Bradley shakes it all off
Putts into contention
NORTON — Since bursting onto the golfing scene with a pair of wins in 2011, including the PGA Championship and at Firestone the following year, finding the winner’s circle has been a lot harder for Keegan Bradley.
It is why he considered last Sunday’s final round 78 when in the final group at The Northern Trust to be so disappointing. Bradley bounced back from that lost opportunity yesterday to create another by opening the Dell Technologies Championship with a 4-under par 67, part of a fourman group tied for fourth, 2 shots behind Justin Rose at TPC Boston.
“I was really bummed out, and then just a couple of days went by and I didn’t care anymore,” Bradley said about dropping from second to a tie for 34th last week. “It was tough because I felt like that was my day to kind of tell everybody that maybe I was back here and I was here to stay. I may have put too much pressure on myself. But it’s nice to come right back out and play quickly.”
Bradley didn’t waste any time getting to the top of the leaderboard yesterday, making birdie at each of the first two holes with wedges to 6 feet. He added a 17foot birdie putt at No. 6 and a 51⁄2foot birdie at No. 8 to go out in 32. The birdies dried up from there, but other than a bogey at No. 13, he was able play steady golf.
Bradley has struggled with his putter since the ban on anchoring went into effect, but he rolled the ball well yesterday only facing three par putts of more than 5 feet, making two.
“It was a tougher transition than I thought, but I believe I made pretty substantial improvements over the last four or five months,” he said.
Bradley made a nice par at No.14 after missing his drive to the right into a series of chocolate drops that left him a difficult second. He had to choke down on the shaft and go at it with more of a baseball swing and was able to get up and down from just off the right edge. He then stuck a wedge to 5 feet at the par-5 18th for his fifth birdie of the day.
While he enjoys being back in New England in front of family and friends, it is not a place where the Woodstock, Vt., and Hopkinton product has had a ton of success. In six appearances here, he has not cracked the top 10 though he only missed the cut in his 2011 debut.
“I don’t feel it much anymore,” he said about pressure playing close to home. “But I would love to give the fans and family who don’t get to come to a lot of tournaments see me compete and do well, maybe win. That would be incredible. So always in the back of my mind I think how amazing that would be, how cool that will be and that’s something I’ll have to be aware of this week.”
Rose claimed the lead by playing bogey-free and making three birdies in the final four holes. The 65 matches his second-best round at TPC Boston to his opening round 63 in 2003 when he finished third.
Rose said saving par at No. 13 when he missed his approach left, helped keep his momentum going for a solid finish.
“You have 11, 12, 13, 14, which is a pretty stout run,” Rose said. “I was very aware that I had to get through that unscathed, and obviously knew there were some chances coming in, 15 onward.
“To birdie three of the last four made a good day, a very good day.”
Rose missed the cut last weekend in New Jersey and returned home to the Bahamas, taking full advantage of the built-in extra day off this tournament gets with the Labor Day finish. He did not play a practice round here.
TPC Boston has a special place in Rose’s career after the then 23-year-old received an invite to play in the inaugural 2003 event.
“I shot 63. I remember that,” he said. “That was a big week for me, obviously Deutsche Bank and (current PGA Tour commissioner) Jay Monahan was the tournament director I think at the time, they extended an invite to me. It was an important week for me. I finished third, got my U.S. tour card without having to go to QSchool. This venue, I’ve always been very thankful and grateful to it.”
Abraham Ancer and Russell Knox are tied for second, 1 shot behind Rose.
Ancer started on the back nine and finished with four birdies over the final six holes, none longer than 10 feet. He and Rose were the only players to play bogey-free.
Knox played the final six holes in 5-under, making an eagle 2 at the par-4 15th from 109 yards.
Among those also at 67 is Beau Hossler, who played in the same group as Bradley. He got hot with his putter late in the round to birdie four of the last five holes.
Beginning at the 14th hole, Hossler made three straight birdie putts from beyond 37 feet. He started with a 46-footer from in front of the green.
“I thought it was short,” he said about chasing after his ball as it made its way to the hole at No. 14. “I thought I hit a pretty good putt, but I was just trying to get it up there cozy so I could tap in for par. That’s a tough hole.”
Chris Kirk, who won here in 2014, also carded a 67, as did Gary Woodland, who had five birdies against one bogey.