Keegan Bradley has not stopped thinking about the pain of last September. The United States captain endured one of the most lopsided defeats in Ryder Cup history at Bethpage Black, watching his team slip to an 11.5-4.5 hole after just two days before mounting a comeback that ultimately fell short.
Now 39, Bradley says the loss still ambushes him at random moments. "It was tough after the Ryder Cup and it still is. I'll be driving down the road and things will pop into my head and think about things I had done or wish I had done different," he said this week at the PGA Championship in Philadelphia.
Bradley faced withering criticism over his player pairings during the event. But rather than retreat from the sport's most bruising competition, he is considering a return to the Ryder Cup in 2027, this time as a player on the team competing in Ireland.
"I've been thinking a lot about that," Bradley said. "It's going to be really hard, I know that. I'll be 41 when that happens. But what a cool story it would be. How fun would that be?"
Bradley came close to making the 2025 team on points alone. The path forward would require him to maintain his game at a competitive level for two more years and crack a squad that Jim Furyk will captain. Furyk, the newly announced USA captain for Adare Manor, served as one of Bradley's vice-captains last year.
"I've sort of resigned myself that Ryder Cup's just been so brutal to me over the years in every way," Bradley said. "I have a tough time focusing on something like that because of how tough it's been. I'd really like to make that team in Ireland. I'd really love to play for Jim Furyk, who is an idol of mine."
The experience of captaincy, despite its crushing conclusion, has reframed what the Ryder Cup means to Bradley. He credits last year's team with changing him as a person, a sentiment that now drives his desire to return as a player alongside those same competitors.
"Getting to know the guys on the team last year changed my life, changed who I am as a person and I would love to play on a Ryder Cup with them," he said.
Bradley won the PGA Championship in 2011 and is in the field this week at Aronimink Golf Club. Luke Donald, who won the European captaincy for Adare Manor, will aim to secure a third consecutive victory for Europe, while Jim Furyk attempts to reverse the fortunes of a USA team that also lost decisively under his watch at Le Golf National in Paris in 2018.
Author James Rodriguez: "Bradley's willingness to face down the demons instead of accept defeat says something about his character, even if the odds of a 41-year-old making the team are steep."
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