Keegan Bradley's butterfly effect: These small moments have led to big year for U.S. Ryder Cup captain

The seven-time PGA Tour winner barely even made it into last week's BMW Championship field

Golf careers are highlighted by tremendous triumph in memorable moments, but memorable moments are built on top of tiny circumstances -- these little butterfly-effect happenings that are barely even noticed until they become part of the bigger narrative.

Keegan Bradley has had a couple of those tremendous triumphs that make a career in the last several months, but they would not have been possible if not for the bizarre things that unfolded before them.

The first was on July 8 when Bradley was named U.S. Ryder Cup captain. It was a move nobody saw coming but the type of announcement that can change the trajectory of one's entire professional life.