Keegan Bradley kept the pack at bay with a win at TPC River Highlands, shooting an incredible 23 under and a 68 in front of a spirited crowd that demanded nothing less.
Keegan Bradley was born in Woodstock, VT and culled his New England roots with school stints in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York. With the Travelerās Championship taking place in Cromwell, Connecticut, itās no wonder that shouts of āDo it for New Englandā could be heard when he played.
Amidst a roaring, partisan, full-capacity crowd, New Englanders wanted their guy to win, and they wanted him to know it. Starting out with an impressive 62 in the first round, and finishing with a 68 on Sunday, Keegan Bradley made sure he did not disappoint the home crowd pulling for his every shot.
āMy goodness, itās been unbelievable,ā Bradley said, according to Golf Digest. āIām so lucky and thankful to be from this New England area. I just canāt believe it. This seems like a dream.ā
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The victory couldnāt have been sweeter, for a kid who grew up in one of the neighboring states from Travelers. But any New Englanderāand especially one thatās a sports fanāwill tell you, if youāre from one of the six states that make up the Northerners, youāre from them all. And if thereās one thing New Englanders love, itās their sports, and well, Dunkinā Donuts.
āItās an event my first handful of years on tour I really struggled at, because the pressure of wanting to play well for wow family and the local community was too much,ā Bradley continued. āI had to learn how to do it.ā
Seeing how much the victory in Cromwell meant for Bradley was one thing, but watching the responses from his two sons stole the show, like one son waiting around to congratulate Chez Reavie for his fourth place finish. I mean, how awesome is this kid?
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He seemed to enjoy the win even more than his dad did!
If you couldnāt tell that Keegan Bradleyās from New England, he pretty much gave away with his celebration afterwards. The cupās full of Sam Adams, no doubt.
Even better? Bradleyās sonās got matching trophies! It doesnāt get any more precious than that.
It was Keegan Bradleyās sixth win on the PGA Tour, holding off players Zac Blair, Brian Harman, Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy, Min Woo Lee, Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, and Rickie Fowler. All of them posted competitive scores, but at the end of the day, New Englandās own came through, with Bradley never buckling under the pressure to not disappoint.
New Englanders have a real community spirit and Keegan Bradley embodied that as he pulled through until the very last hole, which he finished at par after a five-birdie and three-bogey day. The stubborn New Englander in him stuck the landing. And it was enough, for him and the celebratory crowd, who erupted as if the victory belonged to all of them. Which it did.