You’ll have to forgive Keegan Bradley for getting really emotional on a really emotional afternoon on the other side of the world — Japan to be exact.
Bradley was trying to run down 54-hole leader Rickie Fowler in the final round of the Zozo Championship at the Narashino Country Club, about 50 miles outside the very crowded city of Tokyo.
It was more than four years ago and thousands of miles from this location where Bradley last won — the BMW in the 2018 FedEx Cup playoffs. Keegan’s 36 now and 40 is showing up quickly in his rear view mirror. He’s one of those guys who used the belly putter as an amateur and then successfully as a pro until it was banned. It’s been a bit of a struggle since.
As Sunday’s round got going, Rickie blinked first with a bogey at the par three third thanks to a sub-standard bunker shot that resulted in a bogey. Keegan’s start was steady — four par then back-to-back birdies at five and six. That got him to 15-under, little did he realize that even par the rest of the way would get the job done.
There had been some really low scores the first couple of rounds — it was ball in hand thanks to wet conditions. But by the time things dried out on day four, it was play-it-down and birdies were tough to find on this pretty, tree-lined gem of a course.
Things were looking pretty darn good for Bradley after he birdied the par four 11th. But winning is rarely easy on the PGA Tour and things started to slip away from Bradley after bogeys at 14 and 16 dropped him back to 14-under.
Then came what Bradley called “one of the best holes of my life.” It was the 491-yard 17th where par was a great score. He found the middle of the fairway (he’s still good with that driver). From 150 out, he hit his second to around 15 feet. He was tied with the third member of the final group — Andy Putnam — who found trouble off the tee and was staring at a bogey prospect.
“I kind of realized if I make this putt, I’ve got a two-shot lead going down 18, which I thought, ‘Boy, that would be nice to have two there,’” Bradley said. “And I just buried it. It’s the perfect putt, meant to be and I’m proud of the way I handled that hole.” It was a super bounce-back from the bogey at 16, which came as a result of a greenside bunker shot that Bradley believed was a pure shank.
“Bizarre,” Bradley said of that shot. “But I stayed calm. That two-putt (for bogey) was huge, and that birdie on 17 is one of the best birdies of my life and one that when I think back on this tournament, that’s the pivotal hole.
Bradley’s finally a better putter — that’s the part of his game that determines his success or failure. “I putted spectacularly all week,” Bradley said. “I wish there were stats so I could see what they were.”
A par at the closing par-five 18th gave Bradley a 68 for the round, two-under and a 15-under winning total. Fowler birdied the 18th to final at 14-under, thanks to an even-par 70. Like Fowler, Putnam closed with birdie, a nice bounce-back from the bogey at 17 to tie Rickie for second.
Bradley’s emotions overcame him afterward. “I’ve been crying since I finished,” Bradley said. “I can’t remember the last time I cried. I talked to my wife on the phone a second ago, FaceTime. I can’t keep it together, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
There was nothing wrong — it’s been that long — we’d all cry over something like that.
As for Fowler, his revival continues but the next win and celebration will have to wait.
Second place isn’t all that bad when you consider where Fowler’s game has been — basically in the trash heap as he’s now 160 in the world rankings (prior to Zozo).
“Yeah, kind of bittersweet. Obviously wanted to get the job done and I felt very good going into today,” Fowler said. “Felt, you know, probably as good as you can feel out there. Final round, haven’t been there a whole lot in the last couple years, really just didn’t give myself many opportunities until the end. “And I hit some darn good putts that it was like there was a cover over the hole. Gave it our all, left it all out there. Big congrats to Keegan, he made the putts, I didn’t. He earned it. But definitely excited about having a couple good finishes to start the season and a lot of good stuff coming.”
Yes, this was Keegan’s turn to break out of a long slump.
Rickie’s turn is coming. His game is trending up, so is his confidence.
And that’s a good thing.
