MEDINAH, IL – Keegan Bradley still hasn’t unpacked his suitcase from the 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup defeat. His unrequited love with the biennial match against Team Europe went next level last year as the losing captain of the U.S. side at Bethpage Black on home soil. And it looked like the U.S. vice captain’s luggage might have some new company and additional heartbreak at Medinah No. 3.
But that’s before the U.S. team erased a three-point deficit heading into Sunday singles to win the Presidents Cup by a score of 17-13 over the International Team.
“Today was a much-needed day for me personally,” he said. “Last year was a tough year for what happened at the Ryder Cup, but to be able to come here and experience this day – I told Webb [Simpson] and Brandt
[Snedker] and Jim [Furyk], we experienced a really horrible moment on that 14th green in 2012, and today we got to experience one of the happiest moments of my golf career.”
Fourteen years ago, the U.S. blew a 10-6 lead at Medinah in the Ryder Cup and while Snedeker kept saying that the course was completely different after being reimagined in 2020, the ghosts of the Miracle at Medinah seemed to be haunting the U.S. team again. The International team held its first lead heading into Sunday since 2019 and were seeking to win on U.S. soil for the first time and win for the first time since 2011.
On Saturday night, Snedeker told his team that he’d been on the other side of a comeback and he knew “strange things” happened. The U.S. side never quit on its leadership even as Snedeker blamed himself for mistakes he made.
“I'm so proud of all the guys. I'm so happy that Brandt gets to be a winning Presidents Cup captain. I really enjoyed watching Jackson Koivun play golf. I really had a fun time today being out there with him and watching these guys battle,” Bradley said. “The thing about this team is they are such incredible people, and it doesn't matter how many points they're down, they're going to fight till the very end. We knew this was going to get close, and I'm just extremely proud of them.”
Bradley didn't hit a single shot all week, but he looked to be Snedeker's most-involved assistant captain during the picks on Saturday and he surely exorcised some demons Sunday at Medinah. Perhaps it is time to open his suitcase from 2012, too.
Adam Schupak is a Golfweek senior writer covering the PGA Tour and the Presidents Cup.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Keegan Bradley finds redemption at Medinah with Presidents Cup win
