Keegan Bradley described the months since losing the Ryder Cup as “the darkest time of my life” but said he would “love” to captain the US team again.
Europe built a stunning lead at Bethpage Black this summer and the US could not make their home advantage count until the final day, with a spirited fightback not enough to overhaul the deficit as they lost 15-13.
Their defeat meant Europe were the first team to win away from home since 2012, while the event was overshadowed by poor behaviour from the partisan American crowd, leading PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague to apologise to the European team and forcing several of the American players to row back on comments supporting their fans.
Bradley, who captained the US for the first time, said the loss hung over the rest of his season and meant he could not enjoy any of his successes as a player since.
“The darkest time of my life probably,” he said on Tuesday, of the months since the Ryder Cup. “I mean, I don't know how else to describe it. Certainly, definitely of my career.”
As a player Bradley enjoyed one of his most successful season to date, climbing to a career high of seventh in the world rankings, sealing his eighth Tour win at the Travelers Championship, and picking up six top-10 finishes.
But asked to assign himself a grade summing up his season, the response was immediate: “I mean, it's an F. You've got to go and win [the Ryder Cup] and this grade's different. It’s really tough to grade. I was talking to my coach, he said, ‘Remember, you won this year?’ I was like, ‘No, I don't remember that at all.’”
This was Bradley’s first Ryder Cup since he was part of the losing team in 2014.
Despite his heartbreaking experience at Bethpage he confirmed he would be happy to take part again. “I'm in a unique position where I could make another team, which has never been done. I would love to do that,” he said.
“I would love to avenge that loss, but that’s not up to me.
“I don’t think that’s fair for me to come out here and say that. But I would love to do it again at some point. I don’t know if that will ever happen, probably won’t.”
American player Justin Thomas suggested earlier this week in an interview with No Laying Up that the Bethpage Black grounds crew had “fought” the team on the best green speeds.
Asked whether that was a factor, Bradley was emphatic: “I wish that we could blame somebody, but we can't. Blame me, I blame myself for that loss. It would be nice to blame that, but we can't.”
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