Winning on the PGA Tour is hard.
Ask Tommy Fleetwood.
In the seven years since he joined the Tour, the Englishman and the world’s 17th-ranked player had done just about everything — 41 top-10s, five runners-up, nearly $30 million in earnings — except win.
And just when Fleetwood looked to have his first Tour win in his sights, New England native and U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley stole the title on the final green with a birdie that electrified his home crowd.
Coming to the 72nd hole leading by a shot, Fleetwood clubbed down on his approach and left his second shot just short of the front edge of the green. Bradley followed by sticking his wedge to six feet and then watched as Fleetwood’s first putt settled just behind Bradley’s ball mark.
When Fleetwood missed his par effort, he gave Bradley the read and the U.S. captain buried the putt to vanquish his European foe and win the Travelers Championship by a shot at 15 under.
Keegan Bradley sinks huge 64-foot birdie putt to tie lead at Travelers
Fleetwood finished tied for second with Russell Henley, who also played in the final grouping, and chipped in from left of the green on the 72nd hole to get to 14 under. Had Bradley missed, the trio would have returned to the 18th tee for a three-way playoff.
The win — Bradley’s fourth in the last three seasons and eighth of his career — continued to fuel speculation that Bradley may end up making the American team for Bethpage, despite his insistence that he would not pick himself for the squad.
When asked by CBS’s Amanda Ballionis whether he thought he could be a playing captain in September, Bradley was coy, responding only by yelling, “USA!”
Despite a shaky start at TPC River Highlands, Fleetwood seemed in control for much of the afternoon. The 34-year-old began the day with a three-shot lead after a third-round 63 in which he hit every fairway, keeping up a consecutive-fairways-hit streak of 21 going back to Friday.
But Fleetwood pushed his opening tee shot on Sunday and made bogey. What could have been a stabilizing birdie on the 2nd hole wasn’t, as he bogeyed Nos. 3 and 4 and fell into a tie for the lead wit Bradley, the 2023 winner in Hartford.
Fleetwood regained the solo lead despite a front-nine 37 and then pulled back out ahead with birdies at 11 and 13.
Bradley nailed a 64-foot putt for birdie on the 9th hole, but struggled to sustain momentum. He made another bomb from 35 feet on the 15th, but still came to the 18th trailing by one.
Fleetwood is a crowd favorite just about everywhere he goes with his English charm and signature shoulder-length locks. But in Connecticut, chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” rang out around the course. When Bradley’s approach landed on the 18th green, the crowd’s voluminous response left little doubt about who it was pulling for.
Fleetwood now has 42 career top-10 finishes on Tour, the most by a player without a win in the last 40 years.
