Keegan Bradley landed an early blow on Team USA’s Ryder Cup rivals by snatching victory from Tommy Fleetwood.The 39-year-old roared back from three behind with four to play to deny the Englishman a first PGA Tour victory at the Travelers Championship.GettyBradley produced when the heat was on for an eighth PGA Tour crown[/caption]It lifted Bradley, who has been named as USA captain for the trans-Atlantic showdown at Bethpage Black in September, to seventh in the world rankings.“Keegan Bradley is THE MAN,” a jubilant Phil Mickelson posted on X to celebrate his countryman’s triumph.Now, Bradley has a major decision to make after reaching a career-high position.No captain has played at the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963, but the USA skipper is seriously considering picking up his bag after sealing the Presidents Cup for the Stars and Stripes last September.“I mean, listen, this [winning] changes the story a little bit,” Bradley said. “I never would have thought about playing if I hadn’t won. This definitely opens the door to play.“I don’t know if I’m going to do it or not, but I certainly have to take a pretty hard look at what’s best for the team and we’ll see. It’s still June, so we’ve still got a long way to go.“This definitely changes things a little bit, and we’ll all get together and figure out the best way to do this.”Bradley admitted that the prospect of him being a playing captain was raised when he first accepted the role.“Yeah, it’s insane,” he added. “My whole life every year I was out here I wanted to play on the Ryder Cup team, and then this would be the first year where maybe I didn’t want to.“I just wanted to be the captain and, of course, this is what happens. But we’ll see. I’m going to do whatever I think is best for the team. Whether that’s me on the team — this certainly changes a lot of things.Bradley is known for his competitive spiritMickelson has played in a record 12 Ryder Cups“My head was spinning — I didn’t know what they [PGA of America] were talking about, but they knew that that was a possibility and that we would have things in place for that [playing captain],” Bradley admitted.“I’m always trying to be the best that I can be and I feel like I’m playing the best golf of my career right now. A year ago I don’t know if I would have thought I would be seventh in the world, but I certainly thought I would be contending in tournaments.“When the PGA of America called me, I’m thinking I really want to be on the team. And the first thing he [Seth Waugh, then CEO of the PGA of America] said was ‘we want you to be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer’, which is a heavy burden.“But, you know, I’m also fortunate. If Tiger [Woods] or Phil [Mickelson] or these guys got a captaincy at my age they would have done it the same way. I’ve just been lucky enough to be asked to do this at a younger age.”Bradley was a young choice to lead his nation, but Jim Furyk brings plenty of experience after being selected as a vice-captain for the fourth time.That could free up the in-form golfer to take to the course, especially if he keeps climbing the rankings.View Tweet: https://t.co/hd9hR7H36DFans have been discussing the possibility on social media, with one viral post on X raising the prospect of Tiger Woods coming in as a figurehead to assist Bradley and give him a chance to focus on his game.“I realize this is not the most likely scenario, but putting Keegan on the team and calling in Cat from the ‘pen to juice the NYC crowds would be incredible,” it began. “And he would have been able to skip all the lead-up PR/admin stuff he didn’t want to do anyway.”“Listen, if you want viewers, this is the play. If you want a dub, I’d look elsewhere…I said what I said,” replied one fan.“Real possibility and love everything about it,” added another.“He can handle both. He’s got Furyk there who has experience and can be the “de facto” Captain. Then maybe just add one more vice captain with experience to lessen the load,” a third suggested.“Nah. Tiger would be a distraction. Let some random assistant run the behind the scenes and ride in the cart,” insisted a fourth. Team USA has a score to settle after losing the last edition in Italy, Bradley will have plenty on his shoulders off the course in his leadership role.The chance to score the decisive blow will be a tempting prospect but, for now, the 2021 PGA Championship winner’s focus will be on adding to his eight PGA Tour triumphs.History would certainly be on Bradley’s side. In 1963, Palmer led a 23-9 rout at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia.