U-S-A! U-S-A! Bradley enjoying spoils, patriotism, tough decisions as Ryder Cup captain

FLOURTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Keegan Bradley is slowly warming up to the All-American soundtrack of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” chants that follow him around the course ever since he was appointed U.S. Ryder Cup captain.

The real surprise, though, is the patriotic reception and thanks for his service he receives each week at gas stations, restaurants, almost any time the 38-year-old Vermont player goes out in public.

“People buying me dinner and desserts and drinks,” said Bradley, who has topped $49 million in career earnings. “I didn’t expect that. It’s been a bonus.”

Bradley heard it all this weekend at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, from fans yelling “Cap! Cap!” to the standard calls of “U-S-A!” His fan club would grow a bit in the Northeast anyway, where Bradley -- the 2011 PGA Champion -- also made his name as a standout golfer from 2006-10 at St. John’s. Bradley posted social media photos in March of him wearing a “C” on a No. 25 St. John’s jersey, and even took his young son to Rhode Island for the NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm lost to Arkansas in Providence, but the Bradley boys had a blast.

“Over 20 years of not much to really cheer for,” Bradley said. “So to have a team that was legit, not just sneaky good, this like, wow, this team is really good. That was a first for me.”

So is running the show for Team USA.

Bradley, who has played on only two Ryder Cup teams and never was an assistant captain, was chosen last July after Tiger Woods could not accept the role to lead the 2025 matches at Bethpage Black in New York.

He held a dinner for prospective Ryder Cup members -- yes, even LIV players -- on Tuesday at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club with most of the top PGA players in town for the Truist Championship. While there had been informal gatherings over the last 10 months, Keegan had his first organized meeting with players, caddies, wives, to start really discussing the Ryder Cup.

“We’ve been talking to the boys for over a year now,” Bradley said. “This was fun to get everyone together under one roof. We called it a dinner but it was really sort of a get-together..”

He will be given six captain’s picks to round out his 12-man team.

Bradley last played in the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland in 2014, when Tom Watson benched him and Phil Mickelson for both Saturday sessions in another European victory. Bradley made his Ryder Cup debut in Medinah in 2012, teaming with Mickelson to go 3-0 before losing to Rory McIlroy in singles in what turned out to be a European victory, the largest comeback by a visiting team.

Bradley has seven PGA Tour victories, the last at the 2024 BMW Championship. At age 38, he will be the youngest American captain since Arnold Palmer was a playing captain in 1963 at East Lake.

Bradley hoped he would serve as a playing captain, but noted, “I’ve got to play better than what I’m doing right now.”

He sunk a 23-foot birdie putt on No. 6 and a 31-foot birdie putt on No. 3 to finish Saturday with a 2-under-68. He was at 6-under 234 and out of real contention headed into Sunday’s final round on the Wissahickon Course.

“I grew up courses that looked like this,” he said. “I didn’t get to play courses this nice. But big courses, rough everywhere. I just looked really forward to playing this style of golf.”

While most players heaped praise on the course -- McIlroy noted it was “ probably 500 or 600 yards too short,” -- Bradley mostly enjoyed his rounds at the Cricket Club.

He really enjoyed golfing in the Northeast.

Bradley is pumped that, by PGA and Pennsylvania standards, there will be a surge of tournaments in the state over the next five years. The 2026 PGA Championship will be held at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square and the 2030 U.S. Open is at Merion Golf Club.

He has a soft spot for Aronimink. Bradley topped Justin Rose with a par on the first playoff hole to win the BMW Championship at the course in 2018 for what was his first PGA Tour victory in six years.

“I think if you to talk to every PGA Tour player, top to bottom, we wish we could play more in the Northeast,” Bradley said. “We get a treat like this every couple of years, which is great.”

It’s even better when Bradley boasts a home-country advantage.

“Me and Rosie weren’t enjoying it too much,” Ireland's Shane Lowry said with a laugh after his Friday pairing with Bradley and Rose.

Spoken like a true American captain, Bradley made his pitch for more golf in the Philadelphia suburbs.

“I feel like, for America, this about as classic as it gets, courses like this,” Bradley said.

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Keegan Bradley, left, and Shane Lowry, of Ireland, shake hands after the second round of the Truist Championship golf tournament at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Friday, May 9, 2025, in Flourtown. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Keegan Bradley putts on the ninth green during the first round of the Truist Championship golf tournament at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Flourtown, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Keegan Bradley hits on the tenth hole during the first round of the Truist Championship golf tournament at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Flourtown. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Keegan Bradley hits on the 12th hole during the second round of the Truist Championship golf tournament at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Friday, May 9, 2025, in Flourtown. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Keegan Bradley hits on the 11th hole during the second round of the Truist Championship golf tournament at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Friday, May 9, 2025, in Flourtown. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Keegan Bradley putts on the tenth hole during the second round of the Truist Championship golf tournament at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Friday, May 9, 2025, in Flourtown. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Keegan Bradley hits on the first hole during the second round of the Truist Championship golf tournament at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Friday, May 9, 2025, in Flourtown. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)