U.S. captain Keegan Bradley spoke Monday for the first time since his biggest loss of the year, the Ryder Cup, on the scene of his greatest triumph of 2025, the Travelers Championship. Team USA’s loss at Bethpage Black was the talking point.
At a media day at next year’s Travelers Championship, Bradley opened up about the “emotional” toll the Ryder Cup defeat had taken on him, claiming he would never forget it and even questioning whether he would want to play “this nasty event” again.
Bradley reveals post-Ryder Cup was ‘toughest time of my life’
Even before Bradley accepted the captaincy of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2025, it was clear how important the biennial event was to him. Just look at his emotional reaction when Team USA was snubbed in 2023, made famous by Netflix’s All Out.
He was clear, and regularly explained publicly before games, that winning the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black would be celebrated for decades and possibly define his career. On the other hand, captaining his team to a loss on American soil will forever haunt him.
‘A mistake was made’: Keegan Bradley shares first Ryder Cup regret
go through:
Josh Berhow
He reiterated this on Monday in his first comments to reporters since Bethpage Black’s loss.
“You win, it’s the honor of a lifetime,” Bradley said Monday. “You lose and it’s ‘I’m going to have to live with this for the rest of my life.'”
As the dust settled on the results, Bradley was brutally honest about how difficult it has been to accept the reality of defeat over the past few weeks.
“There’s no part of me that thinks I’m going to get over this,” Bradley admitted. “The Ryder Cup to now has been one of the hardest times of my life.”
The American captain explained in more detail how difficult it was to see Team Europe dominate the first two days of the Ryder Cup, given his years of planning and preparation.
“You put so much effort into it and you do all this planning, and then the first two days were as bad as we thought they would be,” he said. “It’s very emotional. It’s sad, to be honest.”
But Bradley has had at least one positive outcome from his time as Ryder Cup captain. Bradley was already one of the best players in the world when he was chosen to captain the Ryder Cup, and he was given the unique experience of traveling from one tour to the next, with American fans cheering him on all the way.
“In the history of the sport — going back to Bobby Jones, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus — I don’t know if any of them have been through what I’ve been through this year,” Bradley explained. “I’ve experienced something in golf that I don’t think anyone has ever experienced: I was a Ryder Cup captain but also competed at a very high level and won tournaments and competed in tournaments. It was really incredible.”
Bradley says Ryder Cup was ‘too brutal for me’
Leading up to the Ryder Cup, the biggest question discussed in the golf world was whether Bradley would choose to join the U.S. team himself. He finished 11th in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings and ranked among the top Americans in the Official World Golf Rankings.
Bradley ultimately decided against it, arguing his focus should be on his duties as captain. But Bradley revealed on Monday that during a practice round at Bethpage, he began to regret his decision.
“I’ve always wondered and wished I had the opportunity to play there. The first practice day, I stood on the tee and looked at the guys walking down the fairway together and I said, ‘I wish I could play. That’s what it’s all about. I missed it,'” Bradley revealed.
‘Must change’: Keegan Bradley slams 1 rule after Ryder Cup defeat
go through:
Nick Piastowski
But after a few grueling days on the black court, the American captain realized that being a game captain “would suck.”
“By the second or third day, I was like, ‘It’s a good thing I’m not going to play,’ because my body was so exhausted. … It’s a good thing I didn’t do that, because that would have been terrible.”
Bradley, 39, is playing the best golf of his life and is an easy choice to make the 2027 U.S. Ryder Cup team, even an automatic spot.
But when asked about the future of the Ryder Cup, Bradley’s first reaction was to question whether he wanted to play the event again because of how “cruel” it was for him.
“This damn incident was so brutal for me. I don’t know if I want to compete. No, I do,” Bradley said. “It’s a strange thing to love something so much and not be able to give you anything.”
Finally the idea came to him.
“I would really love to play one more game,” Bradley admitted. “I don’t know if I have a chance.”
; "Keegan Bradley questions Ryder Cup future: 'This terrible tournament' 1")
