first PGA Tour title with a commanding six-shot victory at the Wyndham Championship earlier this month and posting top-12 finishes in each of his last four starts. Raised in N.Y., Young made history at Bethpage Black in 2017 when, as a teenager, he became the first amateur to capture the Met PGA N.Y. State Open.
The 2025 Ryder Cup will be played Sept. 26-28 at Bethpage Black in New York.
Related: One month away – bound for Bethpage
Additional information on the twelve members of the US Team competing in the 45th Ryder Cup.
| Name | Residence | Age | Ryder Cup Appearance |
OWGR |
| *Sam Burns | Choudrant, Louisiana | 29 | 2nd (2023) | 22 |
| *Patrick Cantlay | Jupiter, Florida | 33 | 3rd (2021, ‘23) | 21 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | Dallas, Texas | 31 | 3rd (2018, ‘21) | 18 |
| Harris English | Sea Island, Georgia | 36 | 2nd (2021) | 9 |
| *Ben Griffin | St. Simons Island, Georgia | 29 | Rookie | 17 |
| Russell Henley | Columbus, Georgia | 36 | Rookie | 4 |
| *Collin Morikawa | Las Vegas, Nevada | 28 | 3rd (2021, ‘23) | 9 |
| Xander Schauffele | Jupiter, Florida | 31 | 3rd (2021, ‘23) | 3 |
| Scottie Scheffler | Dallas, Texas | 29 | 3rd (2021, ‘23) | 1 |
| J.J. Spaun | Scottsdale, Arizona36 | 36 | Rookie | 6 |
| *Justin Thomas | Jupiter, Florida | 32 | 4th (2018, ‘21, ‘23) | 5 |
| *Cameron Young | Jupiter, Florida | 28 | Rookie | 20 |
| US Captain: Keegan Bradley, Jupiter, Florida | ||||
| US Vice Captains: Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, Gary Woodland | ||||
| *Captain’s Pick | ||||
