Keegan Bradley has revealed he still feels the pain of captaining the United States to a home Ryder Cup defeat last year, but is targeting a return as a player for the 2027 edition. The 39-year-old took full responsibility after his side slipped to an 11.5-4.5 deficit at Bethpage Black before a valiant fightback fell short.
Speaking ahead of this week's PGA Championship, which he won in 2011, Bradley admitted the memories of the defeat in New York still haunt him. '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 at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia.
Jim Furyk, who captained the USA to defeat in 2018 and served as one of Bradley's vice-captains last year, has been named captain for the 2027 match at Adare Manor in Ireland. Bradley, who narrowly missed automatic qualification for the 2025 team, said he would love to play under Furyk. 'I've been thinking a lot about that. 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,' he added.
Bradley described his Ryder Cup experiences as 'brutal' but expressed a strong desire to make the team. '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, but also become a great friend and mentor,' he said.
Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth arrives at the PGA Championship seeking to complete the career grand slam. The three-time major winner, whose last major victory came at the 2017 Open, said: 'If I could win one more tournament in my life, it would obviously be this one for that reason.'
