Bradley captaincy 'surprising' - Schauffele

Xander Schauffele admits Keegan Bradley's assignment arsenic nan US Ryder Cup skipper for 2025 is "surprising", but has backed him to do a "great job" astatine Bethpage Black.

Bradley was confirmed arsenic skipper connected Monday aft Tiger Woods decided against starring nan squad successful New York adjacent year.

With 38-year-old Bradley having been near retired of nan squad for past year's matches successful Rome, nan move took galore by surprise, including two-time Ryder Cup subordinate Schauffele.

"Yeah, it's surprising," nan world number 3 said during his pre-Scottish Open news convention astatine The Renaissance Club.

"You typically expect personification that's a small spot older to get selected arsenic a captain. I deliberation a batch of group were banking connected Tiger to do it.

"He evidently has a batch connected his plate. Keegan expressed his emotion for nan Ryder Cup publicly, which we each saw.

"I haven't talked to him aliases seen him yet but I'm judge he's complete nan satellite and is going to do a awesome job."

Despite winning doubly connected nan PGA Tour past year, Bradley was not fixed 1 of six captain's picks by Zach Johnson, who gave nan motion to Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas.

As a result, Bradley - who played connected nan losing US teams successful 2012 and 2014 - will possibly beryllium driven to beryllium a constituent and Schauffele has backed him to bring passion and strength to nan team's bid to regain nan cup aft a 16½-11½ conclusion by Europe past year.

"He is truthful laidback disconnected nan course," added 30-year-old Schauffele, who won his first awesome successful May astatine nan USPGA Championship.

"If you get him successful for illustration a meal setting, he loves sports and he'll talk astir sports each nighttime long.

"He's a very passionate individual. On nan people he's intense, that's conscionable really he competes and really he is.

"As a captain, he's going to person a mixed container and he's not going to beryllium acrophobic to clasp a reside pinch nan guys and get everyone going."

While Schauffele believes Bradley's beingness will beryllium a affirmative for nan squad adjacent year, he says it is yet down to nan players to execute successful bid to triumph backmost nan cup.

"When you suffer that galore cups overseas, you decidedly commencement to get successful your ain head," admitted Schauffele, who took 1 constituent from 4 matches successful Rome past year.

"Just for illustration I didn't triumph a tourney for 2 years, you look successful nan reflector and commencement going, what's incorrect here. That's a small different, but they are going to constituent each azygous direction.

"But astatine nan extremity of nan time america players didn't play well. I haven't watched a batch of cups overseas wherever some teams played good and it was ace competitory and teams sewage beat.

"Myself, I felt for illustration I played awful. I felt for illustration I didn't show up until nan last information and it was already measurement excessively precocious to play bully play astatine that point."