Considering what happened in the weeks leading up to last year’s Ryder Cup at Marco Simone, you could not pen a better script for this year’s ending at Royal Montreal.
Keegan Bradley went from being snubbed to clinching the winning point, defeating Si Woo Kim in the sixth match of the day, 1 up. Bradley’s win gives the Americans their 10th straight win in the Presidents Cup, continuing their dominance over the Internationals in this competition.
“That was incredible,” Bradley said after on the 18th green.
“I was saying all week I didn’t know if I’d ever get to do this again. To play in this tournament and then to win the [clinching] point, my goodness, the last time I played, I was the point to lose the Ryder Cup.”
Bradley had not played on an American team since 2014, when the Europeans trounced Team USA at Gleneagles in Scotland. That Ryder Cup is best remembered for what happened afterward, as Phil Mickelson eviscerated Tom Watson’s captaining strategies in the post-round press conference while sitting next to Watson and the entire team.
Bradley was 28 years old then, and he thought he would play on many more teams in the future. But those opportunities never came—until this week in Canada.
“I missed the guys. The guys, they’re just incredible,” Bradley said.
“They really love each other. The wives and the caddies love each other. It’s such an amazing atmosphere. I’m just so proud of the team, and I’m proud of just being here.”
Bradley played in only three matches this week for Captain Jim Furyk, but he won two points for the Americans, an impressive accomplishment since he sat out two sessions.
His victory on Sunday proved exceptional as well. His opponent took over the Presidents Cup on Saturday with his Steph Curry-like celebration, and Kim gave Bradley his all on the front nine on Sunday. Both players made three birdies over the first nine holes, but Kim walked to the 10th tee with a 1-up lead.
Then, Bradley won the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 14th holes, making three birdies over that stretch to open a 3-up lead with four holes to play. It looked all but certain that next year’s Ryder Cup captain would win his match, but Kim refused to go away. The South Korean won the 16th and 17th holes, forcing the match to go to the 18th with Bradley holding a 1-up lead. But Kim could not get his birdie to try to drop, thus giving the Americans the full point and the Presidents Cup victory.
“I learned that I can still do this. It’s always hard. It always is,” Bradley said.
“That was really uncomfortable there at the end. But I’m proud of the way everyone played today.”
Now, Bradley gets to look ahead to next year at Bethpage Black, the course he knows like the back of his hand thanks to his playing days at St. John’s University in nearby Queens. He says he will employ tactics like the ones Furyk employed this week. If they prove successful again, perhaps Bradley will go from being the Presidents Cup clincher to being the victorious Ryder Cup captain in a 12-month span.
That would be some story, wouldn’t it?
Although this story of redemption—one that began with a heartbreaking phone call from Zach Johnson one year ago—is also a pretty good tale.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
