Keegan Bradley Reveals Ryder Cup Struggles But Remains Open To Future Captaincy Role

Keegan Bradley stares into the distance — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Keegan Bradley has admitted that he’s struggling to get over last year’s Ryder Cup defeat, but said he would be open to having another crack at captaining the US side.

Speaking after a second round 66 at The Players Championship - which saw him safely into the weekend - the 39-year-old revealed that he was still “heartbroken” by the events that unfolded at Bethpage in September.

“Listen, it's (post-Ryder Cup) been a little difficult,” he said. “I'm still heartbroken from the Ryder Cup. Trying my best to separate myself and move on, but it's hard.

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“I think about it a lot. I think about the guys a lot, and I'm still in the process of getting past all that.”

When Bradley won the Travelers Championship last June and reached the season-ending Tour Championship, many believed he would decide to be a player-captain, which would have been the first time that had happened since Arnold Palmer in 1963.

However, the former PGA champion and eight-time PGA Tour winner stuck to his decision to captain the US team from the sidelines, but he was powerless to stop Europe from charging away on the first two days of the tournament.

Keegan Bradley at the Ryder Cup Friday foursomes

Keegan rallied his troops on Sunday as the Americans almost produced an incredible comeback, with Luke Donald’s men crawling over the line to win 15-13, a scoreline that helped win back some respect for the US captain and his wounded players.

Last December, Bradley said that the weeks and months that followed his team's defeat were “the darkest time of my life” - and now, six months on, it's clear he's still in pain.

“Unless you're a captain of the Ryder Cup team, you just have no idea what goes into it and the emotional toll that it takes on you,” he added. I think like a lot of guys that do it, they're basically done playing.

“I'm the first person to have to sort of deal with this, get back out there, try to be one of the best players in the world and make the next team.

“I'm still navigating how to do that. But it's on my mind.”

Keegan Bradley hits a driver off the tee — Bradley fired a six-under 66 on Friday to comfortably make the cut at The Players Championship

In the opposite camp, Donald has been handed the opportunity to captain Europe for the third time in a row, and he’ll have the chance to be the first captain ever to win three consecutive Ryder Cups.

Tiger Woods is currently the favorite to captain the US team at Adare Manor next year, but the 15-time Major winner has yet to confirm whether he’s interested in the role.

Bradley, though, said he would go through it all again to try and win the famous biennial contest.

“I mean, yeah, sure, I would (want to captain again), but I don't know if that's in the cards," he explained. “I think any Ryder Cup captain that loses would like to do it again, I would imagine, but that's not up to me.

“I think that the distraction of me playing… maybe playing isn't really what the position is about. So who knows in the future.”

Michael has been with Golf Monthly since 2008. A multimedia journalist, he has also worked for The Football Association, where he created content to support the England football team, The FA Cup, London 2012, and FA Women's Super League. As content editor at Foremost Golf, Michael worked closely with golf's biggest equipment manufacturers and has developed an in-depth knowledge of this side of the industry. He's a regular contributor, covering instruction, equipment, travel and feature content. Michael has interviewed many of the game's biggest stars, including seven World No.1s, and has attended and reported on numerous Major Championships and Ryder Cups around the world. He's a member of Formby Golf Club in Merseyside, UK.

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