Not only do Team USA need to recover from another Ryder Cup loss, but they also head to Adare Manor in 2027 looking to build an identity which improves their chances of ending what will be a 34-year wait for an away victory.
The score at the 2025 Ryder Cup does not tell the full story. Europe ultimately won 15-13 at Bethpage last month. However, Luke Donald‘s men were able to win just one match on Sunday and still leave with the trophy.
Keegan Bradley made plenty of mistakes. Bradley admitted his regret over how Bethpage was set up.
Meanwhile, there was some confusion over the captain’s pairings. Bradley was forced to defend his decision to use Collin Morikawa and Harris English together in two sessions.
‘The worst possible idea’ the PGA of America could have for the 2027 Ryder Cup captain
The 39-year-old was a surprise pick for the captaincy. Tiger Woods turned down the role. Nevertheless, few would have ever imagined that Bradley would get the call.
It will be interesting to see whether Woods would be interested in taking charge in 2027. Some want to see Bradley get another opportunity at Adare Manor.
But one person who does not want Bradley leading the team again is writer Shane Ryan. Speaking on Golf Channel, Ryan insisted that it would be a terrible move for the PGA of America to keep him in charge.
“Here’s the thing, I don’t blame Keegan Bradley for being offered the job. That was a bad mistake, I thought, the PGA of America made – and an obvious one,” he said.
“He didn’t have any experience, he wasn’t ready for the role. He was going to be playing the whole time which was going to detract from any leadership thing.
“But I do blame him for taking the job. He shouldn’t have done that.
“I do blame him for not listening maybe to the stats guys, that was the impression I got. I do blame him for making some of the same mistakes over and over again.
“I blame him for making it so much about himself that after the Presidents Cup, he did this big speech about how they’re going to go to Bethpage and kick Europe’s you know what’s. Gave them bulletin board material.
“The leadership was so flawed from beginning to end that the question you ask Rex, and I know you’re just asking in good faith, it fills me with rage, the concept that you would offer him the captaincy again. It is the worst possible idea. Of all the solutions they could come up with, this, I think, is the worst one.
“So I hope they don’t do it, but history indicates that it’s a coin flip, they have a 50 per cent chance of going that exact route.”
The decision Keegan Bradley should make if offered the Ryder Cup captaincy in 2027
Knowing what he knows now, it is hard to imagine Bradley being captain again.
Ultimately, his decision all but cost him the chance to make a third appearance as a player. Any other captain would have surely included Bradley in their team.
There is an argument that the 2011 PGA Championship winner is playing the best golf of his career right now. He has won in each of the last four years on the PGA Tour.
And he will also be aware that he may not have many more opportunities to make the team as a player. A second shot at the captaincy can wait.
As Bradley knows all too well, there were 21 years between Tom Watson’s two spells as captain.
His focus should be on making the team in Ireland as a player. So if the PGA of America do reach out, Bradley should certainly reject the call.
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