Keegan Bradley has gotten back into his usual rhythm on the PGA Tour, but he admitted this week that the Ryder Cup loss at Bethpage still lingers and hasn’t been easy to move on from.
“It has been a little difficult,” Bradley, who served as U.S. captain, said of the 15-13 loss to Europe last year. “I’m still heartbroken from the Ryder Cup. So I am trying my best to separate myself and move on but it’s hard. 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.”
Bradley’s comments arrive at a tricky moment for the PGA of America, which wants clarity on its next Ryder Cup captain before the Masters next month.
Tiger Woods remains the top choice for Adare Manor in 2027, but he hasn’t committed, citing the demands on his schedule. If Woods declines, Bradley made it clear he’d listen, even if a second term hasn’t been widely discussed.
“I mean, yeah, sure, I would,” Bradley said of captaining again after his second round at the Players Championship. “But I don’t know if that’s in the cards. I think any Ryder Cup captain that loses would like to do it again, I would imagine. But that’s not up to me.”
Bradley said the hardest part isn’t just accepting the loss, but that it’s integrating it back into a normal competitive schedule. Most captains can step away, reflect on the week privately and move forward without constantly comparing themselves to leaderboards and cut lines. Bradley didn’t have that option.
“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,” Bradley said. “I think like a lot of guys that do it, they’re basically done playing, so they never again — 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. So I’m still navigating how to do that. But it’s on my mind.”
