NASSAU, Bahamas – There's still a lot to unpack from the U.S. team losing to Europe on home soil in the biennial Ryder Cup, but at least Keegan Bradley doesn't have the contents of his suitcase growing moldy this time. Bradley said no one had asked him yet, but he knew it was just a matter of time before somebody did. Yes, he has unpacked his Ryder Cup bag from Bethpage Black, where he served as the U.S. captain in defeat in late September.
"I’m done with that,” said Bradley, who famously swore that he wouldn’t unpack his bag from the 2012 Ryder Cup defeat as a player until he avenged that loss. “I looked at it and I thought, you know what, screw this, I’m unpacking.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe bag from 2012 remains sealed in his garage.
"That one is going in the ground with me, maybe," he added.
While Bradley unpacked his bag this time, there’s still plenty of scar tissue from the U.S. loss on home soil.
“The darkest time of my life, probably. I mean, I don't know how else to describe it. Certainly, definitely of my career,” he said on Tuesday during a press conference ahead of the Hero World Challenge at Albany Club. “I have this like gaping hole in my career now that I don't know that I'll ever be able to fill. This isn't something that you lose the Masters, you lose a tournament, I'm going to work extra hard to get back and win. Being the captain of the Ryder Cup team is not something you can work hard for, it's just something that's sort of elected on you.”
Keegan Bradley of the United States reacts on the eighth green during The Skins Game at Panther National on November 28, 2025 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.Would he like another chance at the job?
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Of course, I would love to do it again, I would love to avenge that loss, but that's not up to me,” he said.
The Ryder Cup loss has weighed heavily on Bradley, who won the Travelers Championship in June, made it to East Lake and finished T-7 at the Tour Championship. He rose as high as No. 7 in the world and currently sits at No. 14 at age 39. But when asked to assess his season with a letter grade, he began by comparing it to his rookie season in 2011, when he won twice, including the PGA Championship.
“When you factor in losing the Ryder Cup, I mean, it's an F,” he said. “You've got to go and win that 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.’ ”
Just as he did in the immediate aftermath of the Ryder Cup defeat, Bradley placed the blame for the loss squarely on his shoulders. “You know, the Europeans, they just played so great. I wish that we could blame somebody, but we can't,” he said. “Blame me, I blame myself for that lost.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIf there is a silver lining for Bradley, it is that he’s playing well enough that he could make a run at qualifying or being selected for the 2027 U.S. team and another chance to unpack the 2012 bag.
“I'm in a unique position where I could make another team, which has never been done,” he said. “I would love to do that.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Did Keegan Bradley unpack his Ryder Cup suitcase this time?
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