When he was asked why Team U.S. lost the Ryder Cup, Keegan Bradley took all the blame on himself, saying he shouldn’t have set up the course the way he did. Cutting the rough short was a mistake, as the team didn’t have long hitters like it did a few years ago, who took advantage of the course. Instead, it was the Europeans who drove longer and made life difficult for their rivals, scoring record points in the first two days. As per vice captain Jim Furyk, that is not the only course setup error that led to the downfall of the American side.

Furyk sat down for a press conference preceding the Constellation Furyk & Friends event when he was asked about the slow greens of Bethpage. That’s when Jim told the reporters, “We were told that they were 12 and a half on the stimp. I think that was the request. We were told that they stimped out that in the morning. Our players, one by one, didn’t think they reached that. I didn’t have a stimp in my hand to actually confirm it, nor was I allowed to hit a putt as a vice captain. That’s a rule. So I can’t tell you because I didn’t get to hit a putt. I wish I would have, though.”

With the course already playing soft due to rainfall, fans had already noticed that it was not rolling at all after landing from approach shots. Moreover, the American pros were anticipating the ball to play at a certain speed on the green as per the instructions laid out by Keegan Bradley. However, as seen throughout the three days of the Ryder Cup, many putts were falling short of the cup, especially from Team U.S. players. The greens were clearly playing slower than they had anticipated, which puts the Bethpage groundskeeping staff under the spotlight.

Furyk also stated, “Guys had a hard time getting putts to the hole, and it did appear to be a little gluey. I think the request was always there to set the golf course up with less rough, but I think also believing that the greens would be firmer. I know we got some rain mid-week, but they were really, really soft when we arrived. So that probably is an issue a little bit. It’s not how we were looking at the golf course.”

He also understands that the weather conditions certainly played a major role in altering the conditioning of the course. While they did want to make it a bit easier for their top players, they couldn’t have anticipated it to become so soft that the ball just wouldn’t bounce after landing. That would have definitely had a major impact and the strategic approach of Team U.S. going into the tournament.

Having said that, what was the strategy Team U.S. was aiming for when setting up the course the way they did? And why was Team Europe better able to adapt to the changed conditions? Let’s take a look at both aspects of the conversation.

Why did Keegan Bradley want to make Bethpage easier?

With Bryson DeChambeau in his team, Keegan Bradley knew he had a player who could give him a huge advantage under the right conditions. Sam Burns was also someone who was known for performing better on courses with short roughs. Keeping both their skills in mind and considering the form of Xander Schauffele & Co., Bradley thought it would be best to provide them with an easier course to give them the best shot at scoring points. However, that didn’t work in their favor. NBC analyst Andy Johnson also accused Bradley of picking this outdated strategy that doesn’t apply to the team anymore.

Instead, long hitters like Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, & Tyrrell Hatton took advantage of it. Even when they found the rough, they didn’t have trouble escaping it due to the short-cut grass. That made it convenient for Team Europe to escape difficult positions and save pars. That was enough to help them make fewer errors and beat Team U.S. in the end. Had Keegan Bradley played to his team’s strengths, then maybe they would have triumphed at Bethpage.