Paul McGinley responds to Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup outburst

“We’re gonna go to Bethpage to kick their f**king ass.”

The ten words that have lit the blue touch-paper for this year’s Ryder Cup.

US captain Keegan Bradley was the man who said them, his impassioned battle cry at the conclusion of last year’s Presidents Cup having been captured by the Netflix cameras and broadcast in the latest series of Full Swing.

Unsurprisingly, the comments have attracted widespread attention, prompting Bradley to insist last week that he “meant no disrespect” to Luke Donald’s team with the outburst.

“I was more speaking to our guys,” said the American skipper.

“I thought I was in the locker room. But, you know, in the world that we live in I have got to be more aware that there’s always ­somebody filming.”

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Big deal or no big deal? According to former European captain Paul McGinley, it’s most certainly the latter.

Appearing on this week’s episode of The bunkered Podcast, the mastermind of the 2014 Ryder Cup win at Gleneagles played down Bradley’s remarks.

“I don’t make a big deal of it to be honest,” said the Irishman. “Keegan is very, very patriotic. He’s a strong patriot.

“Over here in America at the moment, you can feel it on the streets, with the change in president, there’s a real sense of patriotism and pride, more so than I’ve felt before in America.

“I’ve been working with TGL for the Boston team for the last four matches and regularly the shouts of “USA! USA!” go up.

“So, you’re in an inflamed situation at the moment with the change of presidency and the strong views that many people would have on Donald Trump, and it’s going to be no different when it comes to the Ryder Cup.

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“When I talk about a ‘hostile’ environment at Bethpage, that’s what I’m talking about. Patriotism will come to the fore and there’s no doubt that Keegan is a strong patriot.”

He added: “It’s not a big deal to me. It’s fine, it’s a bit of fun, it’s all part of the narrative around what a Ryder Cup is, and you should be very proud of the country you’re from. It’s not a biggie for me at all.

“They knew what they were going to get when they put Keegan in there. He loves American sports and he’s always worn his heart on his sleeve when it comes to representing his country.

“So, this is not anything new or something we didn’t know already about Keegan.”

• Listen to the full interview of Paul McGinley on this week’s episode of The bunkered Podcast. Search for The bunkered Podcast on your preferred podcast platform or stream here.