Despite the strong showing by Team USA during the Sunday singles, Keegan Bradley’s questionable strategies and lack of clarity left many fans and analysts baffled. Pairings like Collin Morikawa and Harris English, who clearly lacked chemistry, were still chosen to play on Saturday, which added fuel to people doubting his decisions. But it wasn’t just the pairing decisions; many, such as Michael Kim, believe Bradley’s whole game plan was flawed and dated. Bradley relied too much on data and assumptions, which led the Americans to fight an uphill battle from the very first tee.
Those flaws didn’t go unnoticed by experts. Johnson Wagner, a retired PGA tour pro and NBC sports analyst, blasted Bradley’s decisions, calling out two “dated” strategies that, in his view, doomed Team USA.
Wagner, in the Fried Egg golf podcast, compared the driving distances and said, “You could look at his (Russel Henly) driving distance and say it’s 288 or 290. But he gets to 290 by optimizing a knuckleball that hits the ground and runs. That ball is not flying 290. That ball’s flying 265. And when it’s that wet and soft, his ball is only going 265. He’s teeing off against Ludvig [Åberg], who’s hitting it 300 yards in the air.” further backing up his claim on how outdated this approach was. “The idea of cutting the rough was a dated idea,” He added further.
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Johnson Wagner critiqued Bradley’s decision to shave down the roughs around the fairways, as this would give the advantage to Team America’s huge cannons to take over without any risks. This was the exact approach Team America took in their 2016 Ryder Cup, when they actually had a clear advantage in driving distance, but things were very different in 2025.
“We need our greens to be faster because Americans putt faster greens more often than Europeans? Well, yeah, that was the case when the majority of the European team played on the European Tour. But that entire European team now plays on the PGA Tour full-time. They putt on the same greens.” Johnson Wagner added. Instead of giving Team America the advantage, it backfired heavily since it gave Team Europe the confidence to attack the flag without fear.
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This was mainly due to how most European players played in the DP World Tour only around 2016. Now, almost every European plays on the PGA Tour, on the same greens as the Americans. In 2023, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour introduced the “10 card initiative,” which allowed the top European players in the Dubai Race ranking to earn a PGA Tour membership. Both parties co-sanctioned events that allowed European players to compete in PGA Tour tournaments and earn ranking points. Tournaments like the Scottish Open and the ISCO Championship were a part of this collaboration.
This led to the Americans losing their home-ground advantage. Bradley used outdated ideas based on data he received to make his decisions, which helped Team Europe instead of his own team.
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Europe’s Evolution vs. America’s Stagnation
Bradley’s setup gives a broader idea of the different approaches the teams are taking in each Ryder Cup throughout the year, Europe’s adaptability, and America’s reliance on old formulas
Bradley based his entire setup on how America won the 2016 Ryder Cup. But what he failed to realise is how fast the European Team has evolved. Europe has some heavy hitters like Ludvig Åberg, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, and Matt Fitzpatrick, who all have PGA Tour experience and are comfortable hitting long.
Bryson DeChambeau led the U.S. in driving distance at 331 yards on average, but he wasn’t the only bomber on the property. Cameron Young averaged 313 yards, making him the second-longest American.
In contrast, Åberg, Rahm, and Hovland all average over 305 yards off the tee. Even if they are a few yards off the American hitters, this is a huge shift from when only America had heavy hitters, erasing the myth of how only America had an advantage on long balls. At one point, coming through the build-up for the Ryder Cup, Europe’s average driving distance (308.5 yards) actually exceeded the U.S. (305.6 yards). This might be a small number, but it showcases the evolution that Team Europe has gone through over the years.
This makes his idea of shaving the rough to give Team America an advantage look naive since Team Europe could match the same distance. His idea of fast greens also didn’t work since all European players are comfortable on American soil.
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While the Ryder Cup this year was close, as Team America did their best to mount a comeback, the problem lies beyond the field. Keegan Bradley’s preparation coming into this Ryder Cup was based on outdated assumptions as he was trying to recycle Hazeltine 2016, while Europe has modernized its approach and learnt a lot from the PGA Tour.
Until Team USA evolves and starts game-planning for the Europe of today, not the Europe of yesterday, Ryder Cup heartbreaks like Bethpage Black will continue to pile up.