‘Made A Mistal’: Keegan Bradley shares First Ryder Cup

Bethpage Black is one of the most challenging, debilitating golf courses in the United States, and that is precisely why it has that Famous board that warns golfers of the discouraging task for us.

But this week, for the 45th Ryder Cup? It was nothing as the terrifying the locals of Muni know.

The greens were soft and receptive (and never dried out after it had strung late in the week). T -pieces were moved. And that Gnarly Ruw – one of the most famous characteristics of the course – was hardly an obstacle.

So what happened?

“We tried to set up the course to help our team,” said the American Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley on Sunday evening. “It was clear that it was not the right decision.”

Bradley’s American team lost 15-13 to the Europeans, a game that was a laugher until the Americans stormed singles in Sunday and turned it into a competitive last day.

But one of the reasons why it is so difficult to win a Road Ryder Cup – which Europe did for the first time in a decade Sunday – is not only due to the hostile home crowd, but because the hosting team and the leader can set the job to their liking. That can mean that rough chopping or growing. Or move T -pieces to let players hit certain distances in greens. Which captains think can give their side a lead.

Bradley decided that some of the teeth from Bethpage would fit their team well. The problem is that the European Vice captain and Statistics Guru, Edoardo Molinari, had told people that the setup played exactly in favor of Europeans, and it was not the way he expected the US to set up the course.

“I think when you are the leader of a team or the captain or the coach, or whatever – we had about this last night – you are going to get the praise and you have to take the blame if things are not going well. I certainly made a mistake during the course setup,” Bradley said. “I should have listened to my intuition a little more. For whatever reason, that was not the right way to set up the course. The greens were as soft as I ever saw greens without it raining. Especially here it can be pretty sturdy and they never captured firmly.”

He was then asked if the data said to roughly reduce it.

“We sat or I did it and looked at a lot of info. We thought this was the best way to set up the golf course to win,” he said. “You look at earlier Ryder Cups, and that’s a bit how things are going. You know, sometimes you have to make a decision about what you have to do, and you know, if I could go back, I would probably have changed that.

“But the Europeans just played incredible wave. Don’t matter how you set the course if you play so well.”

Europe held Play well, with a commander 11.5-4.5 lead after two days and four sessions. And Sunday was completely set up to be a European victory parade, but after Europe had taken over control of a handful of matches, it was the US that struggled a lot of those leads. The Americans earned the first three points of the day and then all had to win all four of the remaining games on the track to steal the cup in a stealing way, although they only came short (one win, three tires).

In the last question from the American press conference on Sunday evening, Bradley was asked if he was outdated by Luke Donald, who has now won two consecutive Ryder cups that lead Europeans. Justin Thomas first answered.

“We had to make more putts,” he said. “That is what Keegan needed; he needed us to make more putts. That’s what he had to do.”

“I think in many ways if you are a captain, there are far fewer decisions,” said Bradley. “If you are the home captain, you have to set the course. I wish I could have some of those decisions back. I certainly have the feeling that I have made a few mistakes there, but it is difficult to say that it is going to rain for the Ryder Cup. It’s hard to tell you how the course was here.

“I certainly have to take responsibility for this result.”