Keegan Bradley is still processing the emotional equivalent of a four-putt from three feet after captaining the United States to a home Ryder Cup defeat last September, but he's already dreaming of making the 2027 team as a player - because apparently, one traumatizing experience wasn't enough.
Bradley took full responsibility as his USA squad endured a record 11.5-4.5 deficit after the first two days at Bethpage Black, before a valiant but ultimately futile fightback. The 39-year-old, who won the PGA Championship in 2011, admitted that thoughts of New York still haunt him during casual drives.
“It was tough after the Ryder Cup and it still is. I’ll be driving down the road and things will pop into my head and think about things I had done or wish I had done different,” Bradley said at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia.
Jim Furyk, who captained the USA to a thumping defeat at Le Golf National in Paris in 2018 and served as one of Bradley's vice-captains last year, has been named captain for next year's showdown at Adare Manor in Ireland. Luke Donald will attempt to lead Europe to a third consecutive win.
Bradley, who almost made the 2025 team on merit, says he would love to put his “brutal” Ryder Cup story right by making Furyk's side.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about that. It’s going to be really hard, I know that. I’ll be 41 when that happens. But what a cool story it would be. How fun would that be?” he added. “I’ve sort of resigned myself … Ryder Cup’s just been so brutal to me over the years in every way. In every single way it’s been brutal, and I have a tough time focusing in on something like that because of how tough it’s been.”
Meanwhile, three-time major champion Jordan Spieth arrives at this week's PGA Championship still chasing the career grand slam, having last won a major at the 2017 Open. “If I could win one more tournament in my life, it would obviously be this one for that reason,” Spieth said. “It would be amazing because it’s a very, very short list in history.”