The sun was shining early Monday morning, painting Bethpage Black in the perfect light. The iconic course was dressed to the nines, boasting grandeur and serenity before thousands of empty grandstand seats.

Keegan Bradley, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain and St. John’s alum, walked the familiar grounds — “I’ve played this course 50 to 100 times, this is probably the best condition I’ve ever seen it” — during his team’s first practice round as if he were missing a limb, enduring hourslong, shot-by-shot torture that could have been avoided.

If only he’d picked himself to play for his country.

“I’ve thought about it every second,” Bradley said at Monday’s news conference. “But I’ve also thought about how impossible it would be. … I was picked to do this job as captain, and there’s been certai

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