See why we shouldn't predict anything when it comes to golf? What looked like a sure thing just got turned on its head in an instant! What an exciting finish to the 93rd PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club this weekend. Keegan Bradley, a 1st year PGA Tour player wins only his second ever golf tournament on tour, and it turns out to be a major. It's like showing up at Wimbledon for the very first time and winning. And boy, did he do it in style.
When I started writing this, I actually felt kind of bad for not even mentioning his name yesterday, for he was a lot further down the leaderboard. I suppose it never crossed my mind that he was going to mount such a dramatic charge on the final day.
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| And the final round begins... (pic by John Nowak) |
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| Trophy in sight, but it was not to be for Jason Dufner (pic by Montana Pritchard) |
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| The Tournament of the Unknowns...Brendan Steele tees off on the 6th hole (pic by Montana Pritchard) |
There are so many articles popping up on how he worked this dramatic victory. Reading through the Golf Channel's articles, I would have to admit that I wouldn't do the story any justice, so I'll let Doug Ferguson's article tell you how this thrilling story went.
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| Bradley celebrates on the 18th green (Montana Pritchard) |
What I can say is that this come-from-behind victory shows just how much self belief, mental strength, a little bit of luck, and pure guts can do for you when faced with virtually insurmountable odds. Something I kinda need to work on myself.
Below is a video I found on Youtube of the 3 hole playoff between Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner, who quite simply blew the lead he had and never recovered.
What has impressed me the most is the amount of composure he had after his triple-bogey at the 15th. It is genuinely difficult to recover from something like that when a major championship is on the line. If it were me I would be cursing for the next couple of holes and that's when the round just slips away. Keegan Bradley's performance has taught me that mental fortitude can overcome whatever bad situation you find yourself in. Sounds very cliché, but how else do you put it?
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| The champion Keegan Bradley kisses the famous Wanamaker Trophy (Montana Pritchard) |
There is no doubt that this win will go down very popularly with American golf fans. It ensures that at least one of the major trophies has an American name on it this year. It was quite obvious that the Golf Channel commentators were happy with that fact. European golf and others from outside of the U.S. have been winning everything of late, so I imagine this win will be celebrated for quite a while around the country.
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| Bradley posing with the Wanamaker Trophy (TSI) |
So congratulations to Keegan Bradley! He will be one to watch from now on. This is only his second ever win on the PGA Tour, and what a win it was. It's things like this that really make me want to go and play some golf. It has been a couple of weeks since my last game, so I'm dying to get back out and smash some golf balls around.
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