Keegan Bradley's Ryder Cup decision may leave President Trump 'disappointed'

Keegan Bradley fears his decision to leave himself out of his Ryder Cup team may have disappointed one particularly-important person; the President of the United States of America!

Just three days before Bradley announced his captain's picks for the showdown with Europe at Bethpage Black, Donald Trump urged Bradley to pick himself as player-captain in a post on social media.

"Keegan Bradley should DEFINITELY be on the American Ryder Cup Team - as Captain," Trump said on his Truth Social account. "He is an AMAZING guy. It will be a great Ryder Cup. At the invite of the PGA Tour, I will be there on Tournament Friday!!! President DJT."

Bradley was widely expected to add himself to his team after enjoying a successful season on the PGA Tour, including his eighth career victory at the Travelers Championship in June.

But the 39-year-old defied Presidential advice and decided to focus on his captaincy duties rather than saddle himself with the extra burden of playing, insisting it was "in the best interests of Team USA".

Bradley is looking forward to meeting Trump at Bethpage on the opening day of the Ryder Cup, and he welcomed the support of his President despite going against his wishes.

"That was really surreal," said Bradley when asked for his reaction to Trump's message. "I've been really blown away with the support. Anytime you get the support of the President of the United States, it's really surreal and stunning. 

"I really appreciate it, Mr President. I hope you're not disappointed, and we look forward to seeing you at the Ryder Cup.

"When you see stuff like that, you start to wonder how we got to this point in my life. But I was really honoured, deeply honoured to have him say that."

Bradley revealed that he did consider playing in New York after he pipped Tommy Fleetwood to the Travelers Championship title, but he ultimately felt he could not take on a dual role and give 100 percent to both.

"I did know in the back of my mind that I just wanted to be the captain," he said. "But I was always going to do what I thought was best for the team. I thought if I won at Hartford and continued to play at a really high level, then I'm clearly one of the best players in the world and I can help this team win.

"So I would have done that, but I truly felt this whole time that I needed to be the captain, from the very start. My vice-captains knew that, and a lot of the players knew that as well.

"Then after Hartford, I had to just back off that a little bit and be more open to the idea of playing, but still with the idea that I really just wanted to be the captain.

"I really want to leave this whole process knowing I did everything I could as a captain, and I was worried if I played, I might not be able to do that."