Few were prepared for the announcement in July 2024 that Keegan Bradley would be skippering the Americans in this year’s Ryder Cup.
His last involvement in the matches came in 2014 – he would play on two losing teams – but now he would buck the trend by opting for a player who might well make the team.
Over a year on, and he might still make his own team after a victory at The Travelers in June.
Born?
Bradley was born on June 7, 1986, so, at the age of just 39, he will be the youngest Ryder Cup captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963.
Turn pro?
He left the amateur ranks in 2008 and, after a college career that promised little of what was to come, began life on the Hooters Tour.
First pro win?
In 2011, he made it to the PGA Tour after a strong finish to the Nationwide Tour season.
He produced a handful of top 10s and missed cuts before beating Ryan Palmer in a play-off for the Byron Nelson Championship.
It would place him in the WGC Bridgestone, where he threatened for three and a half days before falling away.
The following week would then change the rest of his life.
Married?
He is married to Jillian and they have two sons, Logan and Cooper. They met in 2012 and tied the knot four years later.
She would appear in the second season of Full Swing when he would discuss his Ryder Cup hopes and subsequent phone call to tell him that he wouldn’t be part of the 2023 team.
Favourite sporting teams?
In short, all things Boston. So the Red Sox in baseball, the Celtics in basketball, the Bruins in hockey and the New England Patriots in football.
So it was no surprise that he would represent Boston Common Golf in the TGL, where he would team up with Rory McIlroy.
Earnings?
Bradley has earned $55m, a figure that has been significantly helped by his $3.6m win at this year’s Travelers.
He has enjoyed a collection of sponsors over the years; he was with TravisMathew for something like nine years, and if the US team should pull it off at Bethpage, then his off-course earnings will go through the roof.
Equipment?
He is a long-term Srixon staff player and he uses the ZX5/ZX7 irons and a Z-Star ball, as well as other additions from Ping, TaylorMade and Odyssey.
When he won the 2011 PGA, he had a bag full of Cleveland clubs and the Odyssey White Hot XG Sabretooth putter.
Biggest achievement?
That Major victory after a triple-bogey at Atlanta Athletic Club’s 15th hole. There would then be back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17 to coincide with good friend Jason Dufner’s poor finish.
He would then win a three-hole play-off to become just the third player after Francis Ouimet (1913) and Ben Curtis (2003) to win a Major in his first attempt.
Interestingly, he was the first player to win a Major with a long putter. Now he can make his name in a different light, either as a player or the very rare possibility of being a playing captain.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Luke Donald as he leads Ryder Cup defence for Europe
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Article Link: Inside the life of Keegan Bradley: Earnings, wife, equipment and more