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Keegan Bradley has admitted he doesn’t expect to ever get over leading Team USA to a shock Ryder Cup defeat on home soil last month, saying the event has always been “brutal” to him.
The 39-year-old was the youngest captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963 but he oversaw a disastrous campaign that ended with Team Europe winning 15-13 at Bethpage Black – the first away victory for either team since 2012.
Europe raced into a 5½-2½ lead on the opening day and extended that to 11½-4½ by the end of day two – the biggest lead going into the final day in modern Ryder Cup history.
The US fought back in the singles on Sunday, and looked like they may snatch victory at one point, but had ultimately left themselves too much to do as Bradley was forced to accept he made some wrong decisions around pairings and course set-up.
“Since Bethpage, this has been one of the toughest times in my life,” said Bradley at the media day for the Travelers Championship, where he is the defending champion.
“You win, it’s glory for a lifetime – but I didn’t and I’m going to have to sit with this for the rest of my life. There’s no part of me that thinks I’ll ever get over this. This event has been so brutal to me.”
The US won 8½ points from the 12 singles matches on Sunday but the hole they had dug themselves was too great and Bradley acknowledges he was shell-shocked after a disastrous opening two days.
“You put so much into it, and you have all this planning, and the first two days went as poorly as we could have ever thought,” he added. “It was pretty emotional. It was sad, to be honest.”
There was controversy ahead of the Ryder Cup around Bradley’s decision not to select himself to play as a wildcard, after he only narrowly missed out on automatic qualification.
He has made no secret of his desperation to play in another Ryder Cup after suffering defeat on his appearances in 2012 and 2014, before not being selected by Zach Johnson in 2023 despite being in great form.
He still retains that playing goal and wavered on his decision not to pick himself at points during the week at Bethpage before accepting it was the right call.
“I really would enjoy playing in one more. I don’t know if I’ll get the chance,” added Bradley, who will now try to qualify for the next Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland in September 2027.
“This effing event has been so brutal to me. I don’t know if I want to play… No, I do. It’s such a weird thing to love something so much that just doesn’t give you anything.
“I’ll forever wonder and wish that I had a chance to play there [at Bethpage]. The first practice day, I was out on the tee, and I was watching the guys walk down the fairway all together, and I said: ‘I wish I was playing. That’s what it’s all about. I’m missing out.’
“By the second or third day I was like ‘It’s a good thing I’m not playing,’ because I was so physically exhausted… Good thing I didn’t do it, because it would have been bad. I just didn’t think I could do both jobs.”
Despite the frustrating result, Bradley admitted he was humbled by the experience of being Ryder Cup captain in the year before the event.
“I didn’t expect the support from the fans,” explained Bradley. “In the history of the game – back to Bobby Jones, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus – I don’t know if any of them got to experience what I experienced this year.
“I got to experience something in the game of golf that I don’t think anyone’s ever experienced: where I’m the Ryder Cup captain but also competing at a very high level, and winning tournaments, and contending in tournaments. And it was really incredible.”
