A major win for Bradley

In a real demonstration of mental strength, unheralded Keegan Bradley won the US PGA Championship in a playoff over the unfortunate Jason Dufner at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia, USA.

Bradley worked hard to get to 9 under par in the final round and despite making a disastrous triple bogey on the tough 15th, the courageous rookie never lost belief that he could still win. The precocious 25-year-old then went on to birdie two of the last three holes to bully his way into the playoff.

In a tournament that was relatively devoid of big name contenders, Bradley and Dufner provided some real drama, and Bradley became the first person since Ben Curtis to win a major on his first attempt.

The first round saw Steve Stricker soar into the lead when he shot a flawless 7-under par 63 to equal the lowest ever score in Major championship history. Strangely enough for Stricker, his fine effort was not the main talking point of the day.
 
Rory McIlroy stole the headlines with a rollercoaster round which saw him make four birdies, four bogeys and injure his wrist. McIlroy played his second shot on the 3rd hole from dangerously close to the root of a large tree. This resulted in him dropping his club just after impact and wincing in pain as he tentatively grabbed his right wrist. Mcilroy bravely battled through the pain to card a level par round of 70.

Another headline prior to the tournament was Tiger Woods returning from injury to play in his first Major championship since the Masters at Augusta. Woods had felt encouraged by his 37th place finish last week at the Bridgestone Invitational but despite three birdies in his first five holes, Woods slumped to a round of 77 (which is his worst ever first round score in a Major championship).

At the other end of the leader board, American Jerry Kelly (65), Italian teenager Matteo Manassero (68) and last week’s winner Adam Scott (69) were also in contention.

At the end of the second round, the leader board was headed at 5-under par by two very unfamiliar names – Dufner and Bradley. Dufner, who has not made a cut since late May fired an eagle and five birdies in his 65 whilst Bradley, a PGA Tour rookie went one better with a bogey-free 64.

Again however, it was a household name that stole the headlines on day two, but for all the wrong reasons. Woods shot a second round 73 and missed his third Major championship cut. On his 10 over par total, Tiger found himself in 22 bunkers, four water hazards and carded five double bogeys.

Woods was not the only Major champion who struggled during the first two turbulent days in Atlanta. Other casualties of the cut included defending champion Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen, Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Ernie Els. Despite the loss of some key players at the halfway point, plenty of other experienced names were still top of the leader board.

Jim Furyk and Scott Verplank were one shot behind at 4-under, Scott was still in touch at 2-under whilst Lee Westwood and World Number One Luke Donald were only four and six shots adrift respectively.

Although Saturday is normally referred to as moving day, the third round in Atlanta saw only a third of the field shoot under par. The biggest ‘mover’ was American Brendan Steele who carded a 66 to join Dufner on 7-under par at the top of the leader board. Other players still in touch with the leaders were Bradley on 6-under, Stricker on 5-under and Scott on 2-under.
 
Luke Donald and Westwood were six shots behind the lead and both left the course bemoaning their performances. Westwood missed five putts from inside 10 feet on his way to a level par 70 and joked that he might have to ‘change his religion as he has tried everything else’ to solve his putting woes. Donald, who got to within two shots of the lead before dropping three shots in his last three holes, was equally frustrated.

In the final round, Dufner seemed to be in complete control of his performance and had a comfortable lead until three late bogeys brought Bradley back into the equation. The eventual three-hole playoff was effectively decided over the first two holes where Bradley began with two threes and Dufner made two fours.

To his credit, Dufner birdied the last of the playoff holes to apply some pressure but it was a little too late as Bradley made a solid par to lift the Wanamaker trophy.

Both Donald and Westwood never really figured in the final round and will have to wait until the Masters next year to challenge for their first Major championship.