The start to the 2025 Ryder Cup couldn’t have gone much worse for Scottie Scheffler.
He lost both matches on Friday, as Team USA trailed after the first day 5.5 – 2.5. First was a 5&3 defeat to Scottie Scheffler’s Ryder Cup nemesis, Ludvig Aberg, alongside Matt Fitzpatrick. Then followed a 3&2 loss to Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka.
Scheffler’s putting struggles, which had haunted the early stages of his career, resurfaced at Bethpage Black. Until late on Friday afternoon, Scheffler hadn’t sunk a single putt outside of nine feet. He was 12th among all players in strokes gained on the green with -0.62.
Suggestions surfaced that Keegan Bradley should bench Scheffler for one of the Saturday sessions, but Team USA’s captain stuck by his leading man. He’s playing alongside Russell Henley, who took the blame for Friday morning’s defeat.
After Friday’s performance, Bradley backed Scheffler.
Scottie Scheffler’s mood after Friday’s Ryder Cup performance revealed by Keegan Bradley
Scheffler would have been forgiven for being despondent after his opening day at the Ryder Cup. He became the first world number one since Tiger Woods in 2002 to lose both Friday matches.
But players of his quality are resilient, and Bradley revealed that Scheffler is eager to make it up to Team USA on Saturday.
Bradley said, “I think if you ask Scottie, he would say he’s excited tomorrow to go out and play his best golf. When you’re the number one player in the world, you have a day that maybe it wasn’t his best, normally you bounce back.
“We are not worried about Scottie Scheffler. He’s been in great spirits in the team room. He’s eager to get back out there tomorrow.”
Bradley hasn’t done him any favours. Pairing Scheffler with Henley, who looked unsuited to Bethpage Black as one of the shortest players in the Ryder Cup field, was a mistake on Friday. He’s doubling down on that decision for Saturday.
They play Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland, who lost their Friday foursomes match to Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.
Keegan Bradley doubles down on failing Ryder Cup game plan
Some of the blame for Scheffler’s performance so far has to fall on Bradley. He paired the world number one with a Ryder Cup rookie, and neither could get into a rhythm due to Henley’s poor play.
He made a series of questionable decisions on Friday morning which saw Team USA fall into an early hole. Collin Morikawa partnered with Harris English and lost decisively to Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood.
But Bradley is sticking with them for day two, despite Data Golf ranking them as the worst possible partnership for Team USA.
On one hand, he’s showing confidence in his players. But it’s one thing to show confidence in the world number one, Scheffler, who won two major championships in 2025. It’s quite another to lend support to statistically the worst duo that could be picked.
Depending on the results of Saturday’s matches, it could well be stubbornness that sank Bradley and Team USA.
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