Keegan Bradley claimed to have been so angry with something that was ‘jarring to see’ at the Ryder Cup

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Bethpage Black looked like a completely different golf course during Ryder Cup week.

Keegan Bradley set the golf course up the way he thought would benefit his US Ryder Cup team, but Team Europe ended up dominating his side, especially during the first two days.

Sure, the USA made an incredible comeback during the Sunday singles matches at Bethpage Black but it was too little, too late in the end.

Bradley was frustrated with the softness of Bethpage during the Ryder Cup, but he did admit that he made mistakes regarding the course setup.

The golf course was unrecognizable from the one we’ve seen hold US Opens and the PGA Championship in the past.

Bradley complained about the greens at Bethpage, but he was the one who decided to turn the Ryder Cup into a putting contest, after ordering the rough to be cut down to almost non-existent levels.

The 39-year-old from Vermont will surely admit that he would do a lot of things differently if he could turn back time to Friday morning.

That obviously isn’t possible, so the important thing now will be for the PGA of America to ensure that the mistakes Bradley and his team made are not repeated.

Keegan Bradley angry with something ‘jarring’ at the Ryder Cup

Bradley has received huge criticism from fans and golf journalists alike after some of the woeful decisions he made during Ryder Cup week.

Some of his pairing selections were head-scratching, none more so than the Collin Morikawa and Harris English partnership.

Some of his captain’s picks were called into question as well, including Morikawa and Sam Burns.

However, there were other issues caused by Bradley aside from the players he selected for the foursomes and four-ball matches.

Dan Rapaport was speaking on his Dan on Golf Podcast when he made a great point about the setup at Bethpage.

He said: “Keegan Bradley was asked what he would do differently, and the number one thing was the way the golf course was set up.

“I don’t know why they had the tournament at Bethpage Black if it was side about that. I say this without exaggeration, distance aside, Bethpage Black played harder when you and your buddies played harder when you and your buddies camped out to play the golf course. It was actually unrecognizable, it was actually jarring to see.

“I’m not saying that the course suited one team or the other because the teams were a statistical dead heat going in. The Europeans all play in the US a lot.

“J.J. Spaun hit a five-wood from the middle of the fairway and it stopped where it landed, it was crazy.

“They might as well have had it at any random course if the greens were that soft, it was Bethpage Pink not Bethpage Black. It was TPC Bethpage.

“One of the reasons why this Ryder Cup was going to be so special was because of Bethpage Black and the beast. We all know that sign, highly skilled golfers only, that was ironic this week.

“If this was a PGA Tour event and this was the setup where there was no penalty for missing, everyone would complain this is a joke of a setup. There was no penalty for missing, you could hit it absolutely anywhere. I can’t believe they neutered Bethpage Black like that.

“You could tell Keegan was pissed, you could tell Keegan didn’t want it like that. He said, ‘I’ve never seen the greens this soft’, then he would catch himself and say, ‘they were perfect, the PGA of America, the grounds crew did an unbelievable job’. I don’t know if I agree with that.

“It was bad to watch. There was no penalty for being short-sided, there was no penalty for being further back, it was target practice.“

Keegan Bradley to blame for the Ryder Cup Beatdown at Bethpage

The decision to set Bethpage Black up as easy as they did was a huge mistake.

Bradley may have lamented the rain and the softness of the golf course but he was the one who decided to take any kind of penalty out of play by having the rough cut down.

In doing so, it neutered the strengths of their best players. Scottie Scheffler is the best driver of the golf ball in the game.

Meanwhile, the likes of J.J. Spaun, Russell Henley, and Collin Morikawa are at their best when playing courses that reward straight driving.

Sure, it would have been better for the viewers and the American team had the golf course been playing firm.

However, even it had been, the fact that there was no rough would have meant that the golf course was still fairly easy to play.

Bradley made a whole host of poor decisions during his Ryder Cup captaincy, but the setup of the golf course at Bethpage Black was one of the biggest mistakes.