Xander Schauffele has expressed his surprise at Keegan Bradley's appointment as the US Ryder Cup captain for 2025 but has confidently supported him to excel in the role at Bethpage Black. Bradley's selection, announced on Monday after Tiger Woods declined the position, came unexpectedly to many, including Schauffele, a two-time Ryder Cup player.
"Yeah, it's surprising," Schauffele, the world number three, commented during his pre-Scottish Open news conference at The Renaissance Club. He added, "You typically expect someone that's a little bit older to get selected as a captain. I think a lot of people were banking on Tiger to do it. Keegan expressed his love for the Ryder Cup publicly, which we all saw. I haven't talked to him or seen him yet, but I'm sure he's over the moon and is going to do a great job."
Bradley, who was left out of the team for last year's matches in Rome despite winning twice on the PGA Tour, might feel driven to prove a point. Schauffele has backed him to bring passion and intensity to the team's bid to regain the cup after their 16½-11½ defeat by Europe last year. "He's a very passionate individual. On the course, he's intense, that's just how he competes and how he is. As a captain, he's going to have a mixed bag and he's not going to be afraid to hold a speech with the guys and get everyone going," Schauffele remarked.
Schauffele emphasized that while Bradley's leadership will be crucial, the players' performance is what ultimately matters. Reflecting on his own experience, he said, "When you lose that many cups overseas, you definitely start to get in your own head. Just like I didn't win a tournament for two years, you look in the mirror and start going, what's wrong here. But at the end of the day, us players didn't play well. I felt like I didn't show up until the final round, and it was already way too late to play good golf at that point."
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