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What Rory McIlroy privately said about Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup course setup

Originally posted on HITC | By Antony Martin | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 10:01 AM ET

Few courses are as tough as Bethpage Black, and it’s the layout more than anything else that makes it so challenging.

The fairways are narrow, and there’s no shortage of blind tee shots, some heading uphill or downhill, with large bunkers waiting to catch any mistakes. To keep your scorecard intact on this course, knowing every detail of the layout is crucial.

That style of setup doesn’t exactly favour big hitters. It’s not too different from what we saw at Oakmont earlier this year, where JJ Spaun took home the U.S. Open by staying consistent and accurate off the tee.

But there’s still a lot of distance to cover at Bethpage Black. The course can stretch past 7,400 yards, forcing players into aggressive swings just to try to reach some fairways.

Handling bunkers and long rough could be what separates the field over the weekend. But Rory McIlroy says there’s been a change that might open things up for him this time around.

Rory McIlroy says the rough is ‘not a penalty’ at the 2025 Ryder Cup

Team Europe completed a couple of practice rounds at Bethpage Black two weeks ahead of the Ryder Cup, and they went back again just before play started to get familiar with the course.

While getting in some work on the course, McIlroy noticed that Keegan Bradley and Team USA had made a change to the layout. He spoke about it during an interview with Golf Channel’s Johnson Wagner.

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Wagner explained what McIlroy told him after finishing up on the 15th green. He said: “When Rory was walking off the green, he said to me, ‘The course setup is built for hitting the ball as far as you can, and the rough is not a penalty.’

“All of us that know Bethpage as well as we do know how penalising this rough is. I have never seen this golf course look like this. Talking to a bunch of locals who’ve been around here, they’ve never seen it either. The rough is way lower than normal play.”

It's safe to say that Rory McIlroy is the main draw with fans at the #RyderCup. pic.twitter.com/CVR3a2nT8i
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 23, 2025

The Americans have some powerful players in their lineup, like Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Young, who might benefit from shorter rough. But that adjustment could also work in favour of McIlroy, who remains one of golf’s biggest hitters.

Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood show promising signs during Ryder Cup practice round

The atmosphere at Bethpage Black is expected to be electric, and it didn’t take long for Rory McIlroy to get a taste of it. Even during his practice round, chants of “USA” followed him after a chip went long.

How Team Europe handle that environment could be the deciding factor. That’s why captain Luke Donald equipped his players with VR headsets to simulate the noise and pressure they’ll face on the first tee.

Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images

While no simulation can fully capture the intensity of the Ryder Cup, knowing every inch of Bethpage Black can help players rely on instinct and routine when distractions hit.

That’s why Johnson Wagner’s observation from Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy on the 15th hole caught attention. Both looked sharp in their approach.

As McIlroy pointed out back in 2023, winning an away Ryder Cup is among golf’s toughest challenges. A fast start will be crucial for Europe if they’re to manage that again at Bethpage.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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