Keegan Bradley has confessed that he took Phil Mickelson’s leadership skills “for granted” when he first met the golfing icon, and vowed to follow in his footsteps in the future
Phil Mickelson was a big influence on Keegan Bradley in his younger years (
Image: Harry How/Getty Images)
Keegan Bradley admitted he took Phil Mickelson “for granted” during his younger years.
The PGA Tour star, who was last year named as Team USA’s captain for the Ryder Cup in September, has previously spoken glowingly about his memories of playing under Mickelson’s leadership at the same event in 2014. At the time, Bradley was just a couple of years into his time on the Tour, and Mickelson was a veteran in the game having been playing since 1992.
Bradley had been chosen to play in the Ryder Cup by then-skipper Tom Watson, and despite losing 16.5-11.5 to Team Europe, Mickelson’s leadership during the tournament opened the young golfer’s eyes.
Speaking at a Ryder Cup press conference in October, the 38-year-old admitted that he didn’t realise how good Mickelson was in helping younger athletes, claiming he is one of the greatest to ever grace the course.
Bradley said: “Really, early in my career, I took for granted Phil’s leadership that he gave me. I was playing with one of the best players to ever touch a golf club.
“In alternate-shot, he just said, ‘We’re going to play your ball’. You know, things that I took for granted over the years, knowing who I’m going to play with in every Cup that I play on.”
Bradley has sent Mickelson some high praise regarding his leadership skills ( Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
The PGA Tour star praised Mickelson’s influence on his game, adding: “What Phil did for me is he created a relaxed atmosphere, and he told me, ‘Don’t worry about putting it four or five feet by. I’ll make them coming back’. Little stuff like that, really, it helped me.”
This relationship between the pair looks to continue to be strong despite Mickelson making the jump from PGA to LIV Golf in 2022. And ahead of the first major of the year, Bradley has vowed to follow in the 54-year-old’s footsteps when it comes to helping younger athletes succeed.
The duo will both take on the Masters this week ( Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
He said: “He mentored me before the event. Took me to dinner. Talked to me nonstop throughout the year about the pressures and what’s going to come and I really learned a lot, and it hasn’t been until now that I’ve really realised what an incredible thing it was that he did for me.”
Bradley added: “I owe a lot to Phil and I think he’s done so much for the American side of the Ryder Cup.”
Both will be making their final preparations ahead of the Masters kicking off at Augusta National on Thursday. Bradley and Mickelson will tee off together on Thursday at 9:58am ET alongside Australian Jason Day.
