Keegan Bradley thought he had a foolproof plan! The Team U.S. captain was more determined than anyone in his squad to prove his doubters wrong. So when Rex Hoggard told him to bench Bryson DeChambeau for foursomes, he did the exact opposite. With Bradley’s faith, the LIV Golf pro opened and failed the Friday alternate shot match as the American team kicked off their campaign with an awful start. Latest reports suggest that Keegan had also received another vital advice about the start.
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Golfweek’s Adam Schupak revealed a conversation between Bradley and Ryder Cup veteran Paul Azinger. In the texts they exchanged, the Team U.S. captain had asked the veteran if he should let the big guns sit out the first day at Bethpage. To that, Azinger said, “I texted back in bold letters, ABSOLUTELY NOT. I told him you must win Day 1. I want all of his focus on a hot start. The first morning is everything.”
With Team U.S. needing 14½ points to win, it was vital for Keegan Bradley to get the maximum of them on day 1. Resting the likes of Scottie Scheffler & Bryson DeChambeau on Friday would have only put more pressure on them and the team. It would have also given the Europeans a lot of confidence to push harder and get as close to the 14 points mark that they require to retain the title at Bethpage.
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Lede of story: Paul Azinger tells me Keegan asked him about sitting big guns the 1st day so they can go full tilt from there:
“I texted back in bold letters, ABSOLUTELY NOT. I told him you must win Day 1. I want all of his focus on a hot start. The first morning is everything”
— Adam Schupak (@AdamSchupak) September 26, 2025
Having said that, playing Scheffler, DeChambeau, & other big guns at his disposal didn’t do Bradley any favors. In fact, both of them lost their foursome matches on Friday and contributed to Team U.S.’s 1-3 defeat in the first four matches on the morning of the first day. Even after they went with their strongest team. And history suggests that this might not play in favor of Keegan Bradley’s side.
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Keegan Bradley’s Team U.S. might lose despite listening to Paul Azinger’s advice
Never in the history of Ryder Cup has Team Europe won the first three matches of the event on foreign soil. The historic 3-1 lead after the morning of Friday proved that the Europeans are the stronger team at Bethpage. Team Europe extended its lead to 5½ – 2½ against the Americans by the end of the day. Scottie Scheffler & Co. will have to rewrite history to overcome the odds and beat their rivals at Bethpage now.
The last time Team U.S. won the Ryder Cup after trailing by 3-1 was way back in 1971. Yes, it has been 54 years since they made this sort of a comeback. After the end of the first day, the Europeans now need only 8½ more points to retain the Ryder Cup. And they will have 20 more matches to achieve that score. So the chances of Keegan Bradley’s side making a comeback are quite slim. But when they have players like Scottie Scheffler & Bryson DeChambeau in their team, then you can never really count Team U.S. out. With two more days to go, Bradley and his deputies will have to regroup and restrategize for the next two days of the 2025 Ryder Cup.
