‘Darkest time’: Keegan Bradley forgot he won amid Ryder Cup devastation

It’s been a whirlwind season for Keegan Bradley. He scored a major PGA Tour victory during one of his best years on the course. But a devastating loss at the 2025 Ryder Cup as USA captain has overshadowed his personal achievements.

That much was clear during his pre-tournament press conference at the 2025 Hero World Challenge, where Bradley admitted that the period since his Ryder Cup loss was the “darkest time” of his life, so much so that his coach had to remind him that he had won this year.

Bradley’s Ryder Cup loss overshadows personal achievements

In many ways, 2025 was Bradley’s best seasons on the PGA Tour. He won his eighth Tour event at the Travelers Championship in June, a signature event. It was one of six top-10 finishes of the year, including a T8 at the PGA Championship.

He ultimately finished 7th in the final rankings of the FedEx Cup and is 14th in the official World Golf Ranking. And he accomplished all that while still young with the duties of Ryder Cup captain.

Bradley acknowledged this during his pre-tournament press conference at the Hero World Challenge.

“I’m really proud of the way I played. I think this is the best year of my career in a lot of ways,” Bradley said. “My rookie year I won two majors, so that will be hard to beat. But with everything that happened, I’m very proud of the way I played.”

Unfortunately, all his achievements seemed to disappear in the aftermath of the American team’s painful home loss to Bethpage Black in late September. When asked to give himself a grade for the season, Bradley said the Ryder Cup loss lowered his grade to an “F”.

“If you count the Ryder Cup loss, I mean it’s an F,” Bradley said. “You have to go and win that and this figure is different. It’s really hard to give a figure.”

Bradley then detailed the problems he has had since the Ryder Cup, saying this was “absolutely” the darkest period of his career.

“I mean, probably the darkest time of my life. I mean, I don’t know how else to describe it. Definitely, definitely of my career,” he said.

He also described the lasting impact the Ryder Cup has had on him, saying: “You’re just exhausted and sad, you know. That takes a toll. But it was just a tough time. It still is.”

The loss took such a toll on Bradley that his coach had to remind him that he had won the Travelers Championship just a few months earlier.

“I talked to my coach and he said, ‘Don’t forget you won this year,’” Bradley said. “I thought: no, I don’t remember that at all.”

He continued: “It was a unique year. I think a year that no other player has ever experienced. I’m certainly proud of the way I played, but the end of the year was difficult.”

Earlier this week, US Ryder Cup team member Justin Thomas responded to the No Lay-Up podcast brought attention back to the abuse at Bethpage.

Thomas claimed that Bradley and the team had “fought” with tournament organizers over the speeds of Bethpage Black’s greens during the event. The team argued that they played slower than they requested.

When asked about the controversy during his Hero press conference, Bradley confirmed that they wanted the greens quickly and ultimately had to trust the tournament organizers.

“The Sunday before the Ryder Cup we lose control of the golf course, the home team. They were given specifications on where to keep the greens and they felt like they had done that. They did a great job,” Bradley began. “It’s so hard to figure out. There’s so much going on and you want the greens at a certain speed and they tell you that’s what it is. You have to take their word for it. But the greens are so flat that I think it’s hard to get the pace we were looking for. But the course was in great condition.”

He added that while he wishes he could blame someone else for the U.S. team’s Ryder Cup loss, the blame lies solely with him.

“You know, the Europeans just played so great. I wish we could blame someone, but we can’t. Blame me, I blame myself for that loss,” Bradley said.

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