No one felt the impact of Team USA’s failure to protect home soil more than Keegan Bradley, because I’m not sure there’s a single person stateside who cares about the Ryder Cup more than the 39-year-old captain.
His players fought for him on that final day, making a serious push at an all-time comeback during Sunday Singles, but it wasn’t enough. The Americans watched their counterparts celebrate at Bethpage Black after falling 15-13.
We haven’t seen Bradley since his closing press conference on Long Island, but on Monday, he visited with a media contingent at Travelers Championship media day at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, Massachusetts. During a wide-ranging chat with Chris Berman, Bradley spoke on his disappointment.
“You win, it’s glory for a lifetime,” Bradley said. “You lose, it’s ‘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. Since the Ryder Cup till now has been one of the toughest times in my life.”
For months leading up to the event, all the speculation surrounding Bradley was whether he would choose himself for the team and become the first playing captain at the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer. He eventually chose not to, but the back and forth in his head continued during practice days.
“I’ll forever wonder and wish that I had a chance to play there, 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,” Bradley said.
“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.”
The next Ryder Cup will be at Adare Manor in 2027, and Bradley will be 41. But I think he has a shot to be on that team. We’ve seen what Justin Rose has done for the Europeans, and Bradley is coming off a season where he made 19 of 21 cuts and won the Travelers Championship. The dude can still golf his ball.
“I really would enjoy playing in one more…I don’t know if I’ll get the chance,” Bradley said. “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.”
As a fellow New Englander, I want nothing more than to see Bradley don red, white, and blue one last time. What a story that would be.
