Keegan Bradley’s inspirational message to U.S. Ryder Cup team? It’s personal

NAPA, Calif. — The clocks read 1:30 in the afternoon, which was a bit past lunchtime, and the players had been on the course for about three hours already, which is a bit long for a nine-hole practice round, so Scott Vail could’ve said bunker sand was on the menu, and his boss’ appetite would’ve been appeased.  

But when Vail told him Silverado Resort had, in fact, burgerdogs, which are even greater than they sound, Keegan Bradley said just two words to his longtime caddie.

“Doooo they?”

Last Tuesday, from a food truck parked near the practice green, they did. Bradley waited in line for the hamburger-hot dog concoction. Players did too. At the Procore Championship, 10 of them had been using the week as both a PGA Tour tournament and a tune-up for next week’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black on Long Island, N.Y. All of it had been one of Bradley’s bigger moves as captain. At the last Ryder Cup two years ago, just three of the 12 Americans played in the two-week lead-up, compared to all dozen of their European counterparts, and the Euros rolled, 16.5-11.5. This year in Napa, then, the Americans played. One of them, Scottie Scheffler, won. Another, Ben Griffin, finished runner-up. 

They burgerdogged too. 

As is often the case with captains, coaches and commanders, there’s a question of motivation. How do you create buy-in? In the Ryder Cup, that’s harder. Golf is an individual pursuit, and there it’s not. Getting players to run through a clubhouse wall isn’t easy. There are means to do so, of course. Playing for country. Playing for teammates. 

To Bradley, it’s partially that.   

In 2012, he played in his first Ryder Cup. The Americans lost in what’s become known as the Miracle at Medinah, after a 8.5-3.5 European whalloping in Sunday singles at Medinah CC in Illinois. Things were emotional. Two years later, Bradley played again. The Americans lost again. Things were emotional again. Then, at Gleneagles in Scotland, Bradley’s Sunday singles loss to Jamie Donaldson was the deciding point in a 16.5-11.5 Euro win. But Bradley’s never played since then. Two years ago, he was close, but was bypassed for the team, with the selection news memorably shown on Netflix’s “Full Swing” show. This year, with a chance to pick himself, he chose just to captain. Eleven years ago, Bradley might have believed he’d be a Cup anchor for the next decade-plus. But golf isn’t linear. 

So to his team of a dozen, Bradley’s message is personal. 

Make the most of it. 

The play. The team. The burgerdogs. All of it. 

“I think as a kid in sports, you always are craving that team atmosphere,” Bradley said. “With golf, we don’t get that ever. When you’re playing for your country in any sport, it heightens all of that. I think for us, we really only get one time a year to do this. 

“When you’re a part of it,” Bradley said, “it really, it changes you forever, it really does. It changes the way you prepare, it changes the way you set your goals for the year, for your career. In golf, you’re so alone all the time in this process. Then when you’re in a team room or even just having dinner last night and you’re looking around at the guys and they’re all in this together. You’re looking at guys from J.J. Spaun to Ben Griffin to Scottie Scheffler and all of a sudden we’re all on the same team here. It’s really such a special feeling to be a part of because it’s so rare. 

“What I’ve been telling the team as well is you never know when your last Ryder Cup is. My last Ryder Cup was the deciding point with Jamie Donaldson and I certainly didn’t think that was my last shot in a Ryder Cup. You really want to enjoy every second of these because you never know when it’s done.”

How has the team responded to that message?

“They get it because we’ve got — you know, at some point this is going to end for all of us,” Bradley said. “It’s going to end for Scottie. I tell them it ended for Jack Nicklaus, guys like that, best player, one of the Mount Rushmore players ever. You have to enjoy these moments because you never know when it’s done. 

“You never know when it’s your last dinner like last night, you never know when it’s your last time hanging in the team room with the guys, so you have to cherish every second.”

Is the thought new? By no means. Eminem even once rapped about it in “Lose Yourself.” (“You better lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it, you better never let it go. (Go)

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo.”) But is the idea a way to play with your driver on fire, so to say? Potentially. 

It’s at least been heard. 

Last Thursday, after the first round of the Procore event, Griffin was asked what the best moment of a team dinner two days earlier had been. It had been held at a rented house near the resort. Buffet-style food was served. Wine was available. It was fun, the U.S. Ryder Cup first-timer said. 

But he left remembering what Bradley told the room:

Don’t take those burgerdogs you had for lunch for granted.    

“You know, one of the coolest things, not the coolest but one thing Keegan kind of brought up is you just don’t know how many Ryder Cups you’re going to play on,” Griffin said, “so just to really soak in all the moments you have with these guys, soak in the fact that you’re one of the 12 best American golfers, and really embrace and build bonds with each and every other guy. 

“I mean, we have our own talks about staying competitive and what we’re trying to do at Bethpage, but I’d say the most important message was just really have fun with each other.”