Ryder Cup: Keegan Bradley explains 'heart-breaking' decision

Team USA captain Keegan Bradley avoided the temptation to pick himself for the Ryder Cup, but he admitted the decision broke his heart.

Bradley confessed he did consider playing after he won the Travelers Championship in June, although he did not elaborate and say if he would have taken on a dual role as player-captain.

But after revealing his six captain's picks for the 45th Ryder Cup at Bethpage next month, Bradley explained his "extremely difficult" decision-making process while also taking a swipe at comments from Rory McIlroy.

Bradley selected Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns to complete his line-up, insisting his decision to leave himself out was made in the best interests of the team

"The decision was made a while ago that I wasn’t playing," he said. "We had the team set, so we weren’t scrambling at all over the last 48 hours or anything.

"This was a really tough decision. There was a point a while ago this year where I was playing, but all of these guys stepped up in a major way and played their way onto this team. That’s something I’m really proud of, and also something I really wanted. 

"It was an extremely difficult decision, but it’s one that I’m very happy with. I’m happy with these six players, and I’m glad that it’s over."

Bradley was overlooked by a pick from Zach Johnson ahead of the last Ryder Cup in Rome, and his emotional reaction was viewed by millions as he was being filmed by Netflix for their Full Swing series.

"I grew up wanting to play in the Ryder Cup, I wanted to be in the US team and fight along with these guys," he added. "It’s broken my heart not to play. You work really hard to make these teams, but I was chosen to do a job as captain of this team.

"My ultimate goal to start this whole thing was to be the best captain I could be, and this is how I felt I can do that. If we got to a point where I felt that the team was better with me on it, I was going to do that. I was going to do whatever I thought was best for this team.

"I’m 100 percent certain that this is the right choice. These six guys played incredible golf coming down the stretch, and that made my decision a lot easier."

Bradley also admitted he has been surprised by the amount of speculation in mainstream and social media over whether or not he would pick himself.

"It’s been really strange all year to be honest, and I’ve been really surprised at the attention this has had," he said. "I was just really focused on being the captain all year, and I never really considered playing until I won the Travelers.

"That was on the table for a while, but I ultimately felt I was really comfortable with the guys I’ve picked, so I feel it has best served the team this way. I thought if I play, or don’t play, I don’t care as long as we win on Sunday. That outcome is the only thing I care about.

"This is the decision we made and it’s strange that it got so much hype, but the Ryder Cup is a big deal, apparently!"