The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Bradley feels at home
CROMWELL — A 7:25 a.m. tee time necessitated that Keegan Bradley, an avid Boston sports fan, go to bed early and skip the end of Thursday’s NBA Draft. As a result, he missed the Celtics use the 51st pick on New Haven native Tremont Waters.
“I was psyched to hear he was a New Englander,” Bradley said Friday. “That’s going to be great.”
After a good night’s sleep, Bradley battled raindrops to shoot 4-under par Friday at TPC River Highlands. The solid secondround score left the Vermont native at 9-under and in a tie for second heading into the weekend at the Travelers Championship.
“It was tough out there,” he said. “Seems like whenever it would start to rain is when I would make the most birdies, so I was happy with today.”
Bradley birdied the fifth and 13th holes and carded an eagle on the par-4 15th. This came after a strong opening-round 65, in which he shot six birdies on the front nine.
“You’ve got to make putts out here because the scores are normally so low,” Bradley said. “Through the first two days I’ve done exactly that. I’ve hit the majority of the fairways and a lot of the greens. Boring golf can sometimes pay off.”
Returning to New England is generally anything but boring for the 33-yearold Bradley, who played his high school golf in New Hampshire before moving to Massachusetts as a senior. The Travelers is the only event from the region on this year’s schedule, making it all the more meaningful for Bradley.
His best finish in Cromwell came in 2017, when he finished in a tie for eighth at 8-under. He came into this week feeling confident despite missing the cut in his last tournament — the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
“I feel very comfortable here in Hartford,” he said. “I’ve got experience on my side and I’ve just got to go out there and execute.”
He certainly did so on 15, chipping in from 80 feet for one of the day’s most impressive shots.
“It’s a tricky little hole, and you’ve got to hit two or three really good shots to score on that hole,” he said. “You play the hole 1-under for the week, you’re probably doing well. An eagle today, it’s going to go a long way.”