U.S. team captain Keegan Bradley expects to feel the sting of losing the 2025 Ryder Cup forever.
It was less than a month ago that the European team raced to a huge two-day lead and held on for a 15-13 win at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y. Bradley, 39, spoke to reporters on Monday for the first time since leaving the Long Island site about his experience.
“You win, it’s glory for a lifetime. You lose, it’s, ‘I’m going to have to sit with this for the rest of my life,'” Bradley said in Sutton, Mass., site of media day for the 2026 Travelers Championship, which he won this year.
“There’s no part of me that thinks I’ll ever get over this,” Bradley said. “Since the Ryder Cup — to now — has been one of the toughest times in my life.”
The Ryder Cup was positioned to be one of the greatest times in his life. Bradley, 39, competed twice in the biennial event but was snubbed for the 2023 U.S. team.
As captain, he could have picked himself for one of the open spots. He was one of the top Americans in the Official World Golf Ranking and was 11th in the Ryder Cup standings. Arnold Palmer was the last playing captain in 1963.
Instead, Bradley chose to put all of his focus on being a first-time captain. It was a decision, in hindsight, he might have regretted.
“I’ll forever wonder and wish that I had a chance to play there,” Bradley said on Monday. “The first practice day, I was out on the tee, and I was watching the guys walk down the fairway all together, and I said: ‘I wish I was playing. That’s what it’s all about. I’m missing out.'”
Team Europe entered that Sunday’s individual competition with a commanding 11 1/2 to 4 1/2 lead after winning each of the first four sessions.
The Americans made an impressive surge that day, losing just one of the 11 individual matches that were played. However, the Europeans survived to snap a streak of five straight Ryder Cups won by the hosts, thanks to five tied matches.
Even so, Bradley came around to the conclusion that his first instinct was correct.
“By the second or third day I was like, ‘It’s a good thing I’m not playing,’ because I was so physically exhausted,” he said. “Good thing I didn’t do it because it would have been bad.”
The emotional roller coaster and eventual disappointment could have Bradley averse to being involved with the Ryder Cup in the future. He said that after so much effort and planning, the first two days were “sad.”
“This effing event has been so brutal to me. I don’t know if I want to play. No, I do,” Bradley said. “It’s such a weird thing to love something so much that just doesn’t give you anything.”
From deep within himself, he cannot let go of the idea of winning this event.
“I really would enjoy playing in one more,” Bradley said. “I don’t know if I’ll get the chance.”
