In just over a week, 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley will announce the squad for the upcoming Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, and the remaining contenders are hitting the campaign trail HARD. Earlier this week, Jordan Spieth revealed his strategy—essentially trying to neg his way onto the squad by convincing Keegan Bradley that being a player-captain would be too much work—while Justin Thomas tried the whole slide-into-the-conversation-and-start-laughing-and-hope-no-one-notices approach. Ben Griffin, however, has opted for the more direct route.
On Thursday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the PGA Tour social media team went behind-the-scenes with two-time 2025 winner, following him from his hotel to the first tee of his opening round at TPC Southwind. The whole video is an entertaining, thanks in large part to Griffin’s transparency and easy-going charisma, but the funniest and most fascinating moment arrives around the 2:09 mark, when Griffin bumps into Bradley on his way to the fitness trailers. “Sup, Captain,” he says, fist-bumping Bradley. “Play well.” The two continue on their separate ways, before Griffin turns around and whispers, almost as a subliminal message, “PICK ME!” Check it out.
Mic’d up … from the hotel, all the way to the first tee.
Go all-access with @BenGriffinGolf ahead of his opening-round 66 @FedExChamp. pic.twitter.com/6Gjvp4ynKt
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 7, 2025
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Straightforward stuff. While other guys are playing mind games with Bradley, Griffin is simply whispering “pick me” into cap’s ear. It’s a bold move, especially considering Griffin currently sits 9th in the U.S. Ryder Cup rankings, in direct competition with Bradley himself, who sits 10th as he vies to become the first U.S. player-captain of the modern era. Then again, Bradley, being a native New Englander, is a straightforward guy. Maybe this is exactly the sort of approach that will resonate with the 2011 PGA champ.
We won’t have to wait long to find out, of course. Bradley and his assistant captains will announce perhaps their picks—perhaps the most anticipated and (potentially) controversial this century—following the BMW Championship on August 17th. As long as Griffin keeps posting 66s like he did on Thursday, he won’t have to beg.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
