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A long winning drought was broken on Sunday at the Zozo Championship in Japan, but perhaps not the one everyone was expecting. Rickie Fowler came into the final round leading and looking for his first victory since the 2019 Phoenix Open, but he was clipped in the end by a single stroke by Keegan Bradley, who had experienced an even longer time between wins with his last victory coming at the 2018 BMW Championship.
Bradley shot a 2-under 68, which was two better than Fowler and good enough to finish at 15 under, one ahead of Rickie, the man with home he was playing. It was a bit of a ride for both players as they sought to break streaks they never wished to start. Fowler shot his worst round of the week — a 70 — and never could get rolling at Narashino Country Club after shining for the first two days. Bradley nursed a lead coming down the back stretch but kicked it away with bogeys at Nos. 14 and 16, the latter on account of a shank coming out of a bunker.
He buried a birdie on No. 17 to retake the lead, however, and maintained it with a par at the final hole. The result?
“I’ve been crying since I finished,” said Bradley after winning for the fifth time on the PGA Tour. “I can’t remember the last time I cried. I talked to my wife on the phone a second ago, FaceTime. I can’t keep it together, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
There’s nothing wrong with Bradley, age 36, of course. It’s just that as you get older and actually understand how difficult it is to win on the toughest tour in the world, the victories start to mean more. Bradley won a lot early on, but he has just two wins since 2012. This victory moves him into the top 25 in the Official World Golf Rankings and ostensibly into some conversations of which he wants to be a part.
“It means a lot,” said Bradley. “There’s a lot of hard work that goes into it. Even if you play perfectly, doesn’t mean you’re going to win. But…
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Source : cbssports
