Keegan Bradley very nearly oversaw one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time on Sunday at the Ryder Cup, with Team USA almost overturning a seven point deficit at Bethpage Black.
Ultimately, the damage was already done. Europe found themselves in a position to win only one singles match and still leave New York with the Ryder Cup.
Some want to see Keegan Bradley get another opportunity in 2027.
Did Keegan Bradley make a bigger mistake than how he set up Bethpage Black at the Ryder Cup?
But perhaps there is already some evidence this week which highlights why sticking with Bradley for Adare Manor may be too much of a gamble from the PGA of America.
Keegan Bradley asked whether he would be interested in being 2027 Ryder Cup captain
Keegan Bradley will be the first to admit that he made a number of mistakes. In fact, Bradley conceded Bethpage was set up incorrectly in the press conference after Sunday’s finale.
Meanwhile, pairing Collin Morikawa and Harris English together twice symbolised how different the American approach was to Europe’s. One statistics company listed Morikawa and English as the worst possible foursomes pairing Bradley could turn to – out of 132 options.
But Brandel Chamblee also picked up on an error Bradley made several months earlier.
Chamblee said Luke Donald would never have made the kind of comments Bradley made to the American team at the Presidents Cup the previous year about how they were going to – let’s say – beat Europe aggressively.
Bradley’s passion for the event cannot be questioned. It was heartbreaking to see the moment the 39-year-old announced he would not be playing. Any other captain would have picked Bradley this year.
And obviously, Team USA did not lose the Ryder Cup because of Bradley’s comments at Royal Montreal – even if they provided fuel to the European side.
But it is fair to say that the more successful Ryder Cup captains in recent times have been the more stoic characters, the likes of Steve Stricker and Luke Donald.
It is not always a recipe for success. Zach Johnson had a torrid time in 2023, while Jim Furyk seems to be one of the calmest men in the sport. But it is probably not all that surprising two of the most chaotic Ryder Cups this century have come when the likes of Bradley and Jose Maria Olazabal have been captains.
Bradley deserves an opportunity to show that he has learned from the mistakes he made.
However, when asked about being the captain again in 2027 ahead of the Hero World Challenge, Bradley issued a response that seems almost a little alarming.
“I just said this earlier in an interview. I have this like gaping hole in my career now that I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to fill. This isn’t something that you lose The Masters, you lose a tournament, I’m going to work extra hard to get back and win,” he said.
“Being the captain of the Ryder Cup team is not something you can work hard for, it’s just something that’s sort of elected on you.
“I don’t know. Of course I would love to do it again, I would love to avenge that loss, but that’s not up to me. That’s not up to [me], I don’t think that’s fair for me to come out here and say that.
“But I would love to do it again at some point. I don’t know if that will ever happen, probably won’t. I think if you ask any losing captain if they would like to do it again, they would all want another shot.”
Keegan Bradley may not have learned from his mistake at the Presidents Cup
It would be fantastic to see Bradley get the opportunity to play again in the Ryder Cup – and captain at some stage in the future.
However, it almost feels as though Bradley wants to win too much. That may sound ridiculous. But when you contrast his response with Donald, you get a sense that their leadership styles could hardly be more different.
“I take time to think these things through. I don’t think there is any rush. I still want to enjoy this one,” Donald recently said when asked about the prospect of captaining for a third time in 2027. “After this week, I have a little downtime and will chat with some people and see where we are.”
The Englishman answered the question with a straight bat. Europe will rejoice if he stays on. But he has not put his successor under any additional pressure if the DP World Tour look elsewhere.
There is, admittedly, something very hypocritical about criticising Bradley for being overly emotional about the Ryder Cup. This American side has been vilified for years for seemingly not showing the same passion as their European counterparts.
But the Ryder Cup is not decided by how much the captain cares about the Ryder Cup. Otherwise, the likes of Olazabal and Bradley would not require their teams to make herculean comebacks on the final day.
Bradley showed amazing leadership by deciding to leave himself off his own team. However, if he wants to be the captain again in 2027, then he surely needs to exude a lot more calmness when talking about the Ryder Cup.
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