There’s no shortage of motivation when it comes to the Ryder Cup, and American captain Keegan Bradley just handed captain Luke Donald and the Europeans a little bit of bulletin board material on Netflix’s “Full Swing.”
The clip of Bradley giving a speech to the United States team after the Presidents Cup has now gone viral as the new U.S. captain gave a motivational speech in which he promised to deliver victory this September at Bethpage Black.
“I’m gonna get criticized as the captain next year,” Bradley said. “They’re gonna underestimate me. They’re gonna doubt me. I’ve been doubted my whole f—ing life. That’s when I do my best work.
“We’re gonna go to Bethpage to kick their f—ing a–!”
If you think that clip didn’t quickly make its way around those expected to be part of Team Europe, well, you don’t know the Ryder Cup.
“Oh yeah. We’ve all seen it,” Shane Lowry said on Wednesday ahead of the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.
Lowry later went on Golf Channel’s “Golf Today” and gave a diplomatic answer about Bradley’s fiery Ryder Cup promise.
“Obviously, I saw it,” Lowry said. “Look, they’re going to be fired up to go beat us. Keegan is going to be a great captain, and we’re under no illusion that [he won’t be]. We’re certainly not going to doubt him. And I’m sure Luke Donald is going to prepare his team as best he can, and we’ll give it a go when it comes to it.”
Veteran Ryder Cupper and former vice captain Francesco Molinari was adamant Bradley’s speech wasn’t much of a needle-mover.
“It’s not a big deal,” Molinari told Golf Channel. “Those things happen all the time. … I can understand why Keegan did it. We love to win. They love to win. What Keegan said, was not out of bounds.”
The Americans have won three of the last four Ryder Cups in the United States. Each of those wins has been by at least five points.
While the Europeans were diplomatic about Bradley’s viral Netflix moment, don’t think they won’t use it as fuel by the time September rolls around.