Ryder Cup 2025: Captains Keegan Bradley, Luke Donald talk about their friendship | D'Angelo
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FARMINGDALE, NY — Never before have Ryder Cup captains been forced to put aside such a close friendship in the name of competition as Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald.
The two are connected more than just being founding partners at 1000 North, the upscale Jupiter restaurant, or fellow members at the Bear's Club. Bradley clearly cherishes the friendship because of the "respect" Donald showed him 14 years ago when he first joined the PGA Tour. And Donald sees Bradley as someone he made it a point to text and congratulate when he reached professional milestones.
"I came out on Tour in 2011 and he was No. 1 in the world," Bradley said during the joint news conference Sept. 22 at Bethpage Black that kicked off Ryder Cup week.
"He was the first real … top player to treat me with the respect. I couldn't believe 'I get to go out and play with Luke Donald who's the best player in the world.' I loved hanging out and having a drink with Luke Donald."
When Bradley learned he would be the next man to captain the U.S. team, he made it a point to tell Donald, who already had been selected to head the Europeans for a second consecutive time, before anyone else.
"Out of respect to him, because we've talked a lot about the Ryder Cup throughout our lives," Bradley said.
Keegan Bradley, Luke Donald will set aside friendship at Ryder Cup
When the United States and Europe tee it up Sept. 26 on Day 1 of the Ryder Cup, once again, Bradley will be the newcomer trying to chase down the veteran.
Bradley, the 39-year-old who was born in Vermont, will lead a U.S. team attempting to avenge a five-point loss to the Europeans two years ago in Rome. Donald, the 47-year-old Englishman, will be looking for a repeat performance in his second go-around as the European captain.
But each will be leading their teams during a very emotional week knowing so much about their counterpart.
"Keegan is someone that I've rooted for," Donald said. "If he did well in a tournament, won a tournament, I would text him. And likewise. We definitely have a good strong friendship, and there's a mutual respect there. We understand both being in the arena. We understand exactly the difficulties of professional golf, and we celebrate our victories together.
"I think we'll have a drink on Sunday night no matter what the result."
Bradley and Donald, who live 4 miles apart in Northern Palm Beach County, will be forced to set aside their friendship for three days in what is expected to be a hotly contested Ryder Cup.
"It's nice to have your captain opposite you, someone that you know and respect a lot," Donald said. "We're also very, very competitive, and that's not going to change this week."
But how does the captain even matter in such an individual sport. Certainly Bradley or Donald are not raising their hands to form a 'T' when things aren't going well. There are no time outs in golf.
And they are not devising any plays that can get Scottie Scheffler open on the 18th green for a tap in. Or Rory McIlroy coming around a Shane Lowry pick to set up an easy approach shot.
Where they will have a strong voice is with the pairings for the two foursomes and two fourballs sessions, and the order in which they send out their 12 players for the singles matches on the final day.
Much of that will be determined by analytics but also the players will have a big say on who they are stepping onto the tee box with.
"There's so much preparation that goes into this that you hope as a captain you have some kind of influence on the end result," Donald said. "Ultimately it's my job to get those guys in the right frame of mind performing at the highest level that they can perform on the golf course.
"If things go wrong, then yeah, there will be lots of questions aimed at me, and that's the responsibility you take as a captain."
Zach Johnson criticized for US falling into Ryder Cup hole in 2023
All Bradley has to do is look back at Rome and the criticism captain Zach Johnson took for the U.S. being boat raced on the first day as Europe jumped to a 6.5-1.5 lead.
Johnson was questioned about everything from his captain's picks — ironically for excluding Bradley — to his preparation. The players, though, ultimately took responsibility saying they deserved the blame for their poor performance, and not Johnson.
"My main goal is to put these players in their best position to play well," Bradley said. "But ultimately the players are going to decide the Ryder Cup."
Donald did his job in Rome, leading Europe to a home victory. Now, Bradley is tasked with avenging that loss and making sure the U.S. does not do something that has happened just one time in the last nine Ryder Cup competitions.
Since 2006, the home team has won eight of the last nine Ryder Cups, the outlier being Europe rallying for a dramatic comeback in 2012 at Medinah Country Club.
"I know how he can rally a group of players," Bradley said about Donald. "I am very aware of what an incredible captain he is. As far as I'm concerned, he's one of the greatest European captains ever. It's a tall task for me to match up against Luke Donald."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Ryder Cup captains Keegan Bradley, Luke Donald hope to have a drink Sunday night
