Bradley beats Rose in a playoff
Keegan Bradley beat Justin Rose with a par on the first playoff hole to win the rain-plagued BMW Championship for his first PGA Tour victory in six years.
Bradley’s fourth career win meant more than the others — even the major he won in 2011 — because he got to give his young son Logan a first victory toss in the air on the 18th green.
“I’ve won before, and I win and I finish, and I go home, just me,” said Bradley, who celebrated with his family after shooting a six-under 64 to finish at 20-under 260. “Now, I get to go back and we get to have fun and enjoy it together.”
Rose could have won in regulation, but his 16-foot par putt on the final hole lipped out. He fell short again in the playoff, missing a five-foot par putt.
But the No. 1 ranking will do for Rose, who joins Nick Faldo, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald as the only Englishmen to reach the top spot. He is the No. 2 seed behind Bryson DeChambeau among the top 30 who advance to the Tour Championship starting Sept. 20 in Atlanta, giving him a clear shot at the $10-million prize.
Tiger Woods got within one shot of the lead when he birdied the par-five ninth to go out in 31. But he missed the green on 10 and made bogey. He found a bunker on the par-three 14th for another bogey, and wound up with a 65 to finish three back.
Such was the scoring at Aronimink that Woods had a 72-hole score of 263 for the sixth time. The other five times he won; this one got him a tie for sixth.
“To say that I made it back to the Tour Championship after what I’ve been through is a pretty good accomplishment,” Woods said.
Jordan Spieth won’t join him. Spieth started 27th in the standings and took a step back, finishing with a 73 to tie for 55th. He fell out of the top 30 and will miss the Tour Championship for the first time.
Bradley and Xander Schauffele, who finished one shot out of the playoff, moved into the top 30 to qualify for East Lake.
Tony Finau, who tied for eighth, was named to the Ryder Cup team as the final pick by U.S. captain Jim Furyk, joining DeChambeau, Woods and Phil Mickelson as wild-card picks.