{"id":138621,"date":"2025-09-12T12:59:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T12:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/138621\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T12:59:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T12:59:01","slug":"inside-keegan-bradleys-strategy-to-build-u-s-teams-ryder-cup-chemistry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/138621\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Keegan Bradley\u2019s Strategy to Build U.S. Team\u2019s Ryder Cup Chemistry"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAPA, Calif. \u2014 Keegan Bradley is not playing in this week\u2019s Procore Championship and said he thinks it\u2019s the first time he\u2019d ever been to one outside of playing since he was a teenager.<\/p>\n

But the U.S. Ryder Cup captain has had his sights set on bringing his team together this week<\/a> in Northern California for most of his captaincy, and certainly since the start of 2025 when he began to work his way through the various details of his assignment.<\/p>\n

Saying Wednesday he believes it is \u201cthe closest team I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Bradley has attempted to foster a feeling of togetherness<\/a> and camaraderie with the Ryder Cup just two weeks away.<\/p>\n

A team dinner that included all of the players, their caddies and families took place Tuesday night near the Silverado Resort, where most of the U.S. representatives will play in this week\u2019s Procore Championship, which begins Thursday.<\/p>\n

In addition to the friendly nature of the proceedings, Bradley had a video put together that included highlights of every member of his team, including the vice captains.<\/p>\n

And he also tried to impart a message.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really only get one time a year to do this,\u201d Bradley said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re a part of it, it really, it changes you forever, it really does. It changes the way you prepare, it changes the way you set your goals for the year, for your career. In golf you\u2019re so alone all the time in this process. Then, when you\u2019re in a team room or even just having dinner last night, you\u2019re looking around at the guys and they\u2019re all in this together.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re looking at guys from J.J. Spaun to Ben Griffin to Scottie Scheffler and all of a sudden we\u2019re all on the same team here. It\u2019s really such a special feeling to be a part of because it\u2019s so rare.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve been telling the team as well is you never know when your last Ryder Cup is. My last Ryder Cup was the deciding point with Jamie Donaldson and I certainly didn\u2019t think that was my last shot in a Ryder Cup. You really want to enjoy every second of these because you never know when it\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bradley has his own painful Ryder Cup memories to impart, too.<\/p>\n

He lost to Rory McIlroy in singles\u2014after going 3\u20130 with partner Phil Mickelson\u2014in 2012 as part of the \u201cMiracle at Medinah\u201d where the Europeans rallied from a 10\u20136 deficit to win 14 1\/2 to 13 1\/2.<\/p>\n

Two years later, he was part of Tom Watson\u2019s ill-fated team at Gleneagles in Scotland, where Wales\u2019s Donaldson defeated him in singles to clinch the winning point in a 16 1\/2 to 11 1\/2 victory.<\/p>\n

Bradley never made it back to the Ryder Cup as a player, heartbreakingly missing out on a spot two years ago in Rome when it appeared he might be selected by captain Zach Johnson.<\/p>\n

And then, surprisingly, he was tapped by the PGA of America in July of 2024 to be the captain this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can all agree that me being the captain was definitely a shock to everybody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"U.S<\/p>\n

Bradley never made it back to play in the Ryder Cup, and notably omitted making himself his own captain\u2019s pick this year. \/ Lucas Boland-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s turned it into the opportunity to do things he had never done before as a player, which is to get to know the others better, become more engaged, even root for their success.<\/p>\n

That is what Bradley said he\u2019s noticed the most about the core of his team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the players knew it was important,\u201d he said about 10 of the 12 team members being here to compete this week, with ineligible Bryson DeChambeau still attending the team dinner and Xander Schauffele\u2014due to the birth of his first child<\/a>\u2014the only player absent. \u201cThis Ryder Cup means everything to them. We talk a lot behind the scenes of how much this means to us and they are willing to do whatever it takes to be prepared. No, this is something that we wanted. When I was named captain, this was something that I wanted, but they wanted it more than I did. This made it really easy. When the players take accountability for their team, good things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bradley said he\u2019s used the opportunity to talk about potential pairings, \u201c90 percent\u201d of which he said are determined. He also wanted the players to be together in this setting away from the pressure and demands of the Ryder Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the first time he really addressed everyone on the team and they got to see his emotion come out,\u201d said Webb Simpson, a vice captain this year who played with Bradley in both of the captain\u2019s Ryder Cups. \u201cThe guys know how much he cares. He\u2019s a passionate guy. But I think it set the tone for now how much it means to Keegan and how much it should mean to these guys. They left. . . not feeling pressure. . but [feeling] that this is special. I\u2019m a part of something that is very special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simpson, too, remembered his own lessons of appreciation, missing things like the Tour Championship or the Sentry or team events after always expecting to be on them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had taken it for granted,\u2019\u2019 Simpson said. \u201cI made myself promise. . . never take it for granted. When you are playing good golf, it feels like it\u2019s going to last forever. It doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey\u2019re going to be nervous. We\u2019re all nervous. Tiger Woods was nervous. But be thankful to be there. Be thankful that you\u2019re part of something that is a lot bigger than an individual golfer. You made this team because you\u2019re a heck of a golfer. You\u2019ll be fine. Rely on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, Bradley said, play like it might be the last time\u2014a message he believes the team has embraced.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point this is going to end for all of us,\u201d Bradley said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to end for Scottie. I tell them it ended for Jack Nicklaus, guys like that, best player, one of the Mount Rushmore players. You have to enjoy these moments because you never know when it\u2019s done. You never know when it\u2019s your last dinner like last night, you never know when it\u2019s your last time hanging in the team room with the guys, so you have to cherish every second.\u201d<\/p>\n

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