Keegan Bradley birdied the 72nd hole to claim a one-stroke victory over Russell Henley and Tommy Fleetwood in capturing the Travelers Championship for the second time in three years. That’s the eighth PGA TOUR title of his career.
“It was insane, the crowd and the atmosphere and the scene there, and I just did a great job of, like staying present, because that could have got me out of my routine, out of what I was doing, but I did a good job of staying in my little zone,” Bradley said.
History Class is Now in Session
The year was 1963, the last time the United States had a player captain in the Ryder Cup. The place was the Atlanta Athletic Club, now known as East Lake Club, and the man was Arnold Palmer.
I share this trivia because we should not be surprised if there’s a loud outcry for 39-year-old Bradley to self-select and tee it up on Bethpage Black this September.
“My whole life every year I was out here I wanted to play on the Ryder Cup team, and then this would be the first year where maybe I didn’t want to. I just wanted to be the captain and, of course, you know, this is what happens. But we’ll see,” admitted Bradley. “I’m going to do whatever I think is best for the team. Whether that’s me on the team — this certainly changes a lot of things. I was never going to play on the team unless I had won a tournament and so that’s changed, but we’ll see.”
Think about it. Before winning Sunday, Bradley arrived in the Hartford, CT suburbs with four top-ten finishes this season, including a tie for 5th in March at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in Orlando.
As Bradley would grind to catch Tommy Fleetwood, it was reminiscent of last year when he earned a berth to play for the United States in Montreal at the Presidents Cup.
You may recall the Vermont native was supposed to serve as an assistant captain in 2024, but a victory in the BMW Championship dramatically changed the trajectory of his year.
Talent evaluation is a huge part of the role, so what did captain Keegan show Keegan the player on Sunday?
“Well, I’m proud of the way I’ve been handle these situations over the past, say, five years, so I don’t know. We’ll see”, Bradley said.
Yet Another Heartbreaker for Fleetwood
Tommy Fleetwood was in a terrific position to win on the PGA TOUR for the first time in 159 starts, holding a two-shot lead with three holes to play and a one-shot advantage headed to 18 on TPC River Highlands.
The 34-year-old Englishman narrowly missed a 6-foot par putt while Bradley birdied for the win, denying Fleetwood even a playoff opportunity.
“I’m gutted right now,” said Fleetwood. “I’ve not been in that situation for a long time. It’s probably the worst way to finish. Leading by two with three to play. Leading by one going into the last and you don’t even make it to a playoff. It’s the worst way it could go.”
So, after five runners-up and 42 top-ten finishes on TOUR, Fleetwood found himself in familiar territory.
“Obviously there’s a lot of chat about it. I think — I would have loved to have done it today, search goes on, I guess. When it happens it will be very, very sweet,” said Fleetwood.
Next up on TOUR, is the Rocket Classic in Detroit, and in two weeks the John Deere Classic, the signature professional sporting event of the Quad Cities.