Looking at the Sunday Singles of the 2025 Ryder Cup, you could very well question just how Team USA lost despite playing so well. After all, they combined for 8.5 points during the final day, equalling the most in the singles session ever. But while Luke Donald’s Team Europe could only score 3.5 points, it was still one extra point than what they actually needed to retain the Ryder Cup after Saturday. Consistency. That’s what got Europe the consecutive win. In experts’ opinions, however, fingers should also point at the first-time captain, Keegan Bradley.

On the Fried Egg golf podcast, the host and analyst Andy Johnson discussed Bradley’s decisions. “I was listening to Keegan, and it felt like they were using a dated set of preconceived notions about Europe, where it felt like 2016, where they shaved the rough at Hazeltine. And that worked great because they had a huge distance advantage. They were a longer team. I think one of the things when you look at how this European team has transformed to now, where can say they are longer than the American team. They have more power. And they work with the setup that would help a team that has more power… The idea of cutting the rough was a dated idea.”

Collin Morikawa is one of the most accurate drivers of a golf ball. And although he’s not as high as Scottie Scheffler’s Off-the-Tee Total Driving, he stands higher than the other European members. Moreover, with the world No. 1’s luck not working in his favor, Morikawa was at an advantage. Hence, the team now looks different. They came in with a mindset to keep the Ryder Cup and that’s how they left. But that wasn’t the only thing Johnson noticed.

“And then the other thing I heard Keegan say was that ‘We need our greens to be faster because Americans putt faster greens more often than Europeans’. And yeah, that was the case when a majority of European team played on the European Tour. But that entire European Team plays on the PGA Tour full-time. They putt on the same greens. So, these are two over-riding philosophies they had going in that were just dated.”

This was mainly due to how most European players played in the DP World Tour only around 2016. In 2023, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour introduced the “10 card initiative,” which allowed the top European players in the Dubai Race ranking to earn a PGA Tour membership. Both parties co-sanctioned events that allowed European players to compete in PGA Tour tournaments and earn ranking points. Tournaments like the Scottish Open and the ISCO Championship were a part of this collaboration, which ultimately cost Bradley.

Bradley’s setup gives a broader idea of the different approaches the teams are taking in each Ryder Cup throughout the year, Europe’s adaptability, and America’s reliance on old formulas. Bradley based his entire setup on how America won the 2016 Ryder Cup. But what he failed to realize is how fast the European Team has evolved. Europe has some heavy hitters like Ludvig Åberg, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, and Matt Fitzpatrick, who all have PGA Tour experience and are comfortable hitting long.

Bryson DeChambeau led Team USA in driving distance at 331 yards on average, but he wasn’t the only bomber in Bethpage Black. Cameron Young averaged 313 yards, making him the second-longest American. 

In contrast, Åberg, Rahm, and Hovland all average over 305 yards off the tee. Even if they are a few yards off the American hitters, this is a huge shift from when only America had heavy hitters, erasing the myth of how only America had an advantage on long balls. At one point, coming through the build-up for the Ryder Cup, Europe’s average driving distance (308.5 yards) actually exceeded the U.S. (305.6 yards). This might be a small number, but it showcases the evolution that Team Europe has gone through over the years. 

This makes his idea of shaving the rough to give Team America an advantage look naive since Team Europe could match the same distance. His idea of fast greens also didn’t work since all European players are comfortable on American soil. Additionally, Data Golf’s analysis on Team USA’s potential line-ups, based on their modelling and shot data, had Harris English and Collin Morikawa as 132nd out of a possible 132 as a suitable foursomes pairing. 

Not only did Bradley roll out that combination in the opening foursomes for a 5&4 thrashing, he kept them for the second day as well. In-form Cam Young was left out of the opening morning in front of his native New York crowds. He then went on to finish joint-top scorer with three points, while JJ Spaun, another expected to impress, was benched for two sessions over the first two days.

While the Ryder Cup this year was close, as Team America did its best to mount a comeback, the problem lies beyond the field. Keegan Bradley’s preparation coming into this Ryder Cup was based on outdated assumptions, as he was trying to recycle Hazeltine 2016, while Europe has modernized its approach and learnt a lot from the PGA Tour.

Until Team USA evolves and starts game-planning for the Europe of today, not the Europe of yesterday, Ryder Cup heartbreaks like Bethpage Black will continue to pile up.