One of the big questions coming out of the 2025 Ryder Cup is what is next for Keegan Bradley after Team USA’s loss at Bethpage Black this past week?
The gamble to appoint Keegan Bradley as the captain of the US Ryder Cup team did not pay off, with Europe becoming the first away side since 2012 to win the event. In truth, the scoreline largely flattered the Americans based on how they were outclassed over the first two days.
Those who feared that Bradley had been put in an impossible position by the PGA of America were proven right.
It proved to be too big a role for someone enjoying one of the best spells of their playing career.
Keegan Bradley needs to be at Adare Manor in 2027, but not as Team USA’s captain
Team USA handed Davis Love III the chance to avenge Medinah by making him captain again in 2016 at Hazeltine. So there will be some wondering if the 39-year-old will be given a shot at redemption at Adare Manor in two years.
What may boost Bradley’s cause is the likes of Phil Mickelson ruling themselves out of the captaincy. But it is nearly impossible to ignore the fact that the 2011 PGA Championship winner should have been playing on the last two American teams.
Given his age, some will doubt whether he will ever get the chance to make a third Ryder Cup team.
However, Bradley only needs to look at one of the players who tormented his team this past week to realise that there is no reason to think he cannot play in Ireland in 2027.
Justin Rose failed to make the European team for Whistling Straits in 2021. It was the first team he had missed out on since being overlooked by Colin Montgomerie in 2010.
Rose was 41 when he was left at home by Padraig Harrington.
But of course, he has gone on to add to his Ryder Cup legacy in the last two events. He was superb alongside Robert MacIntyre in Rome, making an iconic putt on the 18th green on Friday evening.
However, he was even better at Bethpage. Rose won two points from two matches alongside Tommy Fleetwood, before taking Cameron Young all the way in the top match in the singles.
It was frightening just how many putts he made. Only Sepp Straka gained more strokes on the greens throughout the week than the 45-year-old, according to Data Golf.
It was probably no surprise that Bradley vented his frustration when Rose was working out where he could take a drop on the 13th hole on Sunday.
The Englishman would still manage to get up and down from an awful spot to win the hole.
Team USA need their own Justin Rose at the Ryder Cup
Admittedly, Rose has never gone more than a decade without playing in the Ryder Cup since his debut at Valhalla in 2008.
But what the 2013 US Open champion is doing in the event at this stage of his career is magical. He has managed to elevate MacIntyre and, to a lesser degree, Fleetwood. And he very nearly got something from his singles match with, by far, the best American performer at Bethpage.
Bradley was electric on his Ryder Cup bow in 2012. And as mentioned, he has perhaps never been better than he is right now.
If he can sustain something like this form over the next couple of years, Bradley has the passion to be a key player at Adare Manor.
Rose has played at the last two Ryder Cups like someone who is determined to enjoy every second in case the opportunity does not come around again. And it is hard to imagine that not inspiring his teammates, particularly those in any sort of doubt about what the event means.
Team USA have the ideal player for that role. His name is Keegan Bradley.
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