I’ve written in other pieces that Kaptain Keegan should get two more years if he wants them. Not all captains of Ryder Cup sides care as much, nor have their finger on the pulse, as much as Mr. Bradley. Take Tom Watson, for example. Loved him as a player, but his ironfisted “back in my day” way of (cough) reaching his players just didn’t work. Keegan Bradley is in the mix each week on tour, so he knows the tournament game’s nuances, and he sees the players strengthen and wilt as the events evolve. No finer option exists.

It’s with not just a bit of irony and frustration that I read what professional colleagues have written about Mr. Bradley and his decisions. I take issue with much of what they have written. It’s as if they and I were not watching the same event. One of us is wrong, and I don’t believe that it is me. For example, the talented Rex Hoggard, over at NBC Sports, wrote an eloquent but inaccurate piece on whether KB should get 2027 in Ireland. Umbrage is not all that I took away from his piece, so I decided to write a rebuttal.

Mr. Hoggard, et al.

I read with great dissatisfaction your finely-worded but inaccurately-conceived piece on whether Mr. Keegan Bradley should have a chance to, ahem, run it back in Ireland in 2027. I would like to offer this rebuttal, and I hope that you accept it as the dissonant thoughts of a colleague.

To begin, anyone with the lineup that Luke Donald was given would have won this week. I suspect that Mr. Donald, while quite intelligent and a Northwestern U. alumnus, simply listened to his veteran team and put them where they wanted to be. Mr. Donald did not hit a single shot for the players. The brilliant tacticians, therefore, are the dozen players who made up the European side. They made the decisions, and they hit the shots.

Next, you allude to the lack of a U.S. Open or links-style setup as a cause for Side USA’s distress. May I remind you that while J.J. Spaun had success one week of his life at Oakmont, he did not have success many other weeks, on similar setups? May I remind you that Bryson DeChambeau did the same at Winged Foot and Pinehurst the Second, but struggled many other weeks? Course setup was the same for each side. The European side simply hit better shots more frequently. They would have done the same on any course, any place, this week.

In the words of Natalie Merchant, let’s talk about the weather. If the rough had been up and the rains had come, the rough would then have been unmanageable. The greens would still have been soft. Why would you risk bringing the greens to a firmness that puts them in danger of dying? Ask any superintendent, and they will tell you that Bethpage did it right this week. Did soft greens make Team USA miss putts? No. Did soft greens make Team USA hit shots farther away from the hole? No. No one can predict the weather, and no one can predict the impact of the weather. To suggest that it is the captain’s fault is to spread incorrect information and incite the nay-sayers and Monday-morning captains.

It is my pleasure to agree with you on the topic of going to the well again, a.k.a. rinse and repeat. The Scheffler/Henley foursomes pairing was first, bad, and next, snakebitten. On day one, the boys in blue made seven birdies in the fifteen holes of the match. the lads in red made just three, and they also made at least two bogies (not all holes were completed.) On day two, Scheffler/Henry made six birdies and lost to the eight birdies of the Euros. No idea why English and Morikawa were ever paired together. On day one in foursomes, the duo made one solitary birdie. On day two in the same format, the pair made five birdies, yet still lost, by 3 & 2.

From my perspective, the one player that should have featured in all five matches was the one fellow who won three points for the red, white, and blue. I wrote a piece prior to the matches about Cameron Young. It was clear from every vantage point that he was the guy with the most course knowledge, and Keegan Bradley knew this. If Bradley went against his intuition on any point, it was starting Cameron Young in morning foursomes on Friday. Imagine that he partnered with anyone and that they won their match. The score would have been 2-2 (very likely), and it would have been a different afternoon and weekend.

I take issue with “the envelope rule.” If a player has a recurring injury and it flares up during Ryder Cup week, that’s on the Captain and the team, and no half point is given to the injured player’s team. Hovland knew that he was hurt. Team Europe knew that he was hurt. Zero points, Viktor. If an accident occurs and a new injury happens, that’s unfortunate and fate, and the match is halved. That’s what happened in 1991 with Steve Pate.

I remain, respectfully yours,

R. Mont

I feel so much better now. Thank you for reading, and for enjoying/despising my words. I can’t wait for PrezCup 2026, and I can’t wait doubly for Ryder Cup 2027. The same goes for the Solheim, Curtis, and Walker Cups to come.