Rickie Fowler Says Keegan Bradley Deserves Ryder Cup Spot

Rickie Fowler has thrown his full support behind Keegan Bradley for a place on the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team, even if Bradley does not qualify automatically. Speaking ahead of the BMW Championship, Fowler echoed Patrick Cantlay’s sentiments, insisting that Bradley’s performances this season merit being on the U.S. Ryder Cup team as a player.

Fowler Backs Keegan As A Playing Captain

Bradley, who is also serving as the U.S. Ryder Cup captain this year, currently sits 10th in the Ryder Cup points standings. Only the top six players after the Tour Championship earn automatic qualification. The remaining six spots will be filled by the captain’s picks, which Bradley will announce on August 27.

If Bradley doesn’t make the team through points, he could still choose himself as one of those six captain’s picks, becoming a “playing captain.” That hasn’t happened since Arnold Palmer captained and played for the U.S. team in 1963. While there has been some talk against the 39-year-old picking himself, he has also earned the support of other players.

Patrick Cantlay stated that if he were Keegan Bradley the captain, he would pick Keegan Bradley the player. The 33-year-old believes Keegan is one of the best American players and that he’s easily one of the top 12. Fowler agrees that Keegan is one of the best and that it would be difficult to find someone who wouldn’t want him on the team when asked for his thoughts on Cantlay’s statement.

“Yeah, I would pick him too,” Fowler said. “I think it’ll be hard to find any or many Americans that would argue that point. We’ll see. I know he’s maybe getting to the area of the 10-11 number of points where he may think, like, you know, is this a spot where I should not pick myself? I feel like a lot of times there’s really only one or two that maybe fluctuate based on people that were inside the top 12 on points but maybe don’t get picked. Like I said, I don’t think you’re going to find any or many Americans that are going to argue that he shouldn’t be on the team.”

Bradley Yet To Make His Decision

Bradley’s 2025 season has been solid. While he hasn’t picked up a major championship win, he has recorded several top finishes and played some of his best golf in years. His consistency has kept him in the conversation for both automatic qualification and a captain’s pick.