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Warning: This post contains spoilers for Season 3 of the Netflix documentary “Full Swing,” which released all seven episodes today. Read about the highlights here.
Scene: The Presidents Cup in Montreal had concluded last September, the Americans winning 18½-11½. In the giddy U.S. team room, Keegan Bradley’s caddie Scott Vail gave him the “game ball”—in this case, a football—for a 2-1 record that included a match-winning putt on Thursday and the Cup-clinching putt on Sunday. As the cheers died down, Bradley began to speak, and Netflix’s camera was there to capture his words. Until now, the general public wasn’t privy to what came next, but suffice it to say that Bradley, the American captain for this fall’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, just lit a fire that is going to burn bright and strong on both sides of the pond. And for every U.S. team member/fan that it inspires, it’s going to infuriate someone on the European side just as much.
“I’m gonna get criticized as the captain next year,” he began. “They’re gonna underestimate me. They’re going to doubt me.”
All basically fine so far, but that point there’s a tonal change, and you can almost see the color rise in his face as his words take on a new intensity.
“I’ve been doubted my whole f***ing life,” he continues. “That’s when I do my best work.”
And then he drops the bomb:
“We are gonna go to Bethpage to kick their f***ing ass.”
The room explodes, and the Ryder Cup gauntlet has been laid in the most outrageous way imaginable.
You can see the clip for yourself at the very end of the seventh and final episode of the new season, and if you’re like us, your jaw will remain on the floor for at least a few hours afterwards.
Was this a good move? Extremely hard to say. While it could inspire his own guys, it’s also true that Europe plays best with a chip on its shoulder. With that, Bradley just handed them the world’s largest Dorito. The Americans will be the favourites at Bethpage, mostly because it’s really hard to beat the home team in a Ryder Cup, but this feels like the kind of motivation you don’t want to hand your opponent, especially when they already love to feel like David going against Goliath. But Bradley did hand it to them and put himself at risk at the same time. If the U.S. wins, he looks like a hero, but if they lose? He’ll spend the rest of his life hearing about this quote.
Frankly, we needed something like this in 2025—the Ryder Cup just got a whole lot juicier, and with it the entire season. No sleep til Bethpage!
