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When Keegan Bradley debuted on the PGA Tour, his mind didn’t immediately jump to playing in golf’s biggest tournaments like the Grand Championships or The Players Championship.
He considered playing in the Travelers Championship, which is the closest thing a Woodstock, Vt., native had to a hometown tour.
Of course, Bradley got his first major early in the 2011 PGA Championship. This led to the only regular New England stop on the tour as Bradley desperately wanted to win.
Sunday, get it done.
Beginning the day with a single shot, Bradley bogeyed three of the first six holes to move away from and open up a six-shot advantage. Despite the ups and downs of the back nine, Bradley recovered and shut out the Travelers with three shots, with 23 under total.
“This is for all the kids who grew up in New England. I get to sit out in the winter and watch other people play golf,” Bradley said. “I’m so proud to win this tournament.”
It’s Bradley’s sixth PGA Tour title and already his second this season after winning the Zozo Championship in Japan last October. The only other time Bradley won twice in a season was in his rookie year when he captured the PGA Championship and HP Byron Nelson.
Bradley, who grew up about two and a half hours north of the TPC River Highlands, said this is where he got his first taste of what the PGA Tour was like when he was just 10 years old.
Years later at the same course, Bradley was nearly flawless through 66 holes as he had only made one bogey all week. But his confidence was derailed after he knocked his tee into the water on 5/13. He made two consecutive bogeys, failed to put the par-4 short jumper 15th from right in front of the green and then made a third bogey on the 16th.
But as Bradley was standing over the tee on the 17th, his closest chaser, Patrick Cantlay, missed a six-foot birdie kick that would have cut the lead to just two. Bradley heard the crowd’s reaction, backed off, reset, then stripped a wood at the turn of the fairway, ignoring the right of the water.
His easy equalizer at 17 closed the door as he took a three-shot lead to 72. Bradley savored the moment as the New England fans gave their native son a standing ovation.
“I’m so lucky and thankful to be from this New England area,” he said. “I can’t believe it. This sounds like a dream.”
The win effectively guarantees Bradley a trip back to East Lake for the Tour Championship for the first time since 2018 when he won the FedEx Cup Tournament. It also puts him solidly in the mix for a spot on the American Ryder Cup first team since 2014.