One month removed from the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, U.S. captain Keegan Bradley is still pondering what could have been in the biennial competition against Europe. Speaking publicly at the Travelers Championship media day for the first time since the event, the U.S. skipper opened up about what has been going through his mind since leaving Bethpage Black without the Ryder Cup in hand.
“You win, it’s glory for a lifetime. You lose, it’s ‘I’m going to have to sit with this for the rest of my life,'” Bradley said. “There’s no part of me that thinks I’ll ever get over this.”
Bradley’s U.S. side ultimately fell 15 to 13 to Europe but not without a near-historic comeback on Sunday. Entering the final day of competition down 11.5 to 4.5, the U.S. lost only one match to make the final tally much closer than many had thought going into Sunday singles.
The deficit was so daunting heading into singles that Bradley admitted that he had to gather himself before addressing the team Saturday night.
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“Since the Ryder Cup to now has been one of the toughest times in my life,” Bradley said. “You put so much into something that I think even if you win they call it the Ryder Cup hangover where you’re just mentally and physically gone.
“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 and then we had that amazing rally on Sunday.”
The final score only highlights what could have been for Bradley and the red, white and blue. The headman admitted in the team press conference following conclusion of play that he wished he would have set up Bethpage Black in a different manner. European leadership noted they were pleasantly surprised with the way the golf course was set up when they arrived on site.
While that was the decision the week of the competition, Bradley’s decision to not put himself on the playing roster was one that followed him from week to week on the PGA Tour. Winning the Travelers Championship at the end of June only heightened the noise as he climbed inside the top 10 in the Official World Golf Rankings at the time.
The two-time playing participant ultimately decided to only take on the captaincy and leave his clubs at home. Bradley noted the week of the Ryder Cup that he thought about what it would have been like playing and echoed similar sentiments on Monday.
“I’ll forever wonder and wish that I had a chance to play there,” Bradley said. “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.”
At 39 years of age, Bradley may have passed up his last opportunity to swing the sticks in a Ryder Cup — a reality not lost on him. Only Justin Rose, age 45, was his elder among the 24 players between the U.S. and European teams.
Still, the current world No. 14 wants one more crack at it, even if his love affair with the Ryder Cup continues to be one-sided.
“This effing event has been so brutal to me. I don’t know if I want to play. No, I do,” Bradley said as he corrected himself. “It’s such a weird thing to love something so much that just doesn’t give you anything.”