USA TODAY International Edition
Bradley beats Rose in BMW playoff
American sixth in FedExCup points
Keegan Bradley thought he had lost the BMW Championship.
After hooking his tee shot left on his 72nd hole Monday and later badly missing a par putt, Bradley could only watch as Justin Rose, coming off two consecutive birdies, stared down what seemed like a straightforward up-and-down chip at the par-4 18th.
But Rose left his chip about 15 feet short and then lipped out his par putt to win the tournament. Instead of Rose celebrating a victory, Rose and Bradley headed to a playoff at 20 under.
Bradley, who shot a closing 6-under 64 with eight birdies, regrouped to find the fairway on No. 18 at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, during the playoff. Rose, on the other hand, made several mistakes. He missed the fairway left and then sent his approach shot into the grandstands. After a free drop, Rose went with putter from the fairway cut and left the roll a good 5 feet short.
With Bradley putting from just off the green to tap-in range, Rose missed his par save. Bradley tapped home his par putt to clinch his first victory on the PGA Tour since the 2012 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
“This is just incredible,” Bradley said. “This has been a hard road back. I just can’t believe it, it’s so great. It took a lot of hard work. A lot of people helped me. … I don’t really know what to say, I’m just so happy.”
Bradley, who entered the tournament 186th in strokes gained putting but led the field in that category in the BMW, also climbed from No. 52 to sixth in FedExCup points and will make a return trip to The Tour Championship for the first time since 2013. Bradley also clinches his first Masters berth since 2016.
Tiger on prowl: Tiger Woods made things interesting on the soggy Monday morning.
Woods began the delayed final round of the BMW Championship five shots back of leader Rose at 12 under. But after four birdies on his front nine, Woods found himself a shot off the lead. And four holes later, after a birdie at the par-4 13th, Woods again was a shot back.
However, with his first win since 2013 a real possibility, Woods couldn’t do enough late to bring home the title. He shot 5-under 65 to finish at 17 under, a strong performance, though not enough to win.
“I thought I needed to shoot something around 62 today to have a chance and I don’t think that would have been good enough,” Woods said. “Might have needed 61 to have a chance today.”
Woods hit every fairway on the front nine as he poured in all four of his frontnine birdie putts from 9 feet or more. He made a 23-footer at the par-4 sixth.
However, he found a fairway bunker at the par-4 10th and ended up making birdie after a poor chip. Later, at the par-3 14th, Woods again found the sand, this time a greenside bunker that he failed to get up and down out of.
Woods missed just one fairway on the day and notched seven total birdies. While it still left Woods short of his 80th career PGA Tour win, and his sixth BMW Championship title, Woods’ performance did secure him a spot in The Tour Championship from Sept. 20-23 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
Woods, who has six top-10 finishes this season on the Tour, will be playing the FedExCup Playoffs finale for the first time in five years.
“I played a few tournaments (this year) where I was close at the end,”
Woods said. “At the end of the season here to say that I made it back to The Tour Championship after what I’ve been through is a pretty good accomplishment.”
Just missed: While Rose lost the golf tournament, his second-place finish earned him the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career. The 38-year-old is the thirdoldest player to reach No. 1 in the world for the first time.
Short shots: Jordan Spieth’s season is over after his tie for 55th finish left him No. 31 in FedExCup points. … Billy Horschel posted a closing 64 to tie for third with Xander Schauffele. The T-3 finish is Horschel’s second top-3 finish in this year’s FedExCup Playoffs.