Cromwell, Connecticut — Sometimes you just want something. that too badly.
Keegan Bradley wanted to win the Travelers Championship in 12 attempts this week.
A native New Englander raised in Vermont, he spent his youth attending tournaments as a fan, dreaming of moments like the one he had on Sunday at the TPC River Highlands.
Bradley spent most of his day boat racing in the field, so it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
But after building a six-shot lead on the back nine, Bradley stumbled and stumbled along the way, but never fell.
After all, the 37-year-old nephew of LPGA Tour legend Pat Bradley, who played golf at St. John’s College, tenaciously made his dream come true since chasing his idol David Duvall in the tournament. teenagers.
Bradley’s sixth career PGA Tour win will go down as the most important to him.
He won the 2011 PGA Championship in his first major career start, but it was so short a time that he never really understood how important it was.
This was something Bradley had been waiting for all his life, and after some tense moments he grabbed it and finished at 23-under-par. He was three shots behind runners-up Zach Blair and Brian Harman, and four shots ahead of world No. 1 Scotty. Schaeffler, Patrick Cantray, Chez Levy.
“Today was a day I will never forget,” said Bradley. “I still can’t believe it. It’s the best golf I’ve ever played.It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little girl.It’s very rare to be able to make your dreams come true.”
Bradley, who went to bed one shot ahead of Reevey, said he had a bad dream or two on Saturday night.
“I woke up last night and had two dreams of shooting off target,” he said. “It’s like a nightmare.”
Bradley didn’t hit a bad shot until his tee shot on the par 5 13th, when he blocked it into the water on the right side of the fairway.
That led to a bogey, a bad lie on the 14th and a bogey, and then a short, driveable par-4 15th for what appeared to be a bogey.
A bogey followed on the 16th, and suddenly Bradley finished the tournament’s first 66 holes with one drop shot, dropping three shots in four, closing the six shot gap to three nervous shots on the 17th and 18th. . .
Bradley’s caddy Scott Bale told the Post that Bradley didn’t say anything to the player until the 17th tee, when he told Bradley: Let’s finish with the next two holes. ”
“And he found a way and hit a great tee-ball on the 17th, which was the only hole he could hit.” [big] Really number on,” Bale said, pointing to the lake on the right side of the fairway.
“Yeah, that was stressful,” Bradley said of Wednesday’s tee shot. “That was the difference between winning and losing a golf tournament. What a great shot, one of the best shots I’ve ever hit in my life.”
For Bradley, an avid fan of Boston’s sports teams, it was magical to get up on the 18th and see fans shout his name as the tournament approached.
“I’ve dreamed all my life to play at Gillette Stadium at Fenway Park, and it felt pretty close to what it would be like,” he said.
He went 0-for-4 on the day and shrunk his career 54-hole lead.
Four years ago, Bradley was paired with Leavy in the final group, but in the final round, he was six shots ahead and nearly lost the lead to a Bradley run.
However, a double bogey on the 17th hole thwarted Bradley’s chance to pass Levy.
“I think he wanted this more than I thought,” Bale said. “I don’t know how he’s going to deal with this issue. After years of him really wanting this tournament, it’s a lot of pressure and probably doing himself a disservice for wanting it so much. I would.”
Bale believes the key to Bradley’s victory on Sunday was having his family, wife Gillian, and two sons Logan and Cooper together.
Rory McIlroy, who birdied five of the first eight holes to come from behind on Sunday, called Bradley’s performance “especially in a home tournament like this.”
“I know what the pressure is like when you come back to Ireland and play the Irish Open,” McIlroy said. “So what he’s doing is really great.”
Within minutes of winning, Bradley revealed he received text messages from Michael Jordan and Aaron Rodgers, among others.
“It meant a lot,” said Bradley. “Even if he’s playing for the Jets now.”
He then got serious and said, “When you get an email from an athlete, it changes your impression because they know what it takes to do something like this and that’s a big deal.” Because it makes sense.”
