"Keegan Bradley sucks big time" - Fans react to the Team USA captain's pairing strategy at the Ryder Cup

Team USA is facing heavy criticism after a rough start at the 2025 Ryder Cup, with fans blaming captain Keegan Bradley’s pairing choices for the early losses. Europe grabbed a 5.5–2.5 lead after Day 1 of the Ryder Cup, as Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood won both their matches while Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau lost twice.

Day 2 saw similar struggles for the US. Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Åberg were 3 down through 12 against DeChambeau and Cameron Young. Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood led 4 up through 11 against Harris English and Collin Morikawa. Rahm and Hatton held a 1-up lead over Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay through 9 holes, while Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland were 2 up through 8 against Russell Henley and Scheffler.

Fans on social media reacted strongly to Bradley’s decisions. NUCLR Golf noted Morikawa and English were 4 down through 8 holes on Saturday, ranking 132nd out of 132 optimal US pairings according to Data Golf.

NUCLR GOLF

@NUCLRGOLF

🚨❌🇺🇸 #DISCUSSION — Collin Morikawa & Harris English are 4 down through 8 holes this morning after suffering a big loss yesterday and being 132nd out of 132 optimal USA pairings according to Data Golf. ➡️ Did Keegan make a big mistake this morning?

Fans called out the captain, with one writing:

“Keegan sucks big time.”

Another wrote:

“I’m starting to think they were just a willing sacrifice to the Rory/Tommy monster. No one is beating them anyways.”

One labelled Collin Morikawa’s selection a mistake, writing:

“His (Keegan Bradley’s) 1st mistake: picking Morikawa for the team."

“At the very least, you have to see they aren’t good together. Neither one looked to earn another spot this weekend other than single, but putting them together again is not 'sticking to a plan' it’s insanity,” one chimed in.

One user expressed frustration by comparing team leadership to outsiders who wouldn’t normally run a golf squad:

“Is Steve Cohen and David sterns running team USA???? Clown show!”

Another said:

“Horrendous job by our captain. Also, it is astounding the number of people on here who think he purposely sent them out against Rory and Fleetwood as a sacrifice do you people realize the order is blind and no one knows who the opponent is?”

A screenshot of Fan reactions on NUCLR Golf's post (via X).

Europe got its pairings right on Day 1. Jon Rahm teamed with Tyrrell Hatton to win in foursomes and later joined Sepp Straka for another point in fourballs. Rory McIlroy added to the momentum with a strong foursomes performance, helping the visitors build their early lead in New York.

---

How to watch the 2025 Ryder Cup from home?

With Saturday morning matches complete, Day 2 coverage of the 2025 Ryder Cup continues on NBC until 6 p.m. ET.

Featured Match streams run from 7:05 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET on Peacock and are also free on RyderCup.com, the Ryder Cup YouTube channel, and the NBC Sports app. Peacock is carrying the full NBC simulcast as well.

The afternoon four-ball session begins at 12:25 p.m. ET, with four matches teeing off in 16-minute intervals. Pairings will be announced shortly before play starts.