American Ryder Cup skipper hits back at course chat from chiefs
Feisty Keegan Bradley has shot down boasts from US Open chiefs as he surged into contention at Oakmont.
The United States Ryder Cup captain has taken issue with comments made prior to the tournament by official John Bodenhamer, who claimed the aim of the organisers was to ensure players got all 15 clubs dirty during the championship.
Fourteen in their golf bags and the one between their ears.
However, Bradley sniped back at that statement as he stated all of the game’s major stars are ready for the challenges and tests of Major events.
He said: “I think that the USGA can say all they want, but we’re professional golfers. This is what we do for a living.
“I don’t agree with that. I think that we go out here every day and try to be professionals and we know when it comes to a major, whether it’s a US Open, British Open, Masters, PGA, that we have to be on top of our game mentally. The USGA is not doing that, we’re doing that.”
Bradley is fighting to catch Sam Burns, who is a strong contender to make his team for Bethpage in September, and he added: “He’s such a great player and he’s been trending.
“Every time I play with him, he seems to have a US Open mentality.
“I was watching him and I just kept saying: It looks like he’s up for the challenge today and he was.”
Bradley is delighted with Burns, but he won’t seeing another of his high-ranking Ryder Cup hopefuls over the weekend after Justin Thomas missed a US Open cut for the third successive time.
Thomas has enjoyed a good start to 2025 with a win at the RBC Heritage and a host of Top 10 finishes, but he was out of sorts at Oakmont.
He said: “It sucks. I’m frustrated because I feel like I should be playing way better in majors, but I haven’t, so clearly I need to do something differently.
“It’s easy to be bummed or not too positive at the moment, but I’ve had a really solid year and played really well. I just wasn’t sharp at all
“I felt like I really didn’t play that bad on Thursday. I had four tee balls that were 50-50 in the air of being in the fairway or not, and all four of them were not, and played those holes five-over, so that can happen out there.
“I was very far from sharp and just didn’t play well. Oakmont is right in front of you.
“You kind of know what you’re getting here. It’s tough and you can’t fake it around here and not play well and expect good things to happen.”
