The best golfer from every U.S. state

Vermont: Keegan Bradley

Vermont, frankly, isn’t a place where many people who have found great success in the golf world have stayed. To be honest, there really aren’t any that come to mind. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t those with ties, though. Thus, we have to look for a player who has both strong ties to the state and has also found notable success throughout their professional career. That ultimately leads us to Woodstock native Keegan Bradley.

Bradley moved from Vermont when he was in his mid teens, and ultimately ended up playing his college golf at St. John’s University. It was clear while he was there, however, that he had a tremendous amount of potential and skill as he won nine separate tournaments for the Red Storm throughout his collegiate career. That’s when he started trying to make his way into the professional ranks, starting the NGA Hooters Tour before making his way onto the Nationwide Tour and finally earning his PGA Tour card for 2011.

In the 2011 season as a rookie was when Bradley really made history in the golf world, particularly when he made his major championship debut at the 2011 PGA Championship. In that tournament, Bradley played himself into a playoff with Jason Dufner in his major debut and didn’t disappoint. The Vermont native scored threes on the first two holes of the three-hole playoff to best Dufner by one stroke and win.

Bradley has won twice more on tour, but hasn’t won since August 2012. Even still, he’s affirmed that he’s Vermont’s best.