Keegan Bradley Owns Course Setup Misfire as Team USA Falls Short at Ryder Cup
The 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black ended with another European celebration - and a lot of what-ifs for Team USA. After a spirited Sunday rally that made the final 15-13 scoreline look tighter than the early sessions suggested, U.S. captain Keegan Bradley didn’t shy away from accountability. In fact, he leaned into it.
“We tried to set the course up to help our team,” Bradley said after the loss. “Obviously, it wasn’t the right decision.”
That decision - the way the course was prepared - became one of the major talking points of the week, particularly the condition of the greens. Bradley, who knows Bethpage Black as well as anyone, was surprised by how soft the putting surfaces played.
“I’ve never seen Bethpage greens play this soft ever,” he said. “Even when we’ve played here and it’s rained, this is something that I’ve never seen. Chip shots are spinning backwards.”
That softness didn’t just catch Bradley off guard - it may have tilted the playing field in a way that didn’t favor the Americans. Team USA has historically leaned into faster greens as a home-course advantage, especially given the PGA Tour's tendency to run quicker surfaces than the DP World Tour. But that edge never really materialized - at least not until Sunday.
When the U.S. mounted its comeback in the Singles matches, the greens finally seemed to firm up and pick up speed. It was the first time all week they resembled the kind of surfaces the Americans are used to - and, not coincidentally, the first time they looked comfortable on them.
Putts started falling. The confidence returned.
But by then, the damage had been done.
Justin Thomas shed more light on the situation during a recent appearance on the No Laying Up podcast, revealing that there was tension between the U.S. team and the Bethpage Black grounds crew over how the greens were rolling.
“I don’t know why [the greens] weren’t at all what Keegan had asked for,” Thomas said. “He had been pretty clear about wanting a certain speed.
I watched them argue with us that they were 13s [on the Stimpmeter]. It’s like, ‘Guys, we play golf every week.
Look on TV - how many guys are leaving putts short?’”
Thomas’ frustration was clear. The Americans felt the greens were too slow for their liking, and when they pushed for faster conditions, they were met with resistance - something that’s almost unheard of for a host team at a Ryder Cup.
“It was just bizarre,” Thomas continued. “That’s not something you expect at a home Ryder Cup. A fun advantage you generally have is being able to do that a little bit, and it was just so frustrating that we were being fought with and argued with on the speed of the greens we asked for.”
That kind of disconnect is rare - and costly. The U.S. team was already facing the pressure of bouncing back from a lackluster opening two days, and the course setup didn’t exactly help their cause. While it would be easy to chalk it up as an excuse, there’s historical precedent here: the Americans tend to thrive on faster greens, and the Europeans - once again - made more putts when it mattered.
It’s the second straight Ryder Cup where Europe simply looked more comfortable on the greens, regardless of location. The U.S. might have had the New York crowd behind them, but the Europeans had the touch. And while the galleries brought the energy all week, the behind-the-scenes friction with the grounds crew became an unexpected subplot - and a frustrating one for the hosts.
Bradley owned the misstep. As captain, he took the blame. But the real sting might come from knowing the U.S. had a potential edge in their back pocket - and just couldn’t use it.