U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley made an impressive comeback, rallying from three shots behind with just four holes to play. He birdied the 18th hole with a 139-yard approach shot from the center of the fairway, followed by successfully sinking a 5-foot-8-inch putt. The home crowd erupted with chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A” as he approached the green.
Bradley, the 2023 Travelers Championship winner, had been trailing his playing partner, Tommy Fleetwood, by one shot on the final hole of the Signature Event. However, when Fleetwood missed a 7-foot par putt, it created an opportunity for Bradley to secure his eighth PGA Tour victory, which includes his win at the 2011 PGA Championship. After converting his birdie on the 18th, Bradley claimed his hometown tournament title for the second time, finishing with a closing score of 2-under-par 68 and a total score of 15-under 265, winning by one stroke over Fleetwood, who shot a 72. Russell Henley, who made a remarkable 90-foot chip-in on the 18th hole for a score of 69, could have been in a playoff if he hadn’t called a one-stroke penalty on himself during the second round for an incident where his ball barely moved in the rough, despite no one else witnessing it.
“This is absolutely incredible,” Bradley said after the latest memorable finish to Connecticut’s biggest sporting event at TPC River Highlands. “Of all the shots and all the putts I hit, I think I’m going to remember that last one the most.
Bradley’s final stroke certainly wasn’t his only memorable shot. He sank a 64-foot birdie putt from the front of the ninth green, his longest of the year, a 37-foot birdie putt on No. 15, and a 12-foot comebacker for par at the seventh that he called “my biggest putt of the day.”
“I’ve always gotten really great support here (in 15 consecutive starts), but today was insane. The crowd and the atmosphere and the scene, and I just did a great job of, like, staying present because that could have got me out of my routine, out of what I was doing, but I did a good job of staying in my little zone.”
As soon as his final putt dropped, Bradley celebrated by chest-pumping his caddie, Scott Vail. He raised his fists in the air several times, joining the excited gallery that erupted in cheers, chanting “U.S.A.” to honor their Ryder Cup captain. As he left the green, he continued his celebration by hugging his wife, Jillian, and their sons, Logan and Cooper, who received miniature replica Travelers trophies during the awards ceremony.
“I felt like I was chasing all day,” said Bradley, the tournament’s eighth multiple-winner. “I’d get within one, and then I’d bogey the next hole and go down to two. I’d get within one, go down two, and all of a sudden, I’m down three after 14. (Fleetwood) missing that putt (on No. 16) definitely helped me, but I kept reminding myself that so many things can happen on the last four holes. I mean, there’s water on almost every hole, and I knew this was gonna be tough to come down the stretch for Tommy to get his first (PGA Tour) win, and I just tried to keep my head down, try to hit good shots.”
Fleetwood overshot the green on the par-3 16th hole, chipping downhill to about 20 feet beyond the hole for a bogey. This mistake cut his lead to just one shot and set the stage for the comeback that allowed Bradley to secure his second Travelers Championship victory in three years. For the Vermont native, winning in Connecticut is particularly special, as it is the only PGA TOUR event held in the Northeast.
“I was on the 18th tee, and I looked out, and I couldn’t believe how many people were up there, and then I hit a perfect drive and saw it land on the fairway and heard the crowd really cheering. I’ve never heard that before when I hit a drive,” Bradley said. “When I was walking up to the ball, they were cheering me on, and then when it was my turn to hit, the crowd really started to cheer. I couldn’t believe it; I had to take a second to get it together because I needed to hit a shot. … I’m not a very calm guy, and I felt, for me, very calm over that putt, which was strange.”
Bradley finished with a score of 15-under par, earning $3.6 million from a $20 million purse, as well as 700 FedExCup points in the eighth and final Signature Event of the year. He also claimed victory at the BMW Championship, the second event in the FedExCup Playoffs, last August at Cherry Hills, located just outside Denver.
Having turned 39 earlier this month, Bradley celebrated this win on the first anniversary of the call he received asking him to be the Ryder Cup captain. Many believe this victory secured his place on the U.S. Ryder Cup Team, which will compete against Europe from September 26-28 at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York. The top six finishers in the Ryder Cup points standings, determined through the BMW Championship, automatically qualify for the team.
In the past 10 months, Bradley has secured two victories against world-class competition. Only Scottie Scheffler has more wins than him among players ranked ahead of Bradley in the Ryder Cup standings since August. When asked on the 18th green if he believes he should be part of the team, Bradley simply replied, “Go USA!”
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