A Surprise Ryder Cup Captain

It was a bit of a surprise when the PGA Of America announced that Keegan Bradley was going to be the captain of the 2025 USA Ryder Cup team.

Here’s what wasn’t a surprise.  That it wasn’t going to be Tiger Woods.  For years, this team, at this venue, Bethpage Black was going to be the team that Phil Mickelson captained.  After all, wasn’t that the point of the “task force”? Well then, Phil left for LIV so that was out, and Tiger’s name started to rise to the top.  After all, he did successfully Captain a President’s Cup team on foreign soil a couple of years ago.  Anyone that listened to and saw Tiger’s body language at his press conference at the Masters in April when he was asked about this, knew then, nope.  He was not on board.  Word is, he just couldn’t get comfortable with all of the responsibilities that come with being the Ryder Cup Captain.  Not only couldn’t he get comfortable, but he also didn’t want to get comfortable.  Maybe one day.  But one day will not be at Bethpage Black in 2025.  Besides, I’ve always heard he really didn’t care for his US Open experiences at Bethpage, despite winning there.

So, who was next?  Keegan Bradley?  Not that it’s a bad choice, it’s just, well.  If you saw the second season of the NETFLIX series Full Swing, you saw the episode where Keegan was passed over for the 2023 team.  He was gutted by that and gutted for all of the streaming world to see.

In a strange way, maybe that played a big role in being named Captain.  It’s not that he shouldn’t have been named, but I thought one of the aspects of the “task force” was to build Captains through the Ryder Cup grinder.  Make sure they’re Assistant Captains first.  Make sure they know what they’re in for before assuming the role.  God forbid, there’s an unqualified Captain.  Well, Keegan played on teams but had not been an Assistant.  He didn’t even fill the role two years ago when it might have made some sense.

So, we’ll see.  I’ve never really been sure of a Ryder Cup Captain’s job description.  Part time psychologist, part time mathematician and full-time babysitter.  Oh, and figuring out what clothes they’ll wear.

Good luck to Keegan.

It’s that time of year again.  It’s a tradition unlike any other.  It’s the Masters.  Arguably the most important major in golf to come each April to Augusta National in Augusta, Georgia.

As avid golfers, my husband and some other male family members of mine attend each year.  I am typically not a fan of the sport myself. I will watch on Sunday to see who wins, but this year something has been a little different.  I’ve found myself much more interested because of social media, and not really for the golf.

This year, I am seeing the perspective of the tournament from the wives and girlfriends of these Masters golfers.  I am a TikTok junkie and I have seen video after video of behind the scenes looks at sponsor parties and outfits of the day this year.  These ladies are stunning and certainly have names for themselves outside of being the better halves to these talented athletes.

While I was familiar with wife of Dustin Johnson, Paulina Gretzky (also daughter of hockey great Wayne Gretzky), I was interested in learning more about these other stunning WAGS of Masters golfers I came across on my FYP.  For those of you not familiar with TikTok, FYP means “For You Page”.

As we’ve seen with the relationship of NFL player Travis Kelce and girlfriend Taylor Swift, the fans of the girlfriends and wives will be attracted to the sport if they think they can catch a glimpse of the ladies.  I’m sure we will see the viewership up this year with the presence of these ladies and their behind the scenes videos on TikTok and Instagram.

Jena Sims is married to Brooks Koepka.  She’s taken to TikTok this year to share her outfits of the day, and they’re super cute.  Sims is a Swimsuit Illustrated rookie, founder of Pageant of Hope and investor in cosmetics company Dibs Beauty.

Lilia Schneider is girlfriend to Bryson DeChambeau.  She is a golfer herself, playing at the collegiate level at Marian University.  She is also a social media influencer and model.

Alayna Finau is married to Tony Finau, together they have five kids with nearly 12 years of marriage.  She has been keeping fans up to date on everything from packing for the week, to behind the scenes looks at the Nike party for the sponsored players.  These guys and their families got hooked up this year.  The Finau family was also featured in an episode of the Netflix series, Full Swing.

Erica Stoll is wife to Rory McIlroy.  The pair married in 2017 after meeting at the Ryder Cup in 2012 and have one child, daughter Poppy.  Stoll previously worked for PGA of America as an office manager and the manager of championship volunteer operations.

Meredith Scudder is wife to this year's favorite, Scottie Scheffler. The pair are actually high school sweethearts, married for 6 years. Scudder is a humanitarian, working previously with Family Legacy and Live Beyond.

Meredith has made headlines this week, as she is 9-months pregnant, and Scottie has said if she goes into labor, he's dropping out of the tournament to go home to her.

Lacey Homa is wife to Max Homa.  The pair have been married since November 2019 and have son named Cam, almost 2.  Lacey studied communications in college and is a licensed realtor in both California and Arizona, according to her LinkedIn.  She owns her own business under her maiden name, Croom Appraisal Services.