Keegan Bradley captures BMW C’ship, leaps to fourth in FedExCup race
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American Keegan Bradley putting on the 14th hole during the final round of the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club on Aug 25.
PHOTO: AFP
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CASTLE ROCK – Keegan Bradley rode patriotic cheers to a one-shot victory at the BMW Championship, with a final-round even-par 72 on Aug 25 for a 12-under 276 at Castle Pines Golf Club.
It capped a dramatic resurgence for Bradley, who was named the 2025 US Ryder Cup captain in July and was the last man in the field.
Yet, his seventh PGA Tour win means Bradley will enter the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta this week in fourth place at six under based on the staggered start used at the season’s final tournament.
“Oh, man, it just shows why you’ve got to grind it out every week because you never know how fast it can switch. Now I go to Atlanta with a chance to win the FedExCup. I can’t believe it. I’m so excited,” he said.
Bradley, who was not selected as a captain’s pick on the 2023 Ryder Cup team, heard cheers from the gallery of “Let’s go captain” and “U-S-A” everywhere he went.
The 38-year-old American took a lead he would not relinquish with a par on the 537-yard, par-four 10th hole that broke a tie with Australian Adam Scott (72), who had a three-putt bogey on the hardest hole on the course.
“I definitely struggled on the greens on the weekend,” Scott said. “I just didn’t quite have the confidence in some of those putts.
“I generally played fairly well. I thought I played well off the tee today, which was nice.
“But I just didn’t take advantage from there.”
Bradley had one birdie and bogey through 16 holes before he came to the par-five 17th.
From 227 yards away, he stuck his second shot to 16 feet of the pin to set up a crucial two-putt birdie. That took him to 13 under, rendering his closing bogey a moot point.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (72) tied for 33rd on 289 at the event, but he enters East Lake as the top seed and will start at 10 under.
Xander Schauffele (71, tied for fifth) will be second at eight under and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who withdrew from the tournament with a back injury, will be third at seven under.
Sam Burns enters the Tour Championship ninth in FedExCup points after he shot a low-round 65 to end joint second with Scott and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg (71) at 277.
Australian Cam Davis (66) led the field with 24 birdies on the week. He tied for fifth at 280 with Tommy Fleetwood of England (69) – who played his way into the Tour Championship as he moved from 31st to 22nd in the FedExCup standings – plus Schauffele and South Korea’s Kim Si-woo (70).
“It’s just a nice challenge mentally going out there and playing when you know you’ve got something on the line,” Fleetwood said. “I was happy with that. I felt like it was tough, and yeah, I played really well and putted well.”
Chris Kirk (69) played his way into East Lake as he rose from 32nd to 26th after a tie for ninth with Sweden’s Alex Noren (75). REUTERS
