CASTLE ROCK — The Captain got here up clutch to shut out the PGA Tour’s long-awaited return to Colorado.
After getting into the ultimate day of the BMW Championship with a one-shot lead, Keegan Bradley performed par golf on Sunday at Fort Pines Golf Membership to complete 12-under par for the event — one stroke higher than Sam Burns, Ludvig Åberg and Adam Scott.
The final man to qualify for the event at fiftieth on the FedExCup Playoffs rankings, Bradley rocketed as much as No. 4 after turning into the twentieth multiple-time winner within the occasion’s historical past.
Subsequent up for the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup captain: An opportunity to win the entire thing at subsequent weekend’s Tour Championship in Atlanta.
“I’ve been in these (nail-biter) conditions loads, and I saved telling myself that,” stated Bradley, who additionally gained the BMW in 2018. “There have been some guys on the leaderboard that hadn’t accomplished that on the Tour, and I knew that was going to be robust for them.
“… I’ve come from behind and gained, I’ve been forward and gained, and I simply saved telling myself that I’ve been in these conditions earlier than and I’ve gained and accomplished it. Immediately was a kind of days.”
The 38-year-old Vermont native performed regular on a closing robust day on the Fort Rock course. He birdied the opening gap, ripped off 13 straight pars after that, then labored round bogeys on the fifteenth and 18th with a birdie in-between on the seventeenth to shut out his seventh profession victory.
“I nonetheless really feel like I’m within the prime of my profession,” Bradley stated. “I really feel like there’s numerous elements to my sport which can be one of the best it’s ever been, and I really feel like I received years forward of me — I’ve needed to make this Ryder Cup crew at Bethpage (Black) the place I’m the captain. That’s at all times a purpose of mine. I really feel like I can nonetheless preserve taking part in at a excessive stage for some time.”
It turned clear early on that Sunday could be one other robust day at Fort Pines, which dried up over the weekend following a Friday suffering from excessive scores following Thursday afternoon’s thunderstorm.
Each Bradley and Scott began in a groove as the ultimate pairing. Scott opened with an eagle on the par-5 first, capped by a 43-foot putt. Bradley additionally birdied the outlet, and the 2 have been off and working.
The gallery, because it did all event, constantly cheered on Bradley with chants of “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!” as followers acknowledged the significance of his captainship as an lively participant.
Whereas Bradley settled right into a collection of pars, Scott missed a number of birdie putts he’d need again. The 44-year-old Australian missed from 9 ft out on the par-4 second, simply barely missed an extended 31-footer on the par-4 third, after which couldn’t gap a 13-footer on the par-4 fifth.
After a bogey on the par-4 sixth and a birdie on the par-5 eighth canceled one another out, Scott struggled to start the again 9. He bogeyed three straight holes as Bradley churned out pars, giving the latter management of the leaderboard.
“Ten, 11, 12 sort of blew it for me there,” Scott stated. “I used to be in place with wedges on each gap and made three bogeys. That’s nearly unthinkable, actually. And I undoubtedly struggled on the greens on the weekend. Simply didn’t fairly have the arrogance in a few of these putts.”
In the meantime, Sam Burns — who teed off almost two hours earlier than Bradley and Scott — went into the clubhouse because the chief at 11-under after firing a 7-under spherical. The 28-year-old recorded eight birdies and labored round a bogey on the par-5 14th for one of the best spherical of the day.
Burns almost holed out from the pot bunker in entrance of the 18th inexperienced, however settled for par as a substitute. His polished spherical featured Sunday’s greatest driving, as he ranked No. 1 in fairway accuracy by hitting 12 of 14, and elite placing. He was second with 133 ft of putts made.
After Burns’ bunker shot on the 18th rolled simply by the outlet and stopped 11 inches from the cup, Burns fell face-down on the sting of the sand, tossing his membership as his hat got here off.
“I knew it was a superb line and I knew it was a reasonably good weight. Generally they go in, generally they don’t,” Burns stated. “Yeah, (my response) was slightly dramatic.”
Bradley’s birdie on the par-5 seventeenth gave him a two-stroke lead heading into the ultimate gap. To make 4 on the seventeenth, Bradley hit a 232-yard five-iron to set him up for a have a look at eagle. His caddie, Scott Vail, referred to as it “one of the best shot I’ve ever seen… proper on the flag and it got here down like a pitching wedge. It was so comfortable.”
His golfer agreed, saying the shot beneath strain to assist shut out the event was “as pure of a golf shot as I’ve ever hit.” That’s excessive discuss contemplating Bradley has a serious win on his resume: the 2011 PGA Championship throughout his rookie season.
“It was slightly downwind, however on the earlier gap I hit 7-iron for 195 adjusted and it simply went perpetually,” Bradley stated. “I feel I used to be slightly jacked up. So we simply determined to tear that 5-iron… It’s a kind of moments once you understand you possibly can hit these photographs in competition when it issues most, and to have the ability to pull that shot off — I imply, for me that was the shot of the event and a shot that I’ll keep in mind perpetually.”
After Åberg completed with a par and Scott missed a birdie putt on the 18th that may’ve put strain on Bradley, the captain two-putted from 5 ft out to safe the win. Then Bradley threw his arms into the air and hugged Vail and his dad, Mark Bradley, the director of instruction at Jackson Gap Golf and Tennis Membership in Wyoming. It was the primary time Mark had seen his son win in particular person.
Now, the man who had his baggage packed and a airplane ticket booked to return dwelling to Jupiter, Florida, final week — pondering he’d be out of the highest 50 — is in place to presumably win the FedExCup Playoffs. He additionally put himself within the dialog for one of many captain’s picks for the U.S. Presidents Cup crew, which is led by Jim Furyk.
“The purpose for subsequent week? Win,” Vail stated. “Make the most of it when you’re taking part in good… it doesn’t occur however six, eight instances a yr that you just’re actually on high of your sport. Exit and win and get some work accomplished subsequent week.”
Bradley’s bubble boy-to-champion achievement capped the Tour’s triumphant return to Colorado for the primary time since 2014 — and professional golf at Fort Pines since The Worldwide led to 2006
The event proved the course’s in depth reshaping was efficient in preserving a number of the world’s greatest golfers in verify.
“We did every part to this golf course (to get it prepared for the PGA Tour),” Fort Pines Golf Membership president George Solich stated. “We largely redesigned 5 holes on the entrance and 5 holes on the again. We rebuilt each inexperienced, rebuilt each bunker advanced, rebuilt each tee advanced. We redid or added all of the water options.
“And we added about 650 yards to make it (a PGA Tour document) 8,130. So we have been prepared. You don’t know till you hit Sunday the way it will maintain… some individuals stated guys would possibly hit 20-under, however I stated no approach.”
Solich stated earlier this summer season, he predicted the BMW Championship winner could be at 15-under.
Bradley’s profitable rating got here in three photographs beneath that, whereas the four-day scoring common for the sphere was 71.430, lower than a stroke beneath par. Even the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer, Scottie Scheffler, struggled to 1-over par.
All informed, greater than 125,000 followers turned out to take all of it in, in response to Fort Pines officers.
“Now we have numerous actually sturdy golf followers on this state and it confirmed all week,” Solich stated. “From Tuesday on, we broke each document for the BMW Championship for attendance. So to say we have been slightly bit golf-starved is an understatement. Cherry Hills was a wild success, however that is a good larger success.”
For Fort Pines, this yr’s BMW Championship handed the litmus take a look at to carry the event, or one other PGA Occasion, again within the not-too-distant future.
“We have been constructed for championship golf,” Solich stated. “That’s what (late founder) Jack Vickers’ dream was, and he’s wanting down on us with an enormous thumbs up. We’ll have the PGA Tour again — we don’t know in what type or when, however it’s too good a spot for golf and too good of a theatre to not.”
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