Keegan Bradley ‘surprised’ Netflix aired his Ryder Cup locker room jab

They were the spiciest words from the new season of Netflix’s Full Swing, and for good reason.

They were also the final words, coming in the 52nd minute of the last episode of the season.

“I’m gonna get criticized as the captain next year. They’re gonna underestimate me,” said Keegan Bradley, eyes full of fire, in the U.S. team room immediately following an emotional Presidents Cup win. “They’re gonna doubt me. I’ve been doubted my whole f—ing life. That’s when I do my best work.”

And then the big, season-ending swing.

“We are gonna go to Bethpage to kick their f—ing a–!”

Bradley’s words were triumphant, and they placed an exclamation point on the end of an otherwise successful third season for the Netflix series, which spent the first week after launch on the streaming giant’s coveted Top 10 list. They were also surprising: typically Ryder Cup captains are loathe to reveal anything that could provide a competitive spark to their opponents, let alone a statement tantamount to fighting words in front of television cameras for a platform serving 300 million people.

Evidently, Bradley’s words were surprising to even him. After a brilliant opening-round 69 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain suggested that he too was caught off guard by Netflix’s use of his language from inside the locker room.

“Listen, I thought I was in a locker room with my team,” Bradley said. “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.”

Bradley was understandably eager to douse any flames of controversy from his comments — particularly if they were, as he said, intended to remain private.

“I was a little surprised, yeah,” Bradley said. “But again, I have to know that in this day and age, especially with cell phones, everything’s being recorded.”

Of course, it’s easy to take Bradley at his word. For one thing, there’s several decades of precedent of Ryder Cup captains avoiding provocations. For another, Bradley has established a reputation as one of golf’s most thoughtful speakers. It’s unlike him to unload on anybody, let alone on a group whose ears will spend the next six months searching for even an inkling of a public slight.

“I mean, maybe [the scene might have provided bulletin board material to the Europeans],” he said. “I don’t think the Europeans need any more motivation to win the Ryder Cup. They’re a special group of players and the Ryder Cup means a lot to them. And when the Ryder Cup year and when the Ryder Cup comes along, they really seem to come together and play their best golf. So I think that they’re motivated enough to beat us.”