Kevin Kisner has opened up about the moment he realised Team USA could be in serious trouble during the Ryder Cup after Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood showed a different approach to playing Bethpage Black.

Kisner was one of Keegan Bradley’s vice-captains during the Ryder Cup in New York last September. Europe eventually secured a 15–13 victory after holding off a strong fightback from the United States in the Sunday singles.

Speaking on the Fore Play podcast Kevin Kisner described a moment from the Friday morning foursomes session when he first sensed the European team had already figured something out about the course setup.

“I’m out with the first or second group on Friday morning and we get to six at Bethpage. We’re playing Tommy and Rory. Six is the little short hole down the hill and you can’t see your drive,” Kisner said.

“Tommy stands up there and just laces this ball that’s obviously going into the rough as soon as he hits it. And as soon as he touches it Rory goes, ‘Great shot.’ I was like, ‘Isn’t that in the right rough?’

“We go down over the hill and Rory’s got like 80 yards from the right rough to the front pin. He lands it to a foot and it doesn’t move and we lose the hole.

“I got on the radio and said, ‘Boys, I think we’re f*****.’ These guys are purposely hitting it in the rough on these short holes to take the spin off. I’m like, ‘Oh no, this is bad.’”

Kisner said the moment made it clear that the Europeans had already identified a way to use the course conditions to their advantage.

McIlroy and Fleetwood went on to win their Friday morning foursomes match 5&4 against Collin Morikawa and Harris English. Europe also claimed the opening session 3–1.

Kevin Kisner says the Bethpage setup may have cost Team USA

Kevin Kisner also looked back at the course setup at Bethpage Black, saying it was another area where Team USA may have misjudged things during the Ryder Cup.

Europe went on to win the contest 15–13 on Long Island, becoming the first visiting team to claim the trophy since 2012. Although the Americans fought back in the Sunday singles, they had spent most of the week chasing the match.

Kevin Kisner said the American side made the course easier than the typical Bethpage test.

“The course setup is the easiest one to go back to,” Kevin Kisner said. “We have the stats to back up why we did it but in hindsight I would rather have lost going down with typical Bethpage.”

Bethpage Black is normally known as one of the toughest courses in the United States, especially when it hosts the US Open. For the Ryder Cup, however, the fairways were kept wider and the rough was not set up to be as punishing.

Rain during tournament week softened the course even more and scoring became easier than expected. Kisner admitted that the conditions did not end up helping the home side.

“They obviously outplayed the hell out of us,” he said. “They played incredible. If you go back and run the simulations of what we expected to happen, we did exactly what we expected.”

The 2025 Ryder Cup took place from September 26 to 28 at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York, with Europe holding on to win 15–13.