NEW YORK — Who thought American Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley would be leaving Bethpage Black in possession of his trousers after two days having his rump rearranged? Bradley just about escaped with his person intact despite never quite convincing that a plan was playing out. The United States were a mess for all but Sunday, their belated rise in part a result of the fatigue that struck the European heavyweights.
The 11.5 to 4.5 points rout of the first two days demonstrated how little the US understands the process, even now after a ninth defeat in 12 matches. They have no real concept of how to organise, there is no big idea around which to coalesce, no sense of how to connect with a purpose, and no clue how to compete with a European leadership that has data points on everything from hotel bed sheets to the fragrance of shampoo in the bathrooms.
The US needed Europe to err in overplaying Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood, each one exhausted by involvement in all five sessions, to gloss the pasting of the first two days. The next European captain, assuming Luke Donald drained his own tank in New York as well as Rome, might find the testimony of McIlroy helpful in that regard.
Donald has led Europe to back-to-back Ryder Cup triumphs (Photo: PA)“I felt like I was running on empty. I gave so much of myself the first two days and I tried as hard as I could out there against Scottie [Scheffler]. Scottie and I both didn’t have our best. It was a bit of a pillow fight if I’m honest. I dug in as much as I could, just tried to stay in my own little bubble as much as possible. It was obviously quite difficult to do that at times.”
That aside there is little Donald 2.0 might do differently after the 15-13 victory since so much of the European approach is rooted in culture and connection. The European players are driven by a sense of togetherness and intimacy with the organising association they represent, the European Tour.
The American team, which falls under the aegis of the PGA of America, has none of that with a body that derives its legitimacy from the 30,000 or so golf club professionals rather than the elites on the PGA Tour. Hence the own goal over payment earlier in the week, which turned a “good news” story about charity into a PR disaster. Or as Xander Schauffele put it, “we give half a million to charity and we look like dicks”.
Without any connection to the PGA of America you can see how the players might be miffed that none of the profit they help to generate comes back to them. In Europe the question of payment does not arise because the players are happy for the profits to be fed back into the European Tour system that enabled their careers.
The messaging around the issue was all wrong because the PGA of America lacks the kind of strategic thinking that considers the optics in tournament week. Whilst they were putting their foot in it over payments and fawning around Donald Trump, the European Tour were putting out slick videos about legacy and tradition narrated by Donald. “Our time. Our place.”
Only 37 players have won away from home. Time we added to that?Our Time. Our Place. pic.twitter.com/7Lsp0nTY5a
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 23, 2025A report highlighting the US failings of 2025 is being prepared that aims to avoid the same self-harm at Adare Manor in Ireland two years’ time. It is not being led by former players but a consultant with a sound understanding of the European dynamic. The first issue to solve is the discontent of the PGA of America’s own membership, that group of humble pros the organisation purports to represent.
square GOLF I followed Rory McIlroy and his family at the Ryder Cup - the abuse was grotesque
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The feeling is there needs to be a greater role for club pros around the decision-making and delivery of the Ryder Cup, generating a sense of belonging and connectivity to the tour pros ostensibly representing them. All of this happens organically in Europe since there is no organisational separation between those who play on the team and those who administrate it. All for one and one for all as it were.
It might help also if the USA took the issue of captain more seriously, arriving at Bradley at short notice only when Tiger Woods declined the office. Though Bradley claims the PGA of America gave him all the support he needed to succeed he admitted to mistakes around course set-up. The slower green speeds played to Europe’s strengths and the rough was not penal enough.
He might also want to take back a pairing that was ranked 132nd out of 132 possible combinations based on the data. Not only did he pair Collin Morikawa and Harris English in Friday’s foursomes, he repeated the sin on Saturday, losing heavily both times.
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