Keegan Bradley takes over seasoned Charl Schwartzel to win the PGA Grand Slam
Keegan Bradley, winner of the PGA Championship this year, held off a rampaging Charl Schwartzel to stage a stunning victory at the PGA Grand Slam on Wednesday, October 19 at the picturesque Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda. The final round turned
out to a nail-biting showdown between the two major tile holders as the overnight co-leader Rory McIlroy had vanished down the leaderboard with his unimpressive putting.
Bradley, nephew of the LPGA legend Pat Bradley, pulled in a spectacular final round of level-par, 71, finishing for a four-under on the aggregate while Schwartzel who was well behind the lead from the previous day’s outcome, gradually closed in with amazing
composure and flawless putting. Sinking a 30-foot birdie putt on the fifth, the South African kick-started a birdie spree which effectively lasted for the next five holes, dissolving Bradley’s hard earned lead.
"What he (Schwartzel) did in the middle part of that round was pretty amazing," said Bradley. "It felt like he was going to birdie every hole and then when he was hitting a bad shot, he made that bunker shot on 9, it was pretty spectacular golf."
By the time the duo made their respective turns, they were head on with each other, both sharing the lead. Schwartzel, known to be an expert of windy courses, then dropped a shot at 13th and although he recovered afterwards, Bradley maintained
his composure to avert any bogeys on the back nine. With Schwartzel falling in for another bogey on the last hole, Bradley surged to the top with another feather in his cap.
"Coming down the stretch it felt like any other tournament that I played in. At 18, I was thinking to myself, 'I'd better get this up-and-down and maybe get into a playoff.” said Bradley.
McIlroy finished for a disastrous four-over for the day. The Northern Irishman is on a whirlwind tour around the globe on advice of his manager chubby Chandler ad will be playing continously till the end of the season while the Open Champion Darren Clarke
also fared badly in the event starting off the first round with 77. He pulled in a second round of one-under to earn back some respect but again stumbled with terrible scores in the following rounds.
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