Keegan Bradley claimed his sixth PGA Tour title with a three-shot victory in the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.
Bradley took a one-shot lead into the final round at TPC River Highlands and was never in real danger of being caught after making five birdies in his first 12 holes.
The 2011 US PGA Championship winner gave the chasing pack a glimmer of hope with three bogeys in four holes from the 13th, but eventually signed for a closing 68 to finish 23 under par.
Fellow American Zac Blair surged through the field with a final round of 62 to finish 20 under par alongside Brian Harman, who returned a second consecutive 64.
"I'm so proud to win this tournament." ❤️@Keegan_Bradley was emotional after winning at a place close to home @TravelersChamp. pic.twitter.com/vnPTD2TCDw
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 25, 2023
“This is for all the kids that grew up in New England, who got to sit through the winters and watch other people play golf,” said Bradley, who was born in Vermont, one of the six states which make up the New England region.
“I just am so proud to win this tournament. Travelers and everybody involved puts on a first-class tournament. It’s been like this for a decade and I’m so happy to be the winner here.
“I’m so lucky and thankful to be from this New England area. I just can’t believe it. This seems like a dream.”
World number one Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Chez Reavie shared fourth place on 19 under, with Rory McIlroy another shot back after a closing 64.
“I got off to a hot start, which was nice and what I felt like I needed,” McIlroy said after a round containing seven birdies and one bogey.
“Then hit a drive on nine that I didn’t think was that bad. Ended up against the boundary fence and made a bogey there which halted the momentum that I had.
“Bounced back well with a birdie on 11 but then missed a chance on 12, birdied 13. Then just couldn’t get anything to drop over those last few holes.
“I knew I was never going to win with the way Keegan was playing, but I felt like I probably needed a couple more birdies to finish top five.
“I’ll probably still sneak into the top 10 by the end of the day, but would’ve been nice to finish a little higher. Still, it’s another good week and solid performance after a long run, and looking forward to a couple of weeks off.”
What a start from @McIlroyRory ?
He's T3 heading to the back nine @TravelersChamp. pic.twitter.com/xWlPr6i6Iw
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 25, 2023
McIlroy, who came into the week on the back of his second place in the US Open in Los Angeles, added: “Last Sunday feels like a month ago at this point.
“But coming off the disappointment of the US Open, coming straight here and sort of trying to refocus and forget about what happened in LA and tee it up here and play well, I thought was pretty good.
“I could have sort of went through the motions this week and mailed it in a little bit. I tried hard until the end and put in a decent performance.”
By Phil Casey, PA Golf Correspondent
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