Keegan Bradley, next year’s Ryder Cup captain, has gone from rock bottom to first place with a dramatic win at the BMW Championship in Colorado, a week after enduring the “most stressful” Sunday of his life.
After Tom Kim’s heartbreaking loss in Memphis last week, Bradley arrived at Castle Pines as the last player in the field and No. 50 in the FedEx Cup rankings. But now Bradley leaves the Rockies as a winner. He’ll return to the Tour Championship at East Lake as the No. 4 player in the rankings and have a good chance of winning the FedEx Cup.
“This just goes to show why we have to work hard every week because you never know how quickly things can change,” Bradley said.
“Now I go to Atlanta with a chance to win the FedExCup. I can’t believe it. I’m so excited. My dad’s the first person to see me win, so we’re excited.”
Bradley started the day at 12 under par, one stroke ahead of Adam Scott, then finished with a par 72 to win by the same margin he had started the day with. Scott, Ludvig Oberg and Sam Burns also finished at 11 under par, and all three have qualified for next week’s tournament in Atlanta.
The highlight of the day came on the par-5 17th hole, where Bradley reached the fairway and decided to go for an aggressive approach shot. The 2011 PGA champion was two strokes ahead of his partner Scott and felt obligated to dash the Australian’s hopes. Bradley Beautiful approach from 229 yards He got it down to 16 feet and made a two-putt birdie to get to 13 under.
“Well, I adjusted it to 222 holes because of the elevation and stuff, so I hit it with a 5-iron,” Bradley said.
“I got a little excited. It was one of the best shots of my life.”
Meanwhile, Scott also made a birdie but the Australian needed an eagle to threaten victory.
Bradley was two strokes behind going into the final hole, which he badly needed as the 18th was the second-hardest hole of the day. Scott offered a ray of hope when he hit a great approach shot into a fairway bunker but to about 15 feet in front of the pin. However, the Australian missed a birdie and Bradley two-putted for bogey to win by one stroke.
For Scott, this was another close win, having also finished runner-up at last month’s Genesis Scottish Open.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t win today, but I’m very happy to be going to East Lake, something that wasn’t even thought of a few weeks ago,” Scott said.
“I played well.”
For Bradley, it’s a return to glory, his first since winning the Travelers Championship on home soil a year ago. He now has a good chance of making next year’s Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black, where he snuck in while playing at St. John’s. He’ll no doubt be fired up, especially considering the fans were chanting “USA! USA! USA!” as he walked down the 18th hole.
“I was prepared for that roar,” Bradley said. “We did it. It was a battle all day.”
Bradley battling for a spot on his own Ryder Cup team will be a much more entertaining story than his last-to-top rise this week, but first he must turn his focus to Atlanta, where he’ll have a chance to win the FedEx Cup.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
