Top-20 American players to watch out for in 2012: Part-11
Keegan Bradley
Official World Golf Rankings: 31
FedExCup Rankings: 20
PGA Tour wins in 2011: 2
Keegan Bradley certainly marks one of the finest discoveries for the American golf in the recent years and while many of the critics consider him grossly overrated, Bradley pulled in the major title, the PGA Championship in his debut year. St. John's University
graduate started off his career after turning professional in 2008. He won twice on the NGA Hooters Tour before switching off to the Nationwide Tour. Bradley tried to qualify for the PGA Tour in 2010 but fell short of two strokes in the qualifying event. He
finished for a high of 14th on the Nationwide money list to finally win a PGA Tour card for the year 2011.
Bradley played 28 events on the tour this year, making the halfway cut in no fewer than 18 of them. He pulled in four top-ten and 12 top-25 finishes for the season, winning two events. Bradley carded a second round low of 64 in the PGA Championship to share
the lead through the halfway mark of the event. He dropped three shots on the 15th in the final round to fall two strokes behind Jason Dufner but pulled in two consecutive birdies on the 16th and 17th to finally win the title.
Bradley is only the third player in the history of the event who won a major title in his debut after Ben Curtis and Francis Ouimet.
Bradley, bolstered by newly gained confidence, walked over to card another victory, the 2011 PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda. He also won the Franklin Templeton Shootout playing alongside teammate Brendan Steele. Bradley was a strong contender for a slot
at the President’s Cup this year but was disappointed when Captain Fred Couples decided to cast his vote in favour of his friend Tiger Woods. Bradley was nominated 2011 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for his amazing performance in his debut year. Bradley also
became the seventh consecutive first-time major winner and the first American major winner after Phil Mickelson’s Masters title in 2010.
Bradley is also the grandson of LPGA Hall of Famer Pat Bradley who is often seen accompanying her nephew on the tours. The young rookie pulled in a scoring average of 70.63 and earned a gross income of $3,758,600 for the year. He is all set to be one of
the most potent forces on the tour starting next year.
Rickie Fowler
Official World Golf Rankings: 32
FedExCup Rankings: 43
PGA Tour wins in 2011: 0
2010 Rookie of the Year, Rickie Fowler finally broke the headlines with his stunning victory on the Asian Turf when he won the Kolon Korea Open in October, playing on the brand new OneAsia Tour. Another of the successful Oklahoma State University graduates,
Fowler emerged as one of the most potent forces on the PGA Tour right from the beginning of his career.
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