Ryder Cup captain's tough call is now even more likely after strong PGA performance

He may be doing his best to play it down but there is absolutely no denying that Keegan Bradley is a strong contender for his own US Ryder Cup team for Bethpage Black in September.

We already knew that could be the case when he was appointed last year as the man to go head-to-head with Luke Donald following his reappointment as European captain on the back of a brilliant win in the 2023 match in Rome.

And it’s now looking an even stronger possibility after the 38-year-old outshone lots of contenders for his side by finishing in a tie for eighth behind Scottie Scheffler in the 107th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.

US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley pictured during the final round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow | Kevin C.Cox/Getty Images

On the back of claiming a third major win, Scheffler tops the US standings, with Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Russell Henley the other players currently in automatic spots at the halfway stage in the 2025 major season.

After finishing in joint-second in North Carolina, Harris English jumped five spots to seventh on the points list while Bradley is up five places to 17th.

There’s still a long way to go in the qualifying battle, with the likes of Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau all still ahead of Bradley but, if he can maintain this sort of form, the captain could be faced with a tough call about what role he will have at the Long Island venue.

“I'm just trying to be a player right now,” he insisted at the end of the Wanamaker Trophy event. “Honestly, it's not even crossing my mind at this point. I'm the captain right now. If we get down to the (PGA Tour) Play-Offs and I'm in the picture then I'll start thinking about it. But I'm thinking of myself as a player first.”

Asked if he was still in the mindset that he’d need to be one of the six automatic qualifiers to make a call, he replied: “Yeah”.

Donald, who started strongly himself before ending up in a tie for 60th, would have been particularly pleased by how Matthew Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm performed at Quail Hollow.

Having been struggling with his game this year, it was more like it from Fitzpatrick as the 2022 US Open champion claimed a share of eighth spot alongside Rahm, who was disappointed to drop five shots in the last three holes after being tied for the lead with seven holes to play but, nonetheless, produced his best effort in a major since becoming a LIV Golf player.

Bob MacIntyre had a disappointing weekend in the 107th PGA Championship after being in the top ten at the halfway stage at Quail Hollow | Andrew Redington/Getty Images

“God, it's been a while since I had that much fun on a golf course,” said the Spaniard. “The result is horrendous, but feeling-wise it's not that far off.

“Pretty fresh wound right now. But there's been a lot of good happening this week and a lot of positive feelings to take for the rest of the year. I'll get over it. I'll move on and give it another go in the US Open.”

There was no change in the European automatic standings, with Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Rasmus Hojgaard, Tyrrell Hatton, Sepp Straka and Justin Rose still in those positions.

Matt Wallace, who finished joint-17th, moved up one spot to tenth in the standings, with Bob MacIntyre also jumping a place to 15th.

After a strong first couple of days, the Oban man will be bitterly disappointed to end up in joint-47th, but his first round particular should give him encouragement heading into the US Open and The Open, as well as title defences in both the RBC Canadian Open then the Genesis Scottish Open.