Keegan Bradley just wrapped up one of the most eventful-and emotionally complex-seasons of his PGA Tour career. On paper, it was arguably his best campaign since his breakout rookie year.
He captured the Travelers Championship, posted a top-10 finish at the Tour Championship, and came within striking distance of making his third U.S. Ryder Cup team.
But for Bradley, none of that seems to matter as much. Not after captaining a U.S.
Ryder Cup squad that came up short at Bethpage Black. When asked to grade his year, Bradley didn’t hesitate: “F.”
“You’ve got to go and win that and this grade’s different,” he said. “It’s really tough to grade.
I was talking to my coach, he said, ‘Remember, you won this year?’ I was like, ‘No, I don’t remember that at all.’”
That says a lot about where his head is. This wasn’t just another tournament loss or a missed cut.
This was a Ryder Cup-on American soil, no less-and Bradley was the captain. That role carries weight, legacy, and in his case, now, a sense of unfinished business he may never get a chance to resolve.
“I think a year that really no other player has ever experienced,” Bradley said. “I’m proud of the way I played certainly, but the end of the year was difficult.”
What’s especially tough for Bradley is the knowledge that he probably won’t get another shot to make it right. Unlike players who can grind their way back into form after a tough loss, Ryder Cup captaincy isn’t something you can earn through birdies and top-10s.
It’s appointed. It’s selective.
And it’s rare.
“This isn’t something that you lose the Masters, you lose a tournament, I’m going to work extra hard to get back and win,” he explained. “Being the captain of the Ryder Cup team is not something you can work hard for; it’s just something that’s sort of elected on you.
I don’t know. Of course, I would love to do it again, I would love to avenge that loss, but that’s not up to me.”
As of now, the PGA of America hasn’t named a captain for the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland. The name on everyone’s mind?
Tiger Woods. But when asked about it earlier this week in the Bahamas, Woods said plainly, “No one’s asked me about” captaining the next U.S. team.
Bradley, for his part, didn’t push. He knows the hierarchy. And he knows what Tiger brings to the table.
“I think if Tiger wants to do this, he’s going to do it,” Bradley said. “Tiger is not only a hero to all of us that would be on his team, but he’s also an incredible leader and a person that everyone would love to play for. But I’m pretty sure when he wants to do this, he’s going to get to be able to do it.”
Bradley also addressed some post-Ryder Cup noise, specifically comments from Justin Thomas on the No Laying Up podcast. Thomas said there were disagreements between the U.S. team and the Bethpage grounds crew over green speeds during the week. According to Thomas, the greens were significantly slower than what Bradley had requested, and the players weren’t buying the crew’s insistence that they were rolling at a 13 on the Stimpmeter.
“I watched them argue with us that they were 13s,” Thomas said. “It’s like, ‘Guys, we play golf every week.
Like, look on TV at how many guys are leaving putts short. … You can’t have a putt roll 3 feet, 4 feet past the hole.
Like these greens are slow; speed them up.’”
Bradley had made a similar observation during Ryder Cup week, saying on Saturday night that he’d “never seen Bethpage greens play this soft ever.” But on Tuesday, he took a more measured approach, trying to cool down the controversy.
“The Sunday before the Ryder Cup, we lose control of the golf course, the home team,” Bradley explained. “They were given specifications of where to keep the greens, and they felt that they had done that.
They did a great job. It’s so difficult to figure out.
There’s so much going on, and you want the greens at a certain speed and they’re telling you that they are. You’ve got to take their word for it.”
Bradley pointed out that Bethpage’s relatively flat greens make it tough to generate the kind of pace they were aiming for, even with the right setup. But he didn’t throw anyone under the bus.
“The course was in great shape,” he said. “You know, the Europeans, they just played so great.
I wish that we could blame somebody, but we can’t. Blame me.
I blame myself for that loss. It would be nice to blame [the greens], but we can’t.”
That last line says a lot about Bradley’s approach. He’s not ducking responsibility.
He’s not looking for excuses. He knows what the Ryder Cup means, and he knows how much he wanted to deliver.
That it didn’t go his way-despite a strong season individually-makes the sting even sharper.
And while he may never get another shot at redemption in that captain’s chair, Bradley’s honesty and accountability in the aftermath speak volumes. This wasn’t just a tough loss.
It was a defining moment. And he’s owning every bit of it.