Keegan Bradley faced plenty of criticism for some of the decisions he made during the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in September.
It was a big surprise when Keegan Bradley was named captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup back in 2024.
Even Bradley himself didn’t expect it, saying at the time that he was completely caught off guard by the news.
“It’s hard to describe the feeling as I truly had no clue,” Bradley said on the Fore Play Podcast. “Imagine that you guys got a call to be the Ryder Cup captain. I couldn’t believe it. They were expecting a huge reaction from me, and to be honest with you, I was shell-shocked.”
But once play got underway, things quickly turned sour for the 39-year-old. The course setup was widely criticised for being too straightforward, and his decision to pair Collin Morikawa with Harris English twice also raised eyebrows.
Nobody questioned his commitment or effort – Bradley clearly wanted to get it right and worked hard in preparation.
Still, his repeated choice to ignore what the data suggested ended up being a major sticking point.
Keegan Bradley made an ‘unfathomable’ call ahead of the Ryder Cup
Bradley received his share of criticism for how things unfolded at Bethpage Black, but there are still aspects of his time in charge that deserve recognition.
The PGA of America put him in a difficult position. At the time, he was still an active player and playing well, which made the timing unusual.
Despite the challenges, Bradley continued to focus on what he believed was best for his team.
Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav, journalist Ryan Lavner said that one of Bradley’s decisions before the event was genuinely hard to believe.
“I’ve been pretty clear about this over the past couple of months. I give Keegan Bradley a monsoon of credit for compartmentalising these two parts of his life,” said Lavner. “Again, for a job that he did not want.”
“Did he want to do it eventually? Sure. Did he want to do it at that stage of his career about 15 months before the Ryder Cup was going to be played when he was still a top 20 player in the world? Absolutely not.”
“He said it took him by complete surprise. One of the biggest surprises he could have ever been thrown in his entire life.”
“And yet, I think all of us expected… you look at what precedent is for this, and sitting U.S. Ryder Cup captain typically falls off a cliff playing-wise because they’re just too distracted,” continued Lavner.
“So for Keegan Bradley to put himself even in position to make his own team was seemingly unfathomable, winning a signature event – the Travelers Championship – was unbelievable.”
Bradley’s Ryder Cup Captaincy did not go well, claims golf journalist
While Lavner gave credit to Bradley for maintaining a high standard of play during the 2025 PGA Tour season, he also criticised some of the decisions made during the competition itself.
He said: “The week of the Ryder Cup couldn’t have gone much worse. You look at what the setup was, you look at the bickering now between Justin Thomas and the Bethpage golf course setup crew about green speeds.
“You look at cutting the rough, you look at the data and Harris English and Collin Morikawa were quite literally the worst possible analytical pairing, according to Data Golf, and they didn’t send them out just once. They sent them out twice after getting beat roundly in foursomes.
“Keegan Bradley, I think, did not do a good enough job of calming down what was a vicious, uh, vitriolic crowd towards Rory McIlroy, and a lot of the Europeans.
“Will he get another shot? Keep your breath. He certainly sounds like he wants one.“
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