“In my eyes, Luke Donald is the best European Ryder Cup captain of all time,” said Keegan Bradley after a brutal Bethpage defeat. A 16.5-11.5 victory in Rome, and a 15-13 win in NY, somewhat proved it. Bradley and Donald, despite being rivals, share mutual respect. Following what Bradley said, Donald shared a special post dedicated to Bradley on Instagram, showcasing sportsmanship.

Sharing a picture of them from the Ryder Cup, Luke wrote, “I want to take a moment to thank my friend and opposing Captain, Keegan. As I said in my opening ceremony speech last week, I have really valued our friendship over the years, and that bond will last well beyond Ryder Cup week. Our Captaincy journey and the contest between our two teams will give us memories that we will continue to look back on together for many years to come.”

“I watched Keegan closely last week and in the build-up. His passion and love for this event, and for his country, are undeniable. The Sunday charge his players made showed just how much they wanted to win for him, and that says everything about the respect they have for their Captain. Unless you’ve walked into that arena, it’s impossible to fully understand the pressures that come with being Captain. He has my full respect, as well as my friendship.”

Despite the result, both captains put on an emphatic strategic effort to help their team succeed. While Bradley may have slightly fallen short on Sunday, despite an outstanding comeback from his squad, he still knew where his team’s strengths were and encouraged them not to give up. That was the driving force behind Team U.S.’s going for one last push to try to steal the 45th Ryder Cup title from the Europeans.

After the effort from Scottie Scheffler & Co. in the Singles matches, it was evident that Keegan Bradley’s side wasn’t ready to give up. The show put on during the final day was one of a kind. It was only Ludvig Aberg who defeated Patrick Cantlay; the rest of the American matches either ended in a tie or a victory. This needed a lot of motivation. Thinking this, Keegan’s leadership is certainly commendable in the situation. It may have been an impossible dream to achieve, but for a moment, Bradley made everyone believe that it could still be possible.

Keegan didn’t leave a stone unturned to motivate his squad, be it before or during the competition.

“I don’t care if it’s raining, if it’s cold, if it’s hot, we are gonna be relentless competitors on this golf course. Out there, that is our arena. This is our time. This is our time,” he told his team before the Ryder Cup.

Despite their friendship, Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald didn’t look eye-to-eye over everything at Bethpage. Especially when it came to the envelope rule debate.

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Despite respecting each other, Luke Donald & Keegan Bradley don’t agree on everything

On Saturday, Matt Fitzpatrick was ready to step out with Viktor Hovland for their Fourball match against Sam Burns & Patrick Cantlay. However, moments before their tee off, reports came in revealing that the Norwegian had sustained a neck injury that had essentially ruled him out of the match for the day.

Tyrrell Hatton replaced him and teamed up with Fitzpatrick to win a point for Team Europe. However, Keegan Bradley feared that Hovland’s injury would force Team U.S. to enforce the envelope rule on Sunday to withdraw one of their players from competition. That is exactly what happened.

Harris English was pulled out of the competition in the end. Both teams shared ½ a point, and Bradley was not happy about it.

“The rule has to change,” he said, suggesting that it needs to be done before the 2027 Ryder Cup.

Luke Donald wasn’t going to let that slide as he had an appropriate response ready for the Team U.S. leader. “I think it’s been in place since 1971. The U.S. has used it before. The rule is the rule, and it’s been in place for a long time,” said the Englishman, suggesting that the Americans didn’t have any problem with the rule when it benefited them.

So their complaint about it, just when it got inconvenient for them, seems unjust.