Bradley pulls a stunner to deny Fleetwood and claim Travelers Championship

CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Keegan Bradley hasn't heard roars this loud for him since his Ryder Cup debut at Medinah in 2012, especially when he walked up the 18th green Sunday at the Travelers Championship and turned a one-shot deficit into a stunning one-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood. On the one-year anniversary of Bradley accepting the job as Ryder Cup captain, he made the strongest case yet he should be brining his clubs to Bethpage Black. With equal parts of grit and passion, the 39-year-old Bradley rallied from a three-shot deficit with four holes to play with a 9-iron to 6 feet for birdie on the final hole, winning his second big title in 10 months and denying the ever gracious Fleetwood his first PGA Tour win. Bradley now has more wins in the last year than any American except Scottie Scheffler. He is No. 9 in the Ryder Cup standings, a career-best No. 7 in the world ranking. "This changes the story a little bit," Bradley said about his Ryder Cup role. "I never would have thought about playing if I hadn't won. This definitely opens the door to play. I don't know if I'm going to do it or not, but I certainly have to take a pretty hard look at what's best for the team." Two birdies over the last four holes, including a 35-foot putt on the 15th that kept alive his hopes, sent Bradley to a 2-under 68 for a one-shot victory over Fleetwood (72) and Russell Henley, who chipped in across the the 18th green for a birdie and a 69. Bradley, who started the day three shots behind Fleetwood, never led until he rolled in the birdie putt before a delirious, sunbaked crowd at the TPC River Highlands. It was crushing for Fleetwood, who has a reputable world record but is 0 for 84 in regular PGA Tour starts. He missed a pair of putts in the 6-foot range twice over the last five holes. With a one-shot lead from the middle of the 18th fairway, he came up just short and took three putts from 50 feet away. Fleetwood lost in a playoff before another home crowd to Nick Taylor at the Canadian Open. This one stung even more considering it was in his hands. "I'm upset now, I'm angry. When it calms down, look at the things that I did well, look at the things that I can learn from," Fleetwood said. "The most stupid thing to do and the worse thing to do would be make a week like this a hindrance to what you do going forward," he said. "Right now I would love to just go and sulk somewhere and maybe I will. But there's just no point making it a negative for the future." Henley called a one-shot penalty on himself in the second round when he saw his golf ball move the length of a dimple as he was playing a chip. He notified the rules staff, checked with them on the ruling and added one to his score for a penalty only he saw. When asked on the 18th green if he should be playing, Bradley said only, "Go USA!" He heard plenty of that on a sunbaked day with the heat index approaching triple digits, especially when he holed a 65-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole to stay in the mix. Bradley was tied with Fleetwood, who bogeyed three of his first four holes, going to the back nine. But the Englishman began to pull away with a pair of birdies and was two shots clear when he hit wedge to 6 feet on the 14th hole. Bradley one-hopped his approach over the green into a plugged lie in the bunker, and all he could do was blast out to 40 feet and make bogey. But he fell only three shots behind when Fleetwood missed the short birdie putt. But he made the 35-foot birdie putt on the 15th. Fleetwood went long on the par-3 16th, chipped downhill some 20 feet by for bogey to narrow the margin to one shot and set the tone for the turnaround that gave Bradley his second Travelers win in three years. They're all special for the Vermont native playing in the only PGA Tour stop in the northeast. This one carried chants of, "USA! USA!" after every big putt, especially the last one. "Of all the shots and all the putts I hit, I think I'm going to remember that one the most," he said of his final birdie. Bradley finished at 15-under 265 and won $3.6 million for his first title in a signature event. He also won the BMW Championship, the second FedEx Cup playoff event, last August at Cherry Hills outside Denver. Harris English (65) boosted his Ryder Cup hopes by tying for fourth with Jason Day (68). Scheffler, who had a share of the 36-hole lead until a 72 in the third round, closed with a 65 and tied for sixth with Rory McIlroy, who also shot 65. They were three shots back. Scheffler and McIlroy already have clinched spots on the Ryder Cup team. Bradley is assured of being there, too. Still to be determined his what role he plays. ___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf