Keegan Bradley

Keegan Hansen Bradley[1] (born June 7, 1986) is an American professional golfer who competes on the PGA Tour. He has won four tour events, most notably the 2011 PGA Championship. He is one of six golfers to win in his major debut, along with Ben Curtis, Fred Herd, Willie Park, Sr., Francis Ouimet and Horace Rawlins. He was the 2011 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year and has briefly featured in the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking.

Keegan Bradley
Personal information
Full nameKeegan Hansen Bradley[1]
Born (1986-06-07) June 7, 1986
Woodstock, Vermont
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Nationality United States
ResidenceJupiter, Florida, U.S.
Career
CollegeSt. John's University
Turned professional2008
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
Former tour(s)Nationwide Tour
NGA Hooters Tour
Professional wins10
Highest ranking10 (March 24, 2013)[2]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour4
European Tour2
Other6
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentT22: 2015
PGA ChampionshipWon: 2011
U.S. OpenT4: 2014
The Open ChampionshipT15: 2013
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year		2011

Early life and college career

Bradley is the elder child of Mark Bradley, the head professional at the Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club just outside Jackson, Wyoming.[3] Growing up as an all-state ski racer in Woodstock, Vermont, Bradley decided as a teenager to pursue golf over skiing.[4][5] He lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 2001 and 2002 when his father was an assistant pro at Portsmouth Country Club.[6] He then moved to Hopkinton, Massachusetts prior to his senior year at Hopkinton High School, where he won the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division 2 individual state championship in 2004.[7] Hopkinton coach Dick Bliss later recalled that Bradley received the third-most attention of his players that season, and that "not many big-time college recruiters gave him much of a look."[8] Bradley attended St. John's University and won nine collegiate events before graduating in 2008.[9]

Professional career

2008-2010: Early years

Bradley turned professional in 2008 and began playing on the NGA Hooters Tour, where he won at Southern Dunes in his fifth and final start of the year.[10] Bradley won a second Hooters Tour event in 2009 at the Texas Honing Open.[11] He made 22 cuts in 26 events that season and earned $84,000.[8] He also played two Nationwide Tour events that year, making the cut in both of them.[10] He attempted to earn a 2010 PGA Tour card through qualifying school but fell short by two strokes.[9] In 2010, Bradley played on the Nationwide Tour, where he recorded four consecutive top-five finishes late in the season to finish 14th on the money list and earn his PGA Tour card for 2011.[7][9]

2011: PGA rookie season, first major win

Bradley made the cut in his first PGA Tour event, the 2011 Sony Open in Hawaii, and finished T-7 the following week at the Bob Hope Classic.[7] He added a second top 10 finish at the Valero Texas Open in April.[12] Bradley won his first PGA Tour event at the 2011 HP Byron Nelson Championship. He defeated Ryan Palmer on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.[13] The victory gained him entry into the 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, where he shared the 36-hole lead and led midway through the final round before finishing T-15.[14][15]

PGA Championship

The week after the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Bradley played in his first major, the 2011 PGA Championship. A second-round 64 propelled him into a share of the lead at the halfway stage, and Bradley remained only one shot out of the lead after 54 holes.[16] In the final round, he triple-bogeyed the 15th hole to fall five shots behind Jason Dufner with three holes to play before recovering with back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 which, combined with three consecutive bogeys for Dufner, left Dufner and Bradley tied after 72 holes of regulation play.[17] Bradley won the three-hole playoff with a birdie and two pars, while Dufner went par-bogey-birdie to finish one stroke behind. Bradley became only the third player after Francis Ouimet (1913) and Ben Curtis (2003) to win a major in his first attempt, and was the first golfer to win a major with a long putter.[18] He also became the seventh consecutive first-time major winner and the first American major champion since Phil Mickelson won the 2010 Masters.[19] With the victory, Bradley moved from number 108 to number 29 in the Official World Golf Ranking.[20][21]

In December, he was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.[22]

2012

At the 2012 Northern Trust Open, Bradley and Phil Mickelson each made long birdie putts on the 72nd hole to force a three-man playoff with Bill Haas, who made a 45-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to win the tournament.[23] During the final round of the event, Bradley was seen numerous times spitting on the course in between hitting his shots. He later apologized and cited his nervous reflex as the cause of the excessive spitting.[24] Bradley held a two-stroke lead during the final round of the 2012 WGC-Cadillac Championship but dropped four shots over the final four holes, including a double bogey on the 18th, to finish T-8.[25] He started the season with nine consecutive top-25 finishes, then had just one in his next ten outings.[26] In June, Bradley played in Europe for the first time at The Irish Open at Royal Portrush and missed the cut.[27]

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

Bradley won his third PGA Tour event at the 2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational by a stroke over Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker. Entering the final round trailing Jim Furyk by four strokes, Bradley narrowed the deficit to one going to the final hole. Bradley converted a 15-foot par putt while Furyk made double bogey to lose by one stroke. Bradley became the 11th player to win a major championship and a World Golf Championship.[28] The win elevated Bradley to 15th in the world rankings.[29] He moved up to a career high of 12th the next week, when he finished T3 at the 2012 PGA Championship.[30] For the season, Bradley finished 10th on the PGA Tour's money list.

Bradley qualified for the 2012 Ryder Cup, marking his first appearance in any cup competition.[31]

2013

Bradley had two second-place finishes in 2013. The first occurred in May at the HP Byron Nelson Championship where he shot a course-record 60 at the TPC Four Seasons in the first round. Bradley had a one-shot lead going into the final round but was overtaken by Sang-Moon Bae. In August, Bradley finished second again, this time by seven strokes, to Tiger Woods at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone. For the season Bradley had seven top-tens and finished 11th on the PGA Tour's money list. Following the season, Bradley was a member of the winning United States team at the Presidents Cup played at Muirfield Village in Ohio.

2014

Bradley's highest finish in 2014 was a second place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Adam Scott faltered during Sunday's final round but it was Matt Every rather than Bradley who won a come-from-behind victory. For the season Bradley had six top-tens and finished 28th on the PGA Tour's money list. Following the season, Bradley was a captain's pick for the Ryder Cup played in Scotland.

2015

In 2015 Bradley had his worst season since joining the PGA Tour. Playing 24 events Bradley only had three top-tens and finished 64th on the PGA Tour's money list. For the first time in four years Bradley did not represent the United States in a year-end international competition.

2016–2017

These were two down years for Bradley. He didn't win a tournament and finished 114 and 51 on the PGA Tour money list.

2017–2018

In 2018, Bradley won the BMW Championship. This event was part of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He qualified for the season-ending Tour Championship and finished 8th in the season-long FedEx Cup.

2018–2019

In June 2019, Bradley shot −13 for the week at the Travelers Championship and finished tied for second with Zack Sucher. The winner that week was Chez Reavie.[32]

Personal life

Bradley's aunt is former LPGA player and World Golf Hall of Fame member Pat Bradley.[9] As a child he attended some of her tournaments and he has called her an inspiration.[33] He is a fan of Boston Red Sox baseball, Boston Celtics basketball, New England Patriots football and Boston Bruins hockey, and has said his dream golf foursome includes his father, Ben Hogan, and Tom Brady.[34][35] Bradley considers frequent practice-round partner Phil Mickelson a mentor, and he credits Mickelson for helping him win the 2011 PGA Championship. Bradley is also close friends with Jason Dufner and was one of the first to personally congratulate him after his victory in the 2013 PGA Championship.[36][37][38][39]

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (4)
Legend
Major championships (1)
World Golf Championships (1)
FedEx Cup playoff events (1)
Other PGA Tour (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 May 29, 2011 HP Byron Nelson Championship −3 (66-71-72-68=277) Playoff Ryan Palmer
2 Aug 14, 2011 PGA Championship −8 (71-64-69-68=272) Playoff Jason Dufner
3 Aug 5, 2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational −13 (67-69-67-64=267) 1 stroke Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker
4 Sep 10, 2018 BMW Championship −20 (66-64-66-64=260) Playoff Justin Rose

PGA Tour playoff record (3–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2011 HP Byron Nelson Championship Ryan Palmer Won with par on first extra hole
2 2011 PGA Championship Jason Dufner Won three-hole aggregate playoff;
Bradley: −1 (3-3-4=10),
Dufner: E (4-4-3=11)
3 2012 Northern Trust Open Bill Haas, Phil Mickelson Haas won with birdie on second extra hole
4 2018 BMW Championship Justin Rose Won with par on first extra hole

NGA Hooters Tour wins (2)
  • 2008 Southern Dunes
  • 2009 Texas Honing Open

Other wins (4)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 Oct 19, 2011 PGA Grand Slam of Golf −4 (67-71=138) 1 stroke Charl Schwartzel
2 Dec 11, 2011 Franklin Templeton Shootout
(with Brendan Steele)		 −32 (63-62-59=184) 3 strokes Mark Calcavecchia and Nick Price,
Rory Sabbatini and Jhonattan Vegas
3 Jul 1, 2015 CVS Health Charity Classic
(with Jon Curran)		 −21 (61-60=121) 2 strokes Harris English and Lexi Thompson
4 Jun 29, 2016 CVS Health Charity Classic (2)
(with Jon Curran)		 −18 (63-61=124) Playoff Billy Andrade and Bill Haas

Other playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 2016 CVS Health Charity Classic
(with Jon Curran)		 Billy Andrade and Bill Haas Won with birdie on first extra hole

Major championships

Wins (1)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
2011PGA Championship1 shot deficit−8 (71-64-69-68=272)Playoff1 Jason Dufner

1Defeated Jason Dufner in a three-hole playoff: Bradley (3-3-4=10), Dufner (4-4-3=11).

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament20112012201320142015201620172018
Masters Tournament T27 T54 CUT T22 T52
U.S. Open T68 CUT T4 T27 CUT T60 CUT
The Open Championship T34 T15 T19 CUT T18 79
PGA Championship 1 T3 T19 CUT T61 T42 T33 T42
Tournament 20192020
Masters Tournament T43
PGA Championship T29 CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT NT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00000165
PGA Championship101223108
U.S. Open00011194
The Open Championship00000375
Totals1013383222
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2011 PGA – 2013 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

Results in The Players Championship
Tournament 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
The Players Championship 72 T35 CUT CUT CUT T35 T60 T7 T16
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational 4 shot deficit −13 (67-69-67-64=267) 1 stroke Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament2011201220132014201520162017201820192020
Championship T8 7 T50 T38 T10
Match Play R32 R64 R64 T52 T36 T40 NT1
Invitational T15 1 T2 T4 T17 T61 T52
Champions T16 23 T11 T64 6 T24 NT1

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied

PGA Tour career summary
SeasonWins (Majors)Earnings (US$)Rank[40]
20112 (1)3,758,60013
201213,910,65810
201303,636,81311
201402,828,63828
201501,565,07964
20160899,985114
201701,940,47851
201814,069,46417
201901,902,79758
20200824,471106
Career*4 (1)25,336,98257[41]

* As of the 2020 season.

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

See also

References
  1. "2010 Nationwide Tour Media Guide" (PDF). PGA Tour. pp. 2–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  2. "Week 12 2013 Ending 24 Mar 2013" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  3. "Golf staff". Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  4. Svrluga, Barry (August 14, 2011). "PGA Championship: Keegan Bradley Beats Jason Dufner in Three-Hole Playoff". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  5. Borges, Ron (August 13, 2011). "Keegan Bradley: More Cowbell!". Boston Herald. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  6. Pepin, Carl (August 15, 2012). "York relatives proud of PGA champion Keegan Bradley". Seacoast Online. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  7. Pave, Marvin (January 30, 2011). "PGA rookie Bradley celebrates Hope finish". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  8. Adler, Max (August 2012). "Profile: Keegan Bradley". Golf Digest. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  9. Dorman, Larry (February 11, 2011). "Game, Like the Name, May Soon Ring a Bell". The New York Times. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  10. Miles, David (November 24, 2010). "Woodstock Native Keegan Bradley Heating Up Nationwide Tour". The Vermont Standard. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  11. "Keegan Bradley wins Hooters Tour event". USA Today. Associated Press. August 9, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  12. Szeker, Anne (April 20, 2011). "Sleeper Picks: The Heritage". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  13. Hawkins, Stephen (May 30, 2011). "Keegan Bradley Wins Nelson in Playoff Over Palmer". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  14. Dorman, Larry (August 5, 2011). "Woods Sputters in Second Round, Can't Threaten Leaders". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  15. Elling, Steve (August 10, 2011). "Lefty Teaches Economics to Boost Young Americans' Cred Rating". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  16. Gould, Herb (August 14, 2011). "Brendan Steele, Jason Dufner Tied for Lead at PGA Championship". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  17. Pennington, Bill (August 14, 2011). "Tour Rookie With Veteran's Resolve". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  18. Newport, John Paul (August 20, 2011). "Long Putters Shake Off the Stigma". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  19. Garside, Kevin (August 14, 2011). "Keegan Bradley Wins His Maiden Major After Beating Jason Dufner in Play-Off". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  20. Ferguson, Doug (August 14, 2011). "Bradley Wins PGA in Playoff After Rousing Comeback". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  21. Wojciechowski, Gene (August 14, 2011). "Keegan Bradley's PGA Win 'A Dream'". ESPN. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  22. Shain, Jeff (March 11, 2012). "Luke Donald Named PGA Tour Player of the Year". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  23. Pucin, Diane (February 19, 2012). "All's Quiet on Phil Front as Bill Haas Wins in Playoff at Riviera". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  24. DiMeglio, Steve (February 21, 2012). "Keegan Bradley apologizes for on-course, on-air spitting". USA Today. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  25. Ferguson, Doug (March 11, 2012). "Rose Rallies to Win World Golf Championship". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  26. "News and notes on the PGA Tour's top 20". USA Today. July 24, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  27. "Major winner Keegan Bradley bows out of Irish Open at Portrush after failing to make the cut". Irish Independent. June 29, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  28. Ferguson, Doug (August 5, 2012). "Bradley wins first WGC in a stunning finish". U.S. News & World Report. Associated Press. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  29. "Bradley up to 15th in world rankings". Fox News. August 6, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  30. "McIlroy back to No. 1 in world rankings". Miami Herald. August 13, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  31. "Love adds Scott Verplank, Jeff Sluman as Ryder Cup assistants, now waits on 4 picks". The Washington Post. Associated Press. August 13, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  32. "2019 Travelers Championship Final Results, Prize Money Payout and Leaderboard". Golf News Net. June 23, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  33. "Champ upholds family tradition". The Standard (Hong Kong). August 16, 2011. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
  34. Yantz, Tom (June 17, 2012). "Bradley Hungry For More After PGA Championship Win". Hartford Courant. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  35. Dorman, Larry (September 2, 2011). "The Bradley Celebration Tour Goes Home". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  36. Schultz, Jeff (August 14, 2011). "Keegan Bradley Goes from Slopes to PGA Championship". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  37. Ross, Helen (August 14, 2011). "Words to Win By". PGA of America. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  38. Sirak, Ron (September 2, 2011). "Mickelson Makes Switch to Long Putter Official". Golf Digest. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  39. Van Smith, Bill (March 11, 2012). "Keegan Bradley Wants to Be Like His mentor Phil". The Miami Herald. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  40. "Official Money". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  41. "Career Money Leaders". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
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