By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
SUTTON, Massachusetts (October 23, 2025) – Some moments in golf chase you longer than they should, especially the ones you didn’t ask or hope to be remembered for.
In 1975, Roger Maltbie won the Pleasant Valley Classic, then famously left his $40,000 winner’s check at T.O. Flynn’s bar after an all-night celebration. The check was eventually found, but even as a popular television commentator, he was “the guy who lost the check.”
Keegan Bradley hasn’t misplaced anything. But he knows what it’s like to carry a story he didn’t plan on telling, one with much higher stakes that might follow him for the rest of his career. Speaking publicly for the first time since the Ryder Cup, Bradley appeared this week at Pleasant Valley Country Club during Travelers Championship Media Day and was both contrite and candid in reflecting on his U.S. captaincy.
“There’s no part of me that thinks I’ll ever get over this,” he said, reflecting on the sting of Team USA’s defeat at Bethpage Black last month. “I have to sit with this the rest of my life.”
This past year has been a whirlwind for the captain. Though he won the Travelers Championship for the second time in three years in June, speculation arose all summer of whether he’d be a playing captain. Citing the exertion of captain’s duties, he was certain he made the right call in not playing. However, his squad fell flat in its early rounds. Despite giving a speech to his team on Saturday night, encouraging the squad to “play for that 16 year old kid that would kill for this opportunity,” his team’s strong Sunday push wasn’t enough to overtake Team Europe.
After more than a decade on tour, Bradley has spent the past few years reestablishing ties to the region that shaped him. In many ways, he now embodies what the Travelers Championship has become: a world-class event powered by passionate New England fans.
While Pleasant Valley hosted LPGA and PGA Tour events from the 1960s to 1998, the Travelers now stands as New England’s premier PGA Tour stop. Played as a Signature Event after the U.S. Open, it draws one of the year’s strongest fields and was recently recognized as the Fans’ Choice winner for Best PGA Tour Event by Newsweek.
Bradley has been central to that rise. Over the past two seasons, he’s played some of the best golf of his career, climbing back into the top 15 in the world and winning both the 2024 BMW Championship and his second Travelers title in three years. So when he was named captain of Team USA for this year’s Ryder Cup, it came as a surprise, not just to many observers, but to Bradley himself.
Left off the 2023 squad in Rome, he saw Bethpage as a rare shot at redemption and a chance to further cement his place in U.S. golf history, only this time from a leadership role.
“I would have loved to play at Bethpage,” he admitted Monday. “But I was asked to do a job by my peers. And I don’t know how to do things halfway.”
This season wasn’t all about him, though. Nine days after his Travelers win and still grappling with the speculation around Will Keegan pick himself, Bradley visited Mass Golf’s headquarters at the William F. Connell Golf House in Norton, to honor his aunt, LPGA Hall of Famer and former Solheim Cup competitor and captain Pat Bradley, at the dedication of a new room celebrating her career. The two spent a few hours together catching up and marveling over the newly curated collection.
“My aunt is my hero,” he said. “To go there and really honor her career is something that I love to do. Every chance I get, if I can do something like that to celebrate her, I try to do it.”
He also recalled seeing her compete at Pleasant Valley. “This is one of the spots, so it’s actually really fun to come back here and see it looks great from even this late season.”
This week, Mass Golf unveiled the Pat Bradley Room, a memory-rich tribute to the #LPGA legend and proud Massachusetts native. From major trophies to career keepsakes, it was a celebration of an extraordinary Hall of Fame career. #MassGolf
Story: https://t.co/rlNYOS4S2l pic.twitter.com/B0CnaoiKDF
— Mass Golf (@PlayMassGolf) July 3, 2025
Bradley has long stated his affinity for fall golf, playing out during the shoulder season on the tour. And he especially feels that pull now that he’s spending more time close to Boston.
“I love playing golf in New England,” he said. “A lot of the courses I’ve played, I’d like to play again. I think there’s a lot of hidden gems up here. I drive by Sagamore [Spring Golf Club] a bunch. I’d love to go out there and play.”
While taking some time away from the game, the next chance we’ll see Bradley compete is in the Hero World Challenge, taking place in early December in the Bahamas.
In the meantime, Bradley isn’t sure if he’ll ever get another shot at the Ryder Cup, whether as a captain or even a player. He reiterated his interest, but that uncertainty, too, is part of the weight he now carries. However, it’s not the only focus for what remains in his career.
“I’d love to win another major,” Bradley said as a parting thought. “A goal of mine has always been to get to 10 career wins, so I have a lot of things to still fight for.”
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