Keegan Bradley said he feared he’d “never get over” Team USA’s close defeat at the 2025 Ryder Cup. The loss stung, and rightfully so. It was Team USA’s chance at redemption. Now, the team’s “heartbeat,” Justin Thomas, is still trying to set the record straight about what went wrong. As per him, the green speeds. He called it out on the No Laying Up podcast, and this is when it all started. Staff firing back, and then JT firing back again.

“Haha, boy, is this taken out of context! I never once blamed the Bethpage staff; they did an amazing job and did exactly what they were told. I mentioned frustration with whomever Keegan and others spoke to, which (to my knowledge) is not the superintendent or the greens crew, but more so the PGA and whoever sets up the course. Again, to my knowledge, communication isn’t really allowed between the super and the captain, for obvious shady reasons. I could be very wrong though… We got our as–s kicked, there’s no doubt about that, regardless of the course we played!,” wrote Thomas, explaining he never meant to blame the staff.

The controversy started with Thomas’s appearance on the No Laying Up podcast. He’d expressed confusion about why the greens weren’t the ones Bradley had requested, calling it a bizarre thing, as that isn’t something anyone would expect at a home Ryder Cup.

“[Keegan] had been pretty clear about asking for a certain speed and wanting it fast enough. I watched them argue with us that they were 13s [on the Stimpmeter]. It’s like, ‘Guys, we play golf every week, look on TV at how many guys are leaving putts short. Nobody is getting … You can’t have a putt roll 3-4 feet past the hole. Like, these greens are slow. Speed them up.'”

“This is not an excuse. They had to adjust to them just as much as we did,” Thomas added. “But that’s kind of a fun advantage you generally have is being able to [set up the course] a little bit, and it was just so frustrating that we were being fought with and argued with on the speed of the greens that we asked for. So that was bizarre.”

Then a Bethpage turf staffer responded through Rick Golfs’ social media with three pointed criticisms.

First, the staffer dismissed player complaints as mere perception, insisting the data proved the greens were correct. Second, the staffer claimed Bradley spoke to the grounds crew only once, weeks before the event, and never during tournament week. Third, the staffer questioned Team USA’s commitment, saying the grounds crew wanted to win more than the players did.

Thomas’s Instagram response shifted the blame entirely. He defended the Bethpage staff, saying they did exactly what they were told. His frustration wasn’t with the people mowing the greens. It was with whoever coordinates course setup at the PGA level—the officials who communicate between captains and superintendents.

Thomas even suggested communication restrictions exist between captains and superintendents for what he called “obvious shady reasons.” He admitted he could be wrong about the protocols. But his message was clear: the grounds crew wasn’t the problem.

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Did Keegan Bradley’s Communication Failures Cost Team USA?

The distinction matters. The staffer accused Thomas of making excuses and blamed Bradley for poor communication. Thomas agreed that Bradley should have communicated better. But he redirected the criticism away from the grounds crew toward the organizational structure governing course setup decisions.

Thomas addressed the fallout previously, noting both teams faced the same conditions and that the Americans simply got outplayed.

 The dispute reveals competing perspectives. The staff relied on Stimpmeter data—objective measurements showing exact green speeds. The players relied on feel—years of professional experience reading how surfaces actually play under pressure. Both sides believed they were right. Neither would budge during the tournament.

Bradley’s communication gap became the focal point. The staffer’s claim that the captain spoke to them only once raises questions about the captain’s preparation. If the greens felt wrong from Friday’s opening matches, why didn’t Bradley address it immediately? Thomas didn’t answer that question. He just made clear the grounds crew shouldn’t take the heat.

His final admission cut through everything else. Team USA got beaten regardless of green speeds, communication breakdowns, or course setup decisions. Europe won 15-13 at Bethpage Black. The Americans mounted a Sunday comeback but couldn’t overcome their early deficit.

Two months later, Thomas is still clarifying his position. The grounds crew remains defiant. Bradley shoulders the blame. The 2026 Ryder Cup in Europe looms. And the explanations keep coming.