CROMWELL, Connecticut — Keegan Bradley hasn’t heard this loud roar for him since making his debut in the Ryder Cup at Medina in 2012.
On the anniversary of the year when Bradley accepted the job as captain of the Ryder Cup, he made the strongest case, but he should carry the club to Beth Page Black.
Bradley, 39, rallied on four holes from a three-shot deficit in equal parts of grit and passion, playing 6 to 6 feet on the final hole with nine irons, winning the second biggest title in 10 months, with the Great Fleetwood winning his first PGA Tour.
Bradley now has more victories last year than the Americans except Scotty Schaeffler. He is 9th in the Ryder Cup standings and a career-high seventh in the world rankings.
“This changes the story a bit,” Bradley said of his role in the Ryder Cup. “If they hadn’t won, they would have never thought about playing. This definitely opens the door to playing. I don’t know if I’d do that, but I have to look pretty strict about what’s best for the team.”
Two birdies on the final four holes maintained his hopes, including a 35-foot putt on the 15th, sending Bradley to 2-under 68, leading Fleetwood (72) and Russell Henry to a one-shot victory and tipping over the 18th green for birdies and 69.
Starting a three-shot behind Fleetwood, Bradley didn’t lead until he rolled into a birdie putt in front of a paranoid tanned crowd at the TPC River Highlands.
It was crushed for Fleetwood, who has a reputable world record but is 0 at 84 with the usual PGA Tour start. He missed two putts in the final five holes in the six-foot range. With a one-shot lead from the middle of the 18th fairway, he just got shorter and took three putts from 50 feet away.
Fleetwood lost the playoffs to Nick Taylor at the Canadian Open before a crowd in another home. This stabbed me even more, considering what was in his hand.
“I’m upset now, I’m angry. When you’re calmed down, look at what I did well and see what I can learn,” Fleetwood said.
“The stupidest and worst thing is to prevent this week from going forward,” he said. “Now I just want to go somewhere, and maybe I will. But there’s no point in making it negative for the future.”
Henry called himself a one-shot penalty in the second round when he saw the golf ball move the length of the dimple while playing the chip. He notified the rules staff, checked the verdict and added it to his score for penalties only he saw.
When asked if he should play at 18th Green, Bradley said “Go USA!” He heard a lot of it on a day tanned day, especially on a day baking day when the heat index was approaching triple digits, especially when he drilled a 65-foot birdie putt in the ninth hole to stay in the mix.
Bradley was associated with Fleetwood. However, the two shots were clear when the British began to pull apart with a birdie pair and slammed the wedge up to six feet on the 14th hole.
Bradley dismissed his approach into a lie that stuffed into a bunker on the green. However, he was only three shots behind when Fleetwood missed a short birdie putt.
However, he made a 35-foot birdie putt on the 15th. Fleetwood went on to 16th place on the par 3 for a long time, down the downhill about 20 feet to set the tone of the turnaround that bogey narrowed the margin to one-shot and brought Bradley to a second traveler victory in three years.
They are all special for the Vermont natives to perform at the only PGA tour stop in the northeast. This featured a chant “USA! USA!” All the big putts, especially after the last putt.
“Of all the shots and all the putts I hit, I think I remember that number one,” he said of his final birdie.
Bradley finished at 15 under 265 and won $3.6 million in his first title in the signing event. He also won the BMW Championship, the second FedEx Cup playoff event held in Cherry Hills outside Denver last August.
Harris English (65) boosted his hopes for the Ryder Cup by placing fourth with Jason Day (68).
Schaeffler, who led the 36-hole lead with 72 in the third round, was closed at 65 and tied up to sixth place with Rory McIlroy, who shot 65. They were three shots.
Schaeffler and McIlroy have already won spots for the Ryder Cup team. Bradley is guaranteed there too. It’s still going to be decided what role he plays.
