Throttled.
That’s the word Xander Schauffele used to describe the beatdown the United States Ryder Cup team suffered at the hands of the Europeans last fall.
“Thinking back to the Ryder Cup, I remember getting throttled, that’s about it,” Schauffele said Tuesday ahead of the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, the final event before the 152nd Open at Royal Troon. “The atmosphere — if I try and think of the positives from the week. The atmosphere, our team locker room, those are the things that were really fun. Just being sort of arm-in-arm with my teammates was awesome all week. Then the fans were awesome with their chants as always.
“So from a golf standpoint, getting throttled is never fun but it is what it is and wore it on the chin there.”
Rome was just another loss for Team USA on foreign soil — its last victory came in 1993 — and it quickly became apparent that change was needed.
And, boy oh boy, did the PGA of America deliver.
On Monday, 38-year-old Keegan Bradley was announced as the 2025 U.S. captain for the biennial bash at Bethpage Black from Sept. 26-28. Bradley, who was arguably the biggest snub from the 2023 squad, has represented the U.S. on two occasions, both losing efforts in 2012 and 2014.
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“Yeah, it’s surprising,” Schauffele said of Bradley’s appointment. “You typically expect someone that’s a little bit older to get selected as a captain. I think a lot of people were banking on Tiger to do it.”
Woods took his hat out of the ring this time around due to several time-consuming commitments.
“With my new responsibilities to the Tour and time commitments involved, I felt I would not be able to commit the time to Team USA and the players required as a captain,” Woods said in a statement.
Despite the PGA of America’s curveball, Schauffele expects good things from world No. 19.
“Keegan expressed his love for the Ryder Cup publicly, which we all saw, and I’m sure — I haven’t talked to him or seen him yet, but I’m sure he’s over the moon and is going to do a great job,” he said.
Schauffele, the 2022 Scottish Open winner, made his Ryder Cup debut in 2021 at Whistling Straits, a 19-9 slaughtering of the Europeans. He’s currently third in the point standings for the U.S., trailing only Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau.
The laid-back Schauffele expects Bradley to bring a bit of fire to the squad next year, something that seemed to be missing last go-around.
“He is so laid back off the course,” he said. “If you get him in like a dinner setting or something, he loves sports. He’ll talk about sports all night long if you like. He’s very passionate individual.
“On the course, he’s intense. That’s just how he competes and how he is. I’m sure as a captain he’s going to have sort of a mixed bag. He won’t be afraid and will get everyone going. I don’t know if he’s coached or captained any other teams in his life, whether it’s his kids’ teams or something like that, but when someone is really passionate about something, they usually do really well.”