Keegan Bradley makes Tiger Woods claim after shock Ryder Cup decision

New United States Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley has revealed he wants Tiger Woods 'to be involved as he wants to be' when the biennial contest swings around at Bethpage Black in September 2025.

Bradley, 38, was named earlier this month by the PGA of America as the 2025 US Ryder Cup captain, much to the shock of the golf world.

That was because Woods, 48, was believed to have been the frontrunner for the hotseat ever since Zach Johnson led the US side to a five-point loss in Rome last September. 

Revealed: Why Tiger Woods turned down the 2025 US Ryder Cup captaincy

The likes of Fred Couples, Davis Love III and Stewart Cink were also considered to have been in with a good chance should Woods not have fancied it. 

But when Woods did ultimately turn the captaincy down, the PGA of America decided to go down a different route and select current World No.21 Bradley.

Bradley has represented the US Ryder Cup twice as a player (2012, 2014) and he won his lone major to date at the 2011 US PGA at Atlanta Athletic Club.

Many consider Bradley was a tad unfortunate to miss out on one of Johnson's captain picks in the 2023 US Ryder Cup team. 

The American has made it clear he intends to fight hard to still make the team as a player.

If he doesn't make the team as an automatic though, he will not be handing himself a pick. 

Bradley said earlier this month: 

"I want to play on the team. I feel like I'm still in the prime of my career and can make this team. I will either make the team on points or not pick myself." 

There are fears by many that Bradley will have to step down as a captain should he make it in to the team on merit.

Rory McIlroy fired a shot in the direction of Bradley once hearing about the PGA's decision to elect him. 

Woods last week told the media at The Open that he turned down a first-ever captaincy of the US Ryder Cup team because he has too much going on at the moment with which to give the position his full commitment. 

The 15-time major champion is playing a lead role in ongoing PGA Tour-PIF talks, and his new TGL with McIlroy also starts up in January. 

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has admitted he agreed with Woods' decision to bypass the captaincy. 

There is a belief in the industry right now that Woods may accept the position of US Ryder Cup captain when the following Ryder Cup takes place at Adare Manor, Ireland, in 2027. 

Woods will be 51 then.

Bradley told the media ahead of this week's 3M Open that he didn't specifically speak to Woods about the Ryder Cup during last week's Open Championship at Royal Troon, but that he would be welcome to play a role on the team or as a vice-captain should he so wish. 

"Yeah, I've told Tiger that I want him to be as involved as he wants to be," Bradley said of Woods' potential involvement at the 2025 Ryder Cup.

"We didn't -- with the British Open going on, we're not really chatting too much about that.

"We both have a job to do and I don't want to bother Tiger with that. 

"I think in the coming months -- we're still 14 months out here, so we've got a long time."

Both Woods and Bradley went on to miss the cut at The Open last week.

It marked a third straight MC in the majors for Woods, who admitted he will unlikely be playing competitively again this season until the PNC Championship with his son Charlie.

Woods has been watching Charlie in action at the US Junior Amateur this week.

Unfortunately Charlie has endured a tough couple of days. 

An image of Woods' leg went viral on Tuesday. 

Woods' leg was papped without its usual sleeve on for the first time since his horror car crash in Los Angeles back in 2021.

Bradley last week confirmed one of his vice-captains on the 2025 US Ryder Cup team will be former US Open champion and three-time US Ryder Cup player Simpson.

While the decision to appoint Bradley as the new US Ryder Cup captain took the golf world by storm several weeks ago, it would seem like a number of players and golf analysts have come to the conclusion that it's a fairly smart move by the PGA of America. 

Former European Ryder Cup captain told GolfMagic at The Open last week 'the more I think about the appointment of Keegan, the more it makes sense just because he's a very strong Patriot and that will resonate with the crowd.'

It would seem GolfMagic followers are split on whether Bradley will help the United States win back the Ryder Cup on home soil in 2025.

Here's the result from our latest poll: