Keegan Bradley lands in laurels for the family with the coveted PGA Championship trophy
Only the third first-timer to win a major event in the history of the sport, for Rookie Keegan Bradley, it was more of a family tradition than anything else. Representing the third generation of professional golfers, Bradley is the proud grandson of the
LPGA Hall of Famer Pat Bradley and comes with a distinct advantage over the rest of the contenders on the tour.
Bradley won the HP Byron Nelson on the PGA Tour and was in his best form in the season, rightfully poised to clinch his first major of his career. The 25-year-old won the 93rd PGA Championship last week, emulating the feat of Ben Curtis at the
2003 British Open and Francis Ouimet at the 1913 US Open to win a major event in his first appearance.
"I grew up going to Pat's tournaments, totally idolizing her and wanting to be like her out there," he said, with the Wanamaker Trophy perched nearby. "I remember as a kid going out to her tournaments and literally staring her in the face, and I'm her nephew,
but she was so into it, she wouldn't even recognize me. And I thought that was cool."
Bradley’s father Mark Bradley, the golf professional at Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club in Wyoming has been one of the defining influences in Bradley’s life which inspired him to go all out for the major title amidst the strongest field of the sport.
Bradley quickly recovered from a dreadful triple-bogey at the 15th to pull birdies on the 16th and 17th, forging a Playoff with Jason Dufner who fell in for disastrous bogeys on the closing holes to lose his early lead. The
American, who also won the HP Byron Nelson on Playoff, utilized his experience to snatch away the last major event of the year.
"I kept thinking about the playoff I won at the Byron Nelson, and the same thing happened to me in that. As soon as I realized I was going into a playoff, I completely calmed down," he said.
Grandmother watched her grandson pull down one of the greatest shows in the family’s history and lauded his success.
Famous Sport psychologist Bob Rotella, who is currently a consultant for players of the likes of Rory McIlroy and Padraig Harrington, confessed that he has not undertaken a client with nerves as strong as Pat’s. And it was surely about the nerves that pulled
the show on the final Playoff where Bradley went over to sink the first Playoff for a birdie to lift the Wanamaker Trophy and a winner’s share of $1.44-million.
Bradley brought in the much awaited victory to the American camp which has been facing a serious dearth of major titles both on and off shore. Phil Mickelson was the last American who won the Masters in 2010 and the rest of the two seasons were dominated
by the budding players from across the world. Most of the top finishers at the PGA Championship were the young American players who apparently have decided to grab the reins of the American golf in the absence of long-standing hero Tiger Woods.
Bradley will now retain the tour card for the rest of the season and will possibly make it into the President’s Cup team at the end of the year. He will also be on the field for the lucrative FedExCup Playoffs scheduled to start next week with The Barclays
as the first event.
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