Keegan Bradley still ‘heartbroken’ by Ryder Cup but hasn’t ruled out return as USA captain
· Yahoo Sports
Keegan Bradley has not closed the book on returning as USA captain for next year’s Ryder Cup despite still being racked with heartbreak from his team’s home loss at Bethpage Black.
Luke Donald and Europe held off a rousing day three recovery from the US to complete a dramatic 15-13 victory stateside last year, recording the first away win in 13 years.
Visit sports24.club for more information.
Failing to deliver in front a New York crowd whose abuse became a major talking point of the event, the ignominy ultimately fell on skipper Bradley, who has been subject to heavy criticism ever since.
Bradley is now back to playing duties on the PGA Tour, currently competing at the Players Championship in Sawgrass where he made the cut for the final two rounds, but admits he is still licking his wounds from the Ryder Cup.
Keegan Bradley failed to deliver as USA captain last year (PA Wire)“It has been a little difficult,” Bradley said. “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.
“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. I think like a lot of guys that do it, they’re basically done playing.
“I’m the first person to have to 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.”
Tiger Woods has been touted as the USA’s next Ryder Cup captain but the PGA of America would like the 15-time major winner to confirm his intentions before next month’s Masters.
But despite the pain of Bethpage, Bradley says he would be open to having another swing at the captaincy.
“I mean, yeah, sure, I would,” Bradley said, who as a captain of a past tournament would actually be part of the decision-making process. “But I don’t know if that’s on the cards.
Bradley endured the ignominy of captaining the USA to a first home loss in 13 years at Bethpage Black last year (Getty Images)“I think any Ryder Cup captain that loses would like to do it again. 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.”
Should he retain the captaincy, Bradley would set up a rematch of captains with Donald already confirming that he will stay on for Adare Manor next September.