Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns knew exactly what the stakes were in the phone call. Bradley, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, wasn’t reaching out to his friend and fellow PGA Tour competitor on a late August Wednesday morning to see if he’d had time for an emergency nine.
MORE: With Keegan Bradley’s decision, Europe’s dream might now be a nightmare
Assuming that Burns didn’t already know how the conversation was going to go down—and it didn’t seem that way in a video shared by the PGA of America—he was either going to be told he didn’t make the U.S. squad that will take on Europe in September at Bethpage Black, or Bradley had made him a captain’s pick—possibly at the sacrifice of Keegan’s own desire to compete.
After all, Burns seemed like a logical bubble guy heading into the Wednesday announcement of the six captain’s picks, though his close relationship with Scottie Scheffler and first-time Cup experience two years ago in Rome figured to be factors in his favor.
Conversely, the concerns Bradley had to consider: Burns doesn’t have a stroke-play victory since 2022, and he stood at 16th in the U.S. points standing, forcing the captain to bypass three other players ahead of him.
Ultimately, after a bit of small talk about if they got any sleep overnight, Bradley delivered the news: “Listen man, I want you on this Ryder Cup team.”
Burns responded with, “Well, um … ” and paused because it seemed he was getting emotional.
Then the call became very on brand for Bradley, who, with his wife Jillian by his side, showed both the quiet passion, eloquence and natural rapport that seemingly makes him a captain that his team will spill blood for.
"I want you on this Ryder Cup Team."
The moment Captain @Keegan_Bradley told @SamBurns66 he was headed to Bethpage. #GoUSA pic.twitter.com/2HMaDJCuU1
— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) August 27, 2025
“I love you and I’m so proud of the way that you played the last month of the season with this on your shoulders,” Bradley said, referring to Burns’ strong playoff run of finishing T-4 in the BMW Championship and T-7 in the Tour Championship. “When you’re a captain’s pick, that means the entire team, and also the vice captains, want you on this team, and I want you to really celebrate this. I’m just so proud of you. You know what I think of you, and you know what the guys think of you.”
The pep talk continued, and it said a lot about part of a captain’s job is to make his wild-card picks feel as much a part of the team as those who earned their way through the points.
“I need you to come in Bethpage not [with] a captain’s pick mentality,” Bradley said. “I need you to come in ready to … win points and go out there and win.”
When Burns could speak, and to his credit, he basically acknowledged the sacrifice Bradley made in not choosing himself to play.
“I know this was a very, very tough decision for you,” Burns said, “and I think it just shows your maturity and your ability to lead. And it’s been really impressive to watch. I know it’s been extremely difficult and … you’ve put a lot of time and effort and, you know, your whole life into this.
“And I promise you I’ll give you my 100 percent best, and I’ll compete as hard as I possibly can for you.”
Bradley responded, “You’re gonna be at Bethpage with crazy New Yorkers screaming at you.”
“I want nothing more than that right there,” Burns said.
Make no mistake, all 12 are going to fight for this guy.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
