Keegan Bradley quite simply underperformed in his role as Ryder Cup captain.
That may sound harsh on Bradley but it’s the truth; in elite level sport, there is no time for sentiment unfortunately.
The US Ryder Cup team were out-prepared by the Europeans at Bethpage Black and that is totally unacceptable.
Luke Donald and his backroom team relied upon and implemented extremely high-level data which the United States obviously didn’t.
If they had, Russell Henley would not have chosen the odd holes in his Ryder Cup foursomes match.
Collin Morikawa and Harris English would not have been used as a partnership either. There was a certain amount of arrogance which surrounded the American team and their preparation heading into the Ryder Cup.
Bradley made a huge mistake with the Ryder Cup setup at Bethpage by instructing the green staff to trim down the rough, and effectively taking away any penalty for wayward drives or iron shots into greens.
And after the Europeans won the contest, Bradley’s actions have been called into question.
Keegan Bradley accused of ‘sour grapes’ following Ryder Cup incident
Bradley just seemed to be out of his depth at Bethpage.
Not only did he make a succession of baffling decisions, but he also delivered some baffling answers during his press conferences throughout the week, none more so than his famous, ‘this is our plan and we’re sticking to it’ in regards to the Morikawa and English partnership.
And he didn’t cover himself in glory immediately after Team Europe were confirmed as Ryder Cup winners either.
The ‘envelope rule’ is one of the more obscure Ryder Cup regulations, and it has been in play since the 1970s.
So when Viktor Hovland had to pull out of the Saturday afternoon four-ball matches with a neck injury, the rule was destined to be used for only the third time in the history of the Ryder Cup.
Hovland’s unavailability meant that both teams got half a point and Europe then only required 2.5 points to win the Ryder Cup on Sunday.
The way things panned out on Sunday meant that half point for Hovland was very important for Luke Donald’s side.
Now Ryan Lavner of the Golf Channel has delivered his verdict on the incident and Bradley’s reaction.
“It did sound a little bit like sour grapes from Keegan Bradley on Sunday night. This is part of the captain’s agreement and he signed off on it. He agreed with it.
“He probably thought just as every captain since 1993 has thought, I understand the rule, but it’s highly, highly unlikely that this is going to need to be implemented.
“I do think that it’s a fun little quirk. It’s an homage to a different era of the Ryder Cup, back in the late 70’s, which was filled with sportsmanship and honour and integrity. It’s really just an exhibition.
“The general thought back in 1979 was that you don’t want a player to risk further injury by having to subject himself to 18 extra holes at least when he’s not physically fit enough to do so. So in an exhibition just give each team half a point.
“Obviously the Ryder Cup has evolved into something else, but I’m not sure you should just abandon that.
“Where I think a lot of fans lie is that it’s a little bit suspicious. The European team were suspicious of what happened with Steve Pate in 1991. A lot of folks, even on the US team, Justin Thomas’ reaction was captured on video of Viktor Hovland not being able to play in Sunday singles, knowing a half point puts them much closer to their goal of 14 points.
“Had Viktor Hovland tried to go out with an injury he would likely have been unable to compete and all of a sudden the Europeans, if given a choice, had the choice of zero points or when you are two and a half points from retaining the cup, do you want a half point?
“I understand the level of suspicion, even if I think in this case it was not warranted. Viktor Hovland clearly had an injury and could not play in Saturday four-balls. He had to get an MRI and according to his doctor could not move his neck left to right before teeing off. He is legitimately injured and it’s bothered him for the last couple of months.“
Keegan Bradley’s sour grapes an example of his lack of Ryder Cup leadership
The time for him to complain about the rule was before he signed the captain’s agreement, not after his team lost the Ryder Cup.
I’m sorry but it just doesn’t work that way.
Let’s not forget either that when it happened back in 1991, the scores were a lot closer and Steve Pate was set to play Seve Ballesteros in the singles, before pulling out.
The USA obviously went on to win the Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island and for Bradley to demand a rule change immediately after his team lost, by two points no less, was just plain wrong.
As Lavner suggested, it was nothing more than sour grapes from the man from Vermont.
It’s ok to want the ‘envelope rule’ to be changed; many fans do. However, for Bradley to bring that up just after the Europeans had won the Ryder Cup was really poor from him, and he probably regrets that now.
It was yet another example of his lack of real leadership.
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