The Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black was arguably the most controversial edition of the competition in history, but what did Ben Griffin make of it all?
Griffin was one of Keegan Bradley‘s six captain’s picks and he went into the Ryder Cup as one of the United States’ most consistent players.
However, the 29-year-old only played two matches at Bethpage Black, and that was a huge surprise, given the form he showed during the 2025 PGA Tour season.
Griffin won one match and lost one at the Ryder Cup, but he proved his quality during the Sunday singles.
The American beat Rasmus Hojgaard 1 up, as the home side mounted a hugely impressive fightback on the final day at Bethpage.
Griffin felt bad for the European Ryder Cup players after the awful treatment some of them received throughout the week on Long Island.
And he made that clear to Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood during the Friday four-ball matches.
However, what was his opinion of his Ryder Cup debut overall?
Ben Griffin breaks silence about America’s Ryder Cup defeat
The two-time PGA Tour winner was extremely pumped up ahead of competing against the European side at Bethpage.
He didn’t play as well as he would have liked during the four-ball match alongside his partner, Bryson DeChambeau.
Griffin was asked what it was like to be part of Team USA at Bethpage in September.
“Yeah, incredible“, he said. “It’s really cool to be inside those locker rooms and just see how much support there is from not only previous players but captains and people just involved with the game.
“I felt like every time I was having dinner or in a locker room I was just surrounded by some of the greats around this sport and its invaluable experiences.
“It’s so cool as a rookie to be able to experience this for the first time. I hear guys talk about how they don’t want to miss another Ryder Cup and it makes a lot of sense after getting to experience my first one. It’s so cool. The camaraderie, it’s one week of the year really other than maybe Zurich where it’s really one week of the year where you have multiple players and you all have a common goal and you’re trying to achieve it together. So you’re giving advice, you’re helping each other, you’re trying to understand each other’s games.
“When we compete on Tour, yeah, we have a common goal of trying to win a tournament but no one’s going to give anyone advice, you’re on your own and you’re trying to win it yourself. So it’s really cool to have just so much support for a week from not only teammates, but captains, family, wives and then also the fans. It’s indescribable.
“And being out there and having what I like to call Ryder Cup moments where you make a big putt or you hit an incredible shot from the fairway, the feelings you get after pulling off shots like that.
“So like for instance, me making a 50-footer on No. 7 in my match with DeChambeau, my first match there, that was an out-of-body experience that I can’t replicate on a regular week on Tour. Part of it’s because it’s a match play event and every hole means so much and also because you’re playing for your country.
“Incredible week, incredible experiences, incredible bonds made with other teammates and also captains and just people that surround themselves with the Ryder Cup. It’s really cool and there’s a lot of passion and grit that goes into it. Unfortunately, it was a bummer for us to not get it done on Sunday, but man, what a comeback it was.“
Keegan Bradley made big error not playing Ben Griffin more at the Ryder Cup
Bradley made a whole multitude of mistakes during his tenure as US Ryder Cup captain.
Bradley rolling out Collin Morikawa and Harris English as a pairing in the foursomes on both Friday and Saturday was a catastrophic mistake.
The fact that he allowed Russell Henley to take the tee shots on the odd-numbered holes was truly baffling as well.
However, his decision to play Griffin in just one of the four sessions during the first two days of action has slightly gone under the radar.
Griffin undoubtedly should have been given a run-out in either the foursomes or the four-ball matches on Saturday, or even in both sessions, given the situation the United States found themselves in.
Had Bradley put more trust in Griffin, the final outcome at Bethpage Black may well have been very different.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
