{"id":522166,"date":"2026-03-14T00:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T00:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/522166\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T00:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T00:30:08","slug":"keegan-bradley-still-heartbroken-by-ryder-cup-loss-but-open-to-returning-as-usa-captain-golf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/522166\/","title":{"rendered":"Keegan Bradley \u2018still heartbroken\u2019 by Ryder Cup loss but open to returning as USA captain | Golf"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keegan Bradley has admitted to still being \u201cheartbroken\u201d by his American Ryder Cup team\u2019s loss at Bethpage<\/a> last year. Bradley is also keen to retain the US captaincy at Adare Manor next September, should Tiger Woods knock back the opportunity.<\/p>\n

Luke Donald and Europe were set for a Bethpage rout before a rousing US recovery on day three. The visitors still won the trophy for a second time in succession. Bradley, who has returned to playing duties on the PGA Tour, remains wounded by the event and, as is the case with all Ryder Cups, the losing captain has been subject to heavy criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a little difficult,\u201d Bradley said. \u201cI\u2019m still heartbroken from the Ryder Cup. So I am trying my best to separate myself and move on but it\u2019s hard. I think about it a lot. I think about the guys a lot and I\u2019m still in the process of getting past all that.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless you\u2019re 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\u2019re basically done playing. I\u2019m 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\u2019m still navigating how to do that. But it\u2019s on my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

The PGA of America would like Woods to declare his hand before next month\u2019s Masters. The 15-time major winner has been vague about his plans while citing potential time constraints as he sits on committees within the PGA Tour. Bradley would accept a second stint if it was an option. While that has not been widely suggested, alternatives to Woods look thin on the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, yeah, sure, I would,\u201d Bradley said of the prospect of returning as captain. \u201cBut I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s on the cards. I think any Ryder Cup captain that loses would like to do it again. But that\u2019s not up to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the distraction of me playing, maybe playing isn\u2019t really what the position is about. So who knows in the future.\u201d As captain of a past tournament, Bradley is actually part of that decision-making process.<\/p>\n

Bradley\u2019s second round of 66 at Sawgrass \u2013 after his first-round 77 \u2013 ensured he survived for the final two rounds of the Players Championship. So, too, did Rory McIlroy<\/a> despite flirting with the cut line for spells on Friday. The Northern Irishman\u2019s strong finish for 71, leaving him one over, means he will not have to add an event for pre-Masters buildup. As it stands, the Players will be McIlroy\u2019s last competitive golf before his defence of the Green Jacket at Augusta National from 9 April.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have 280-odd starts on the PGA Tour and I\u2019ve missed less than 30 cuts,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cI\u2019m proud of that.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The television analyst and former caddie] Bones [Mackay] asked me walking down my last hole there: \u2018What\u2019s your plan after this for the next few weeks?\u2019 I said: \u2018Bones, I\u2019ll tell you after this hole. There\u2019s a lot riding on this golf hole.\u2019<\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy flirted with the cut line for spells of his second round but his 71 ensures he will return for the weekend. Photograph: Jared C Tilton\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously I wanted to make the cut. Of course you want to be here for the weekend. I\u2019m happy to get two more runs at it. It would have sucked to be going home this afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps more importantly, McIlroy reported continual improvement with a back injury which had forced him to withdraw before the third round of last weekend\u2019s Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s just progressively getting better each and every day,\u201d said McIlroy.<\/p>\n

Ludvig \u00c5berg\u2019s stunning 63 gives him a two-shot Players lead over Xander Schauffele at the 36-hole mark. \u00c5berg has reached 12 under par.<\/p>\n

Those who exited Sawgrass included Shane Lowry and Marco Penge. Ryan Fox, who withdrew before the first round, revealed on social media that he had emergency surgery on a kidney stones problem in Florida on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keegan Bradley has admitted to still being \u201cheartbroken\u201d by his American Ryder Cup team\u2019s loss at Bethpage last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522167,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-522166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}