Ryder Cup: Keegan Bradley talks Team USA’s loss to Team Europe in New York and the ‘tough times’ that followed | Golf news
Keegan Bradley has described life after Team USA’s Ryder Cup defeat as “one of the hardest times” of his life and fears he will never “get over” his loss to Team Europe in New York.
Bradley was captain of the 2025 contest at Bethpage Black, where Luke Donald’s European team dominated the first two days before closing out a 15-13 victory and successfully defending their title on American soil.
Europe’s victory was the first – by either team – in an away Ryder Cup since the 2012 “Miracle at Medinah”, with Bradley’s pairs and course layout among those interviewed after the US team’s home defeat.
Speaking publicly for the first time since that defeat, Bradley said at a Travelers Championship media day: “You win, that’s the glory of a lifetime. If you lose, it’s ‘I’m going to have to sit with that for the rest of my life.’
“There’s no part of me that thinks I’ll ever get over it. From the Ryder Cup to today, it’s been one of the hardest times of my life.”
The American team needed a record singles record to avoid a heavier defeat, winning by 8.5 points on the final day and threatening a historic comeback after Europe built a seven-point lead over the first two days.
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A look at some of the best shots from the final day of the Ryder Cup, where Team USA produced an impressive singles fightback to narrow Europe’s margin of victory
“You put so much into it, you have all this planning, and the first two days went as bad as we could have thought,” Bradley admitted. “Then we had this incredible rally on Sunday.
“What I tried to remember were the incredible memories I had with the guys – the times in the locker room and the emotional moments we had together.”
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Watch some of the best shots from the 2025 Ryder Cup, where Team Europe scored an impressive victory
Why playing captain “would have been bad”
Bradley’s victory at the Travelers Championship in June raised the possibility that he would be the first playing captain at the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963, something he now acknowledges would have been a mistake.
“I will always wonder and wish I had the chance to play there,” he said. “The first day of practice, I was standing on the tee and watching the guys walking down the fairway all together, and I said, ‘I wish I had played. That’s what it’s all about. I’m missing out.’
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Team USA captain Keegan Bradley praised Luke Donald after the European team won the Ryder Cup.
“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, because that would have been bad,” Bradley said. “I just didn’t think I could do both jobs.”
Bradley said he is still trying to get out of the “Ryder Cup fog” and refocus on being a PGA Tour player, while still holding out hope of representing Team USA again in the future.
“I would really like to play in another [Ryder Cup]” admitted Bradley. “I don’t know if I’ll get the chance.
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Speaking on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast, Andrew Coltart and Rich Beem analyze Keegan Bradley’s captaincy at the 2025 Ryder Cup
“This event was so brutal for me. I don’t know if I want to play. No, I do. It’s such a strange thing to love something so much that doesn’t give you anything.”
What’s next?
The next Ryder Cup will take place at Adare Manor in Ireland from September 17-19, 2027 – the second time the event has been held in Ireland and the centenary staging of the biennial competition. Get Sky Sports or stream without a contract NOW.
