What Davis Love III heard from US players about Keegan Bradley after the Ryder Cup

Brandt Snedeker, who was one of Bradley’s vice-captains, is another name being mentioned for that position, with former Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III weighing in on the topic.

Speaking on 5 Clubs, he also revealed what some golfers told him regarding Bradley.

“Brandt has a lot of respect, especially after the last two years of The Players,” Love III began by saying.

“Everybody has always loved Brandt Snedeker, that is why he was chosen to be Presidents Cup captain and assistant to Keegan.

“But they saw him for two years help Keegan run the show, and they ran a great show. Trust me. I was on the edge of the bubble.

“They ran a great programme. We just got out-putted, incredibly, and the green got soft. And we flat out got out-putted.

“Brandt did everything he could to get those players ready. The players know that. A lot of those players inside the team room tell me they have never tried so hard for their captain, Keegan Bradley. So part of the problem is that they were trying too hard.

“But I think Brandt’s leadership. Webb Simpson is an unbelievable leader on and off the golf course. We have good people in there.

“I think behind the scenes, whatever Tiger [Woods] does, or Davis does, or Steve Stricker does, we need to do a behind-the-scenes and give the next group a little bit more information and support. But I was excited about everything at Bethpage, except from the final score.”

The changes Davis Love III believes the US need to make

Bradley gave serious thought to playing in the Ryder Cup, and Love III was one of those who backed that idea before Bethpage.

In the end, Bradley chose not to include himself on the team after failing to qualify automatically.

However, Love III believes there were other factors behind the USA’s loss, and he outlined what he feels should change ahead of future Ryder Cups.

“I would figure out how to putt like the Europeans did on Friday and Saturday, that would be the first thing,” he said.

“Our analytics team told me a lot of stories about tee to green on Saturday we won, and we lost a whole bunch of points because they putted so incredibly well.

“You go back to Hazeltine, our team putted unbelievably. We made so many birdies. The first two days at Medinah, we putted unbelievable.

“But then you go to Valderrama all the way back in 1997, Tiger Woods, Davis Love and Justin Leonard won majors, but we didn’t putt any good.

“How do we elevate our game when we show up at the Ryder Cup, like we do when we show up at a major championship?

“I think we put too much pressure on ourselves in the Ryder Cup and we free it up, as Bob Rotella says, in the Presidents Cup.

“We just need a little attitude adjustment and that’s it. There are a lot of little things we can do to help the team play better and as captains we need to do that and get them out on the golf course.”

The European players’ superb putting in New York was a key factor in establishing their substantial lead heading into Sunday’s singles matches.

But there were several other factors that pushed them towards victory. The meticulous preparation by Donald and his staff was one of them.