Keegan Bradley’s butterfly effect: These small moments made a big year for US Ryder Cup captain

Golf careers are highlighted by monumental victories, by memorable moments, but memorable moments are built on the little circumstances — these tiny butterfly-effect events that often go unnoticed until they become part of the bigger story.

Keegan Bradley has achieved some incredible successes over the last few months that are huge milestones in his career, but none of them would have been possible if some bizarre events didn’t happen in front of him.

The first announcement came on July 8 when Bradley was named the US Ryder Cup captain. It was a move that nobody had imagined, but it was an announcement that could change the direction of someone’s entire professional life.

With this announcement, the game of “what if” can be played forever. What if Tiger Woods accepts the captaincy? What if Bradley is not left out as a player on the 2023 Ryder Cup team? What if Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin don’t lose to Rickie Fowler in a playoff at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July 2023 and Fowler doesn’t have a good enough resume to earn a spot on the Ryder Cup team, allowing Bradley to be selected?

Is Bradley still a tragic figure who was made captain in less than a year despite being on that team in Rome?

I mean, maybe. Maybe not. There are a lot of little things that made this happen.

It goes even further. What if Bradley doesn’t get this windfall as Ryder Cup captain at age 38? He’s now recognized as an older player and he knows a group of people — in this case the PGA of America — believes in him. That’s not the greatest thing in the world for a world-class golfer, but after the way Bradley looked disappointed and frustrated a year ago, I’m not sure it can be underestimated. What if the PGA doesn’t pick him for the Ryder Cup captaincy? Does he win last week at the BMW Championship and maybe earn a spot on the Presidents Cup team a month from now in Montreal?

“I know the people who chose me as Ryder Cup captain didn’t realise that [like my best playing days were behind me]”They made that clear to me. Not that I really care what they think. I’m proud to be the Ryder Cup captain,” Bradley said after beating Adam Scott, Sam Burns and Ludvig Oberg by one shot on Sunday.

“I would love to be a playing captain. Nobody has really had the opportunity that I have had. I think you could have given Phil or Tiger a chance to be captain at my age and they could have played in teams. But it never had a chance to happen. It would be really hard for me to get into that team, but if I get into the team, I would play. I don’t see myself as a captain’s choice. But I would be proud to be a captain. If I have to go out there and play, I would love to do that as well.”

People like Bradley are motivated by things like pride, the belief others have in them. It’s not everything, but it’s definitely something.

The butterfly effect of Bradley’s year isn’t all that supernatural.

Eight days ago, after shooting 2 under in the final round at TPC Southwind, Bradley was already preparing for a long offseason as he figured he would finish outside the FedEx Cup top 50, which was necessary to even play in last week’s BMW Championship.

“I was so upset,” he said. “I finished my round on Sunday. I was walking around the range, looking at the guys who were warming up and who were really going to decide my future. I packed up all my stuff. I got to the hotel. I booked a flight home. I didn’t think I was going to make it there. I had the coverage on. I had my iPad on the featured hole. I was watching from my phone; on two separate occasions I had to unplug my phone because it got so hot from refreshing every second.

“I was thinking about my next year, when I didn’t know where I was going to play. It was going to be tough for my family, tough for me. I was really disappointed that I wasn’t going to play with my teammates in the Ryder Cup. Now I was imagining I wouldn’t be playing, I would have to travel for these tournaments.

“I want to be in the final group with these guys. I want to see them make the cut on Friday. I want to see how they interact with the other players in the locker room, on the flights to and from the tournament. Everything matters.”

Although Tom Kim finished with a bogey-double-double at TPC Southwind on his last three holes, he nearly lost 100 FedEx Cup points. He finished 51st in the standings, 14 points behind Bradley for the 50th and final spot in the BMW Championship.

The margin is very small.

But now? Bradley has a real chance to do what was unimaginable even a year ago: not only make the Presidents Cup team in 2024 and the Ryder Cup team in 2025, but serve as vice captain and captain, respectively, in the competitions he loves most.

“I still feel like I’m at the pinnacle of my career,” he said Sunday. “I think there are many parts of my game that are the best they’ve ever been, and I think I have many years ahead of me… I wanted to make the Ryder Cup team at Bethpage, where I was captain. That’s always been a goal of mine. I think I can still play at a high level for a while.”

Yes, these are big goals, but they wouldn’t be possible without the small, almost invisible moments.