US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley sends blunt message to Team Europe

United States Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley says he "doesn't care" what the Europeans "say about us" ahead of the matches. 

Bradley, 39, will lead Team USA at Bethpage Black in two weeks' time. 

The US skipper is at the Procore Championship in Napa this week, with 10 members of his side using the PGA Tours FedEx Cup Fall opener as a tune-up. 

Xander Schauffele is an absentee as he has and wife Maya recently became parents to a baby boy, while Bryson DeChambeau is still banned. 

Meanwhile, in Europe, skipper Luke Donald is watching 11 of his team compete at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. 

Austria's Sepp Straka has decided not to play as, like Schauffele, recently welcomed the birth of his second child. 

As the matches get closer, there is sure to be some sledging and taunting between the two sets of fans. 

The aforementioned DeChambeau got the ball rolling by declaring Europe will not be prepared for the "tsunami" of fans he is bringing.

Rory McIlroy told members of 2025 GB&I Walker Cup team that nothing beats the feeling of "beating the Yanks in their own back yard". 

"Please beat them because I know we're going to beat them at Bethpage," he said. 

Bradley, though, has no interest in engaging in mind games or banter. 

"To be honest with you, I really don't care what they're doing, I really don't care what team Europe does," he said.  

"Alls I know is that they have - you know, when I look at their team I see maybe the best European Ryder Cup team ever. 

"They're really deep top to bottom. They've got major champions, Rory's playing, having an historical year. 

"But I really, I don't care what Europe is doing, I only care about our 12 guys, our caddies, the wives. I only care about what we're doing. 

"They're a confident group, they should be. They won the last Ryder Cup, their team is solid. 

"Luke Donald is maybe the best captain ever, somebody that I've always looked up to. So they should be confident but I'm not really - I really don't care what they say about us, I only care about our team."

"I'm not afraid to say that"

Team USA will be led by the top-ranked Scottie Scheffler. 

Scheffler admitted he wasn't fully prepared for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome and has vowed to right those wrongs. 

He has added two more major championships to his haul since his last experience representing the red, white and blue in the biennial matches. 

Bradley said the more time he spends around Scheffler the more impressed he is. 

"We all know what a generational talent player Scottie is, but when you see Scottie around our guys, around the rookies, the willingness of him to do literally whatever it takes for us to win the Ryder Cup," he said.  

"And when your best player is doing that, you know, the rest of your team is going to fall in line of his lead. 

"I think what's most impressive about Scottie is just the person that he is. When you see the way he plays golf, you're amazed. 

"But then when you speak to him and you're around him and you watch him from afar and you watch him with his family and you see his interaction with the younger players and the caddies, you really have - I admire him.

"I look up to Scottie. I'm not afraid to say that. He does a lot of things right. Shows up on the golf course, shows up in the team room, and obviously he'll be a big part of our team at Bethpage."

The 2025 Ryder Cup will be played from 26-28 September.