Bradley’s Ryder Cup moment: gaffe and tearful anthem mark opening ceremony at Bethpage

Keegan Bradley faced a high-pressure moment as Team USA opened the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black on Long Island, a stone’s throw from his alma mater. The USA captain appeared rattled by the enormity of the occasion during the opening ceremony, delivering a memory-filled address that carried both a gaffe and an emotional beat as the Star-Spangled Banner played.

Bradley spoke about the 1999 Ryder Cup at Brookline, describing a moment that he told the crowd helped shape his life and leadership. In recounting the scene, he mixed up the names of players involved, suggesting Justin Rose sank the winning putt. In fact, the memory involves American veteran Justin Leonard, and Rose — a European competitor that week — was seated nearby. The moment underscored the pressure Bradley felt as he stood in front of home fans and team members at Bethpage Black. The crowd’s energy, the stage, and the memory mix helped set a dramatic tone for the weekend in New York.

The emotional wallop extended beyond the misremembered line. As local Long Island musician Mike DelGuidice led the crowd in the anthem, Bradley could be seen fighting back tears, a moment captured as the ceremony underscored how personal this Ryder Cup felt for him. Bradley later connected his roots to the region, saying, “I come from New England, but I went to St. John’s. That’s where I fell in love with New York,” highlighting his ties to the state and to Bethpage Black in particular.

Bradley also reminded the audience of the significance of his role. “Being your captain is an honor of a lifetime,” he said, acknowledging the electric, raucous, yet respectful atmosphere that makes the Ryder Cup unique. He spoke of a fire that travels with the competition, describing it as a force that can drive a team through every match and every moment. Those comments came as the event’s mood shifted from nostalgia to a call to compete with heart and resolve.

The moment served as a microcosm of Bradley’s broader arc. Named captain last year after agonizingly missing out on a Ryder Cup pick in 2023, he now faces the task of guiding the Americans across three days of matches against a strong European team. In his remarks, he framed the challenge as a shared mission: reclaim the Ryder Cup and energize a squad that, he implied, must balance pressure with poise on the backdrop of a passionate home crowd.

The speech’s personal elements — the Brookline memory, the misnamed opponent, and the heartfelt anthem moment — highlighted both the human side of leadership and the intensity of competing in one of golf’s most storied rivalries. Bradley’s task over the weekend is to translate that energy into steady, reliable performance across the lineup while managing the expectations of a nation tuned in to Bethpage’s stage. The team’s weekend is just beginning, and Bradley’s opening message — honest, emotional, and focused on collective purpose — set the tone for what many will view as a measuring stick moment for his captaincy.

As play commences, Bradley will oversee a lineup that he hopes will channel the same fire he described on Thursday. The Ryder Cup’s format, history, and the atmosphere surrounding Bethpage Black will test every player's nerve, but the captain’s opening rhetoric — even with its misstep — emphasized resilience, leadership, and a commitment to the American cause. The weekend’s results will determine how Bradley’s leadership is remembered: as the moment he steadied a storied team under pressure, or as a narrative of the gaffe that came with the territory of guiding a nation’s hopes in one of golf’s grandest stages.