Bradley sticks to Ryder Cup plan after rough Day 1 as Morikawa-English rematch looms

Keegan Bradley said the United States will stay with its Ryder Cup plan after a rough opening day that left the Americans 3-1 in Friday foursomes. The session featured a lopsided result in which Collin Morikawa and Harris English, one of Bradley’s most scrutinized selections, were soundly defeated 5 and 4. Morikawa and English contributed only one birdie in 14 holes, and Bradley stressed there would be no panic as he moves forward with the framework he envisions for the weekend.

Bradley acknowledged the decision to reshuffle his lineup for the afternoon four-ball on Friday, opting to sit Morikawa and English along with Russell Henley, who struggled on the greens in his foursomes assignment with Scottie Scheffler. In their places Bradley turned to Ryder Cup rookies Cam Young, Ben Griffin and J.J. Spaun. Young, a native New Yorker, gave Americans their best show of the day with five birdies in a dominant win; Griffin added four birdies, and Spaun contributed three. Bradley said he was confident in the youngsters and that the team’s plan was built around players who could elevate the intensity and energy on the course.

The plan for Saturday’s morning session is as explicit as the risk Bradley took with the Morikawa-English pairing on Friday. Morikawa and English will get another chance in the first live match of the day, this time in a rematch against Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood at 7:26 a.m. Also on the Saturday slate, Bryson DeChambeau will team with Young in the opening foursomes of the day (7:10 a.m.) against Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Åberg, while Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele—who were the only U.S. pair to win in foursomes—will return at 7:42 a.m. to face Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley are set to play together again in the second-to-last morning match (7:58 a.m.) against Viktor Hovland and Robert MacIntyre, and the final morning pairing features Cantlay with Burns against McIlroy and Lowry.

Cantlay, who had previously carried a strong Ryder Cup track record, delivered the lone American victory in Friday’s morning session, sinking the winning putt on the 18th hole of the final foursomes match to keep U.S. hopes alive. Bradley lauded Cantlay’s resilience and execution, saying, “I learned that Patrick Cantlay is a tough dude. I watched him out there hit a lot of great shots, make a lot of incredible putts. I’m proud of the way the guys fought. It is not easy when you are down in matches in a Ryder Cup and trying to fight back.”

In the afternoon four-ball, Cantlay paired with Sam Burns to square the match against McIlroy and Shane Lowry, with Cantlay delivering three birdies on the back nine to pull even after facing a two-hole deficit. Yet the moment arrived on the 14th hole, a par-3, when Cantlay faced a potential go-ahead birdie opportunity for his team and could not convert. He paused twice over a 3-foot par putt before missing, then had a chance to win the 15th but pushed his 15-foot attempt to the right. On 16, Cantlay birdied again, only for McIlroy to answer and force a halved hole. The sequence underscored the fine line between gained momentum and momentum lost in the Ryder Cup’s high-pressure environment.

Bradley’s post-round message was clear: the U.S. would stay with the plan and not abandon players who give the team a controllable path to success. “We have a plan of what we’re going to do,” he said. “We’re really comfortable with those two players. [I’m] excited who they are playing … We’re sticking to our plan. We’re not going to panic. We’re not going to panic and make those sort of mistakes. We’re going to stick to what we know. We have a lot of confidence in them. They were eager to get back out on the course, and that’s why we did that.”

The decision to lean on Young, Griffin and Spaun reflects Bradley’s strategy of blending experience with youth to sustain competitive intensity on Long Island in the face of Friday’s rough start. Young, Griffin and Spaun responded with vigor in their four-ball bout, providing much-needed lift for a U.S. squad still seeking its footing after a night of tough matchups and tough puts. Bradley’s confidence in their readiness for high-stakes moments was on display even as Morikawa and English prepare to return to action.

The Ryder Cup remains a test of depth as well as pedigree, and Bradley’s willingness to pivot mid-tournament signals a larger willingness to adapt to the flow of matches, even if it means reintroducing a tested but recently inconsistent Morikawa into a pressure-filled rematch. Morikawa, who has faced a stretch of inconsistent results over recent months, will be tasked with delivering a different energy on Saturday against a McIlroy-led European lineup that has historically performed well in pairs formats. The rematch at 7:26 a.m. will be a focal point as the U.S. looks to hinge Saturday’s momentum on a wave of young players who showed they could rise to the moment on Friday.

The afternoon session on Saturday will again feature Cantlay and Burns in a high-leverage pairing, and the U.S. will rely on Cantlay’s steady hand and experience to provide a counterweight to the Europeans’ push. Bradley’s choice to lean on Cantlay’s veteran temperament and the energy generated by Young, Griffin and Spaun will be a central storyline as the team moves deeper into the weekend.

Bradley’s plan rests on balancing momentum with discipline, trusting players who can execute under pressure, and avoiding overreaction to a single day’s results. The captain’s comments underscored a simple, recurring theme in Ryder Cup play: steady leadership paired with the willingness to reinvent the lineup when the matches demand it. As the day-to-day results unfold, the U.S. will attempt to convert its depth into consistent points and to rebound from a challenging start with a clear, executable path forward.