Keegan Bradley fell just short of going down in American Ryder Cup history after his USA side narrowly lost to Europe at Bethpage Black.
Bradley will “never forget” his Ryder Cup captaincy, which ultimately ended in heartache despite a last-gasp fightback in New York.
Shane Lowry helped Europe retain the Ryder Cup, finally getting the visitors over the line after a spirited Sunday singles session from the hosts.
Their stunning revival at Bethpage Black wasn’t enough to steal back the Ryder Cup trophy from Europe, who have now won the last two editions of the team event.
European captain Luke Donald has come under heavy praise for his successful efforts once more, but the fallout surrounding his opposite number Bradley has now intensified.
Keegan Bradley criticized for three fundamental mistakes that cost the USA the Ryder Cup
Bradley admitted being frustrated about Bethpage Black in the aftermath, with the course just one area for which he has now come under fire.
Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav, Rex Hoggard said: “A good captain makes all the difference in the world and Luke Donald is a really good captain.
“He had his team ready. Whatever the theme was that he leaned into this time around it worked perfectly. Whereas with Keegan Bradley, we can start picking him apart now.
“I was really reluctant to do this after Friday and Saturday’s sessions but the fact of the matter is that he got some things wrong that I think it’s pretty easy to point out.
“The golf course was set up really incorrectly. We had something closer to the Barclays, the PGA Tour playoff event that was played at Bethpage than the US Open and they needed the US Open layout with the team they had.
“They had the order of play wrong. They should have started with four-balls instead of foursomes. The Americans struggle with foursomes.
“Why did you put them behind the eight ball, essentially, and take the crowd out of it first thing in the morning on both team session days?
“Secondly he got some of the pairings really wrong. I am going to go straight to Collin Morikawa and Harris English.
“It is one thing to get it wrong straight out the gates. You had an idea, you gave it a shot on Friday, and it clearly did not work. It actually failed miserably. And yet you wanted to stay with it.
“You got punched in the mouth like Mike Tyson talks about and your response was that you wanted to get punched in the mouth again. I think you can keep going down the line, but he just made errors which seemed unforced.
“His statisticians did not seem nearly as good as Edoardo Molinari and the European statisticians. This is the pitfall of being a captain and I think Keegan Bradley is going to have to take this one.”
Keegan Bradley mistakes in stark contrast to Luke Donald magic at Bethpage Black
Hindsight is a beautiful thing, particularly in the game of golf, and it’s easy to criticize Bradley after the USA’s display.
He clearly gave his all in the lengthy build-up to the week following his announcement, with his emotions after the event proving just how much the Ryder Cup captaincy meant to him.
At the same time, however, Bradley did make a handful of glaring errors that really didn’t help him or his side at Bethpage, with his course setup, order of play and pairings rightfully being picked apart.
And while they all worked in favour of Donald and Europe, the champions produced a stunning effort from start to finish, which must be taken into consideration.
It will never be known exactly how another US captain would have fared at Bethpage, but the same scenario may have just played out regardless.
Donald was as meticulous as ever in his preparation and his guidance, while his players emphatically stepped up to the plate despite being away from home.
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