Keegan Bradley was always going to have a tough time at the Ryder Cup, especially with Luke Donald already holding a captaincy win before arriving at Bethpage Black.
And when he was named Team USA captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup, it took most people by surprise — including Keegan Bradley himself.
There was never any question about Bradley’s passion for the event or his familiarity with Bethpage Black. But it was still a risky move by the PGA of America to pick him, especially while he was still playing some of his best golf.
Did Keegan Bradley make mistakes as Ryder Cup captain?
The decision to bring back Rickie Fowler and Tony Finau raised eyebrows in both cases. And although both players had their moments, neither managed to win more than one point for Team USA. They were two of several picks that didn’t quite pan out.
Sam Burns also struggled, failing to add much for Team USA beyond one point on Saturday afternoon. His only highlight came during the Friday fourballs alongside Max Homa.
The final two selections fell even flatter. Chris Kirk played just once, losing 4&3 in his Friday foursome match with Brian Harman against Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick. Cameron Young didn’t feature until Sunday singles and lost heavily, 7&5, against Rory McIlroy — one of Europe’s three victories that day.
Bradley would have known that results matter more than good intentions in this event. Even if he had started strong, Jon Rahm said before play began that there would be “no second chances” from him after missing out on automatic selection.
If he returns as captain down the line, there will be lessons learned from this experience — because what happened at Bethpage Black wasn’t just another loss; it was another blow in what’s becoming a tough stretch for Team USA in Ryder Cups.
Edoardo Molinari reflects on Ryder Cup pairing decision that caught him off guard
Europe took home the win 15-13, but only after a late push from the Americans on Sunday made things interesting. Donald’s side managed to clinch it despite winning just one singles match.
That led to questions about some of Bradley’s choices, especially with how close the final score was.
One move that drew attention was pairing Collin Morikawa and Harris English for both foursomes sessions. They lost their opening match 5&4 and were sent out again the next day, losing once more to Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood.
Bradley stood by his decision to keep them together. But speaking on Fried Egg Golf, Edoardo Molinari said he was surprised when he saw Saturday’s pairings on Friday night.
“For the second time, I would say I was very surprised,” he said. “I think the first time if you want to play everyone on the first day, you have to make sacrifices somewhere.”
“And I guess in matchplay anything can happen. Like, the differences between these guys is not that big. So they could have easily gone and played well and won the game.”
How the European team responded to Keegan Bradley’s setup of Bethpage
After the Ryder Cup loss, Bradley admitted that he had made a mistake with how Bethpage was set up. The course, usually known for its tough conditions, had shorter rough and softer greens than what players would expect during a major championship.
Bradley seemed to have overseen changes similar to those that helped the American team during the 2016 Ryder Cup.
Molinari noted that once they arrived and saw how it was set up, the European side were pretty happy with what they found.
“I would say the course setup, that definitely surprised me, in a good way. We were kind of hoping that they were going to go with the usual setup of no rough and make it a birdie-fest because we felt like we were making more birdies than they were,” he added.
“We had some very long hitters that were very happy seeing no rough. Even someone like Rory, he can play any course in the world, but if he can pick and choose a golf course, it would be very long, not much rough, soft-ish greens so even if he’s in the rough he can go for pins. And this year he’s had the best putting year of his career. So all those things combined.”
“When we went there for the practice trip, we were kind of hoping it was going to be what we saw. And then by the time Monday of the Ryder Cup came, they cut down the rough even more which was again very surprising in a very good way.”
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The worry for fans of Team USA is how avoidable some of these errors seemed to be. The likes of Russell Henley, Morikawa and J.J. Spaun are not among the longest hitters on tour but are still exceptional iron players.
If conditions had been tougher Bryson DeChambeau’s power could have been maximised too given his ball-striking ability from thicker grass off fairways has proven handy over time.
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