A veteran rules official reportedly walked away from last year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black wanting nothing more to do with the event. The reason, according to a podcast account, was a series of profanity-laced confrontations with U.S. captain Keegan Bradley.
PGA professional Chandler Withington shared the story on the Musings On Golf podcast. The official involved was Jeff Kiddie, a former PGA of America Golf Professional of the Year.
Kiddie was assigned to Sunday’s opening singles match between Cameron Young and Justin Rose. On the par-3 14th, Rose’s tee shot came up short and right, bounced off a hillside and settled near a path.
What followed was a lengthy delay. Kiddie and other officials worked to find a valid relief area, and a second obstruction made the process even more complicated.
“Now all of a sudden, we’ve got this traffic jam with the first match,” he said.
“Both captains right up to it, and Jeff’s sweating, and he’s doing his thing,” Withington said.
“He’s like, ‘I’ve gone back and watched it 10 times. There’s nothing I can do to even get 10 seconds off that process. It’s what it is.’
“Anyway, they get Rose back in play. He actually gets a nice pitch shot up there to like three feet and halves the hole.”
According to Withington, Bradley then went after Kiddie. Withington alleged that Bradley confronted the official three separate times: once after the hole, again in the 15th fairway and a third time at the green.
“Keegan Bradley goes over to Jeff. He goes, ‘What the f— are you doing up here? F—ing up our whole deal, man. We’re making this comeback. You’re up here f—ing around?'”
Then on 15 fairway, “He goes, ‘You see what you f—ing did back there? Jesus, we’re going to win this f—ing thing. You’re all f—ing it up over here.’ I mean, undresses him again,” Withington said.
Withington pointed to Kiddie’s standing in the game, noting he was the PGA of America’s 2023 Golf Professional of the Year.
“This is the PGA of America golf professional of the year of 2023. [He is a] man [golf] would hold on a pedestal,” he said.
“[Keegan] probably doesn’t even know who Jeff is, right?
“But you’ve got to undress one of our own three times because of your ineptitude for the first two days.”
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Withington said the experience left Kiddie done with the event. Kiddie told him that between the comments he heard directed at players on Saturday and the Sunday exchanges, “I never want to be involved with the Ryder Cup ever again.”
Young beat Rose 1 up. Luke Donald’s Europe held on for a 15-13 road win at Bethpage.
Bradley has since been replaced as U.S. captain by Jim Furyk. Donald will try to become the first captain to win three straight Ryder Cups next year at Adare Manor in Ireland.
