Defending PGA champion Keegan Bradley happy with the overall course conditions at Kiawah Island
The defending PGA champion Keegan Bradley chipped in for a bogey on the 18th hole to cap a four-under par 68 on Thursday afternoon and settled two strokes behind the pace, going into the second round at The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island.
Bradley, who also won the last weeks World Golf Championships – Bridgestone Invitational, got off to an explosive start, as he recorded a birdie, followed by an eagle on the opening two holes on the back nine of the course.
“It was great, a little surprising almost. The shot I hit on two, the 11th hole, was pretty good,” he said. “And that was big to help calm me down maybe a little bit and focus”.
However, he failed to maintain consistency in his game and suffered three bogeys against another birdie to settle for a one-under par score before the turn.
His front-nine performance was relatively better, as he managed to remain bogey free and sank three birdie putts and tied for the sixth position at the end of the round.
While talking to the reporters, he told that it was one of the hottest days of his life. The major reason behind his meltdown during the later part of the back-nine was the heat factor.
“I’m so happy it started blowing later because it was so hot this morning,” he grinned. “On the 14th tee was one of the hottest moments of my life. This is a nice little wind now though for the guys”.
Moreover, he looked happy with the overall conditions at the course, as he was not expecting such good scores in the opening round.
He visited the course a few months ago and analyzed that the course will play tough during the tournament. However, the heavy rains last week made the greens receptive and easy to play on.
“It’s relatively soft just because of the rain,” the 26-year-old said. “It’s very playable if you hit the ball well. If you hit the ball in the fairway, you can make a lot of birdies. If you don’t, you’re going to struggle”.
Meanwhile, Carl Pettersson registered a bogey-free six-under par 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Alex Noren, Gary Woodland and Rory McIlroy.
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