Michael Jordan lined up for shocking new venture with USA Ryder Cup team as golf bosses think ‘outside the box’

NBA legend Michael Jordan may be headed for a major role in an entirely different sport.

Jordan has been mentioned as a potential Ryder Cup vice-captain following the surprise appointment of Keegan Bradley for the 2025 match.

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Bradley and Jordan have established a close friendship over the years.

The United States will be desperate to regain Europe’s trophy following their worrying defeat in Rome last year.

And Bradley is the man given the task of leading the team.

It has now been suggested that, with the US apparently “thinking outside the box”, it could defy convention and welcome help from a basketball great.

Former caddy and ESPN writer Michael Collins introduced the idea.

“I think if we go outside the box, give me a college coach who isn’t a golf coach or a different sport,” Collins said.

“Like back in the day, it would have been cool to have Phil Jackson in the room. [Michael] Jordan?”

Jordan is a golf fanatic and has played with many of the best golfers over the years. He has also participated in several Ryder Cups.

“Yeah, the first time I met (Jordan) was in Medinah, and I’ve always said there’s no one who loves golf more than MJ, he plays 36 holes almost every day,” Bradley said a few years ago.

“He loves the Ryder Cup, which is a really cool thing. He always goes, it doesn’t matter if it’s at home or away.”

At the 2018 match in Paris, Jordan visited the visiting team’s locker room and spoke with the American players before the match.

“Michael was talking about how he would always play on the road against tough opponents or crowds that were always against him,” Brooks Koepka said at the time.

“It’s fun to hear a different athlete’s point of view or the way they would do it, and then you can take whatever you want from there.

“He talked about how he didn’t hear the crowd. I understood that he couldn’t wait to shut them up, and the second he left, the quieter they became.

“And you’re laughing inside. You did what you wanted to do. I thought that was really cool.”

It was widely reported that Tiger Woods was the favorite to be Ryder Cup captain next year, but he turned down the role.

It remains to be seen whether the 15-time major winner will now take up the role in the 2027 competition in Ireland.

Bradley played in the 2012 and 2014 Ryder Cups – both American defeats at Medinah and Gleneagles – and was heartbroken when Zach Johnson didn’t select him for Rome last year.

But now he will be able to create more positive memories at Bethpage Black, where the Americans will likely start as favorites.

Europe’s victory in Medinah in 2012 – famously dubbed a “miracle” – is the only time a visiting team has been successful in the last two decades.