The European Ryder Cup team survived a historic charge from the U.S. team on Sunday at Bethpage Black, and Shane Lowry played no small part.
Lowry sank a putt on 18 to secure a halve in his singles match and, at last, give the European team the final half point it needed to officially retain the Ryder Cup (and officially avoid the greatest collapse in golf history).
Then, long after the matches were over, Lowry posed for a photo with the Ryder Cup trophy in front of a curious quote on the wall of the European team room. Curious because it was attributed to U.S. captain Keegan Bradley.
Lowry’s final dagger at the American captain also revealed something essential to the European team strategy at Ryder Cups.
Over the first two days of the 2025 Ryder Cup, the European players performed like a team out to prove themselves in the face of a slight. And it turns out that was exactly the case.
Their beef dates back to May, when an episode from Netflix’s Full Swing caught U.S. captain Bradley speaking to his players in a candid moment and dropping a quote that would provide the European Ryder Cuppers all the inspiration they needed.
6 gracious moments from chaotic Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black
“We are gonna go to Bethpage to kick their f—ing a–!” Bradley shouted to his prospective American players.
Bradley later said at the Arnold Palmer Invitational that he was surprised his words were filmed and put in the show and that he meant no “disrespect” to the European team.
“Listen, I thought I was in a locker room with my team,” Bradley said at the Arnold Palmer. “You know, that’s what happens in a locker room. I meant no disrespect to the Europeans. This was a time that we had just won the Presidents Cup, I was in the locker room and it was my turn to address the team. And I meant no disrespect, I was more speaking to our guys.”
But Ryder Cup Europe knows how to take something like Bradley’s quote and use it to rally their players to greatness. And that’s exactly what they did at Bethpage Black.
It turns out that Bradley’s quote from Full Swing was printed on the wall of the European team room all week at Bethpage to provide their team with inspiration.
We know that because of Lowry.
On Sunday night, Lowry posted a photo to Instagram to toast his team’s win. His caption read: “Life long dream today” along with two hearts in the blue and gold colors of the European team.
But the photo he shared was of more interest than the caption.
In the picture, Lowry, uniform still soaked in champagne from the first of the European team’s celebrations on the Bethpage practice green, lounges in the European team room with the Ryder Cup cradled in his arms.
Looming behind him on the wall were Bradley’s words from Full Swing, words that he now, officially, have have lived to regret.
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