A month after winning his first major title, American Keegan Bradley improved his odds of claiming FedExCup honors by charging into a two-shot lead in Thursday’s opening round of the elite Tour Championship.
In mainly overcast conditions with the ever-present threat of a thunderstorm, the 25-year-old birdied four of the final seven holes for a sizzling six-under 64 on the challenging layout at East Lake Golf Club.
Bradley, who clinched last month’s PGA Championship at nearby Atlanta Athletic Club in a playoff with compatriot Jason Dufner, covered the back nine in four-under to take control of the USPGA Tour’s fourth and final playoff event.
Photo: AFP
“It was a great day out there, I hit a lot of really good shots and no real scary bad ones,” Bradley, a nephew of LPGA great and World Golf Hall-of-Famer Pat Bradley, told reporters.
“I just felt comfortable right from the start. I made a bunker shot on the second hole which kind of got me calmed down. It just seemed to be easy today. When you play good golf, it’s easy,” he said.
Dufner launched his round with three birdies in the first four holes to card a 66, ending the day level with fellow American Chez Reavie and British world No. 1 Luke Donald.
“I played OK, scored really well,” Dufner said. “Any time I was in trouble, I was able to make a par. Any time I hit a bad shot, I kind of dodged a tree here or dodged a tree there or had a good lie.”
Australians Adam Scott and Jason Day, along with Americans Matt Kuchar, Charles Howell III and Hunter Mahan, were a further stroke back after opening with 67s in the elite field of 30.
Bradley, the first player to win a major title with a long putter, made an explosive start to his round when he holed out from a greenside bunker to birdie the par-three second.
He picked up another shot at the seventh and, though he three-putted the eighth for his only bogey of the day, he collected five more birdies to set the pace.
For Bradley to land the season-long FedExCup and its US$10 million bonus, he has to win the Tour Championship and hope that players ranked higher in the points standings finish poorly.
Bradley was 20th at the start of the week, while any of the top five — Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Donald and Kuchar — would automatically secure the trophy with victory tomorrow.
FedExCup points leader Simpson and Britain’s Rose opened with matching 69s, while long-hitting American Johnson ground out a level-par 70.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS