US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley has vowed not to change course after a difficult opening day at Bethpage, where Europe stormed into a 5½–2½ lead. The Americans lost both sessions on Friday, putting pressure on Bradley’s pairings and strategy.
One major talking point was the decision to keep Collin Morikawa and Harris English together, despite analytics ranking them among the least compatible US duos for foursomes. The pair suffered a heavy 5&4 defeat to Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood in the morning session. Bradley confirmed they will face the same opponents again on Saturday. “We’re really comfortable with our plan,” he said. “We’re not going to panic. We believe in those two players.”
Bradley has also kept Russell Henley alongside world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, despite their opening defeat to Ludvig Åberg and Matt Fitzpatrick. They will now take on Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland. Meanwhile, Europe’s captain Luke Donald is sticking with his winning formula, reshuffling only the order of Friday’s successful partnerships.
The US team struggled with Bethpage’s greens on day one, raising expectations of faster conditions on Saturday. Bradley urged his side to stay focused: “When you try too hard in golf, you don’t play as well. We just need to get back into our process.” Donald, meanwhile, praised his team’s fight and warned that the contest is far from over. “The only thing remembered is the winner on Sunday,” he said.
