Keegan Bradley did not exactly cover himself in glory during his first stint as Ryder Cup captain.
Once Shane Lowry’s putt dropped on the 18th green to clinch the title for Europe, questions quickly turned to what changes the US might need to make moving forward.
According to Rich Beem, there are a few decisions from both Bradley and the PGA of America that need some serious reflection.
Bradley’s missteps throughout the week at Bethpage have already been discussed at length. Even he admitted afterward that mistakes were made, particularly with how he prepared the course.
The Americans did put up a strong fight late on Sunday, but by then it was too little, too late. It was not just one or two moments, it was a series of small errors that added up over the week.
One flashpoint came when Viktor Hovland was left out of the singles matches. The frustration was clear not just from Bradley but across his team as well.
He was not shy about voicing his displeasure with how soft the greens had become at Bethpage, but their issues went far beyond course conditions.
Rich Beem criticises Keegan Bradley and the PGA of America after the Ryder Cup
Even with the late surge, Sunday’s events did little to hide just how much work needs to be done for Team USA going forward.
Beem spoke on Sky Sports in the UK about the Americans’ display and their poor showings in the first two days.
He pointed to a few of Bradley’s choices and also took aim at the PGA of America over how things played out at Bethpage Black.
“I am not too sure where they are getting their information. Sticking to the plan, as Keegan Bradley said after Friday, and putting Morikawa and Harris English out two days in a row against Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood”, Beem began by saying.
“Nobody can handle those two guys, much less Morikawa and Harris English. It’s a blind draw and you don’t know who you are going to be playing against but I’m not sure which stats gave them [that]. Of all the pairings this is the weakest possible team you could put out there in any situation.
“I think there are a lot of questions which still need to be addressed for the Americans. Whether it starts with the captains or the PGA of America or it starts happening with more past captains. All I know is that Europe thrive on this.
“When Shane Lowry said I won The Open Championship in Ireland as an Irishman but this is bigger, Americans do not think that. We do not think that way. It’s more about individuals. We have to look at this in a different light or we are just going to have to rely on singles play to get wins for us.”
Morikawa and English were actually ranked as one of the weakest possible pairings according to Data Golf, listed at the very bottom among 132 options.
Past US Ryder Cup captains should be more involved
Looking ahead, it seems clear the US could benefit from having former Ryder Cup captains who have had success involved more closely with the team.
Paul Azinger and Steve Stricker are two names that come to mind straight away. Where were they during Bethpage?
Neither of them was involved with the setup last week, despite being among the most successful US captains in recent memory.
And given how things played out, it is hard to imagine either of them backing Bradley’s decision to stick with Morikawa and English for consecutive sessions.
The way things were set up around Bradley at Bethpage Black did not help matters either. The lack of diverse opinions might have played a role in how things unfolded early on.