The 2023 Travelers Championship leaderboard featured many big names, but a near-record-breaking performance from New England’s Keegan Bradley was more than enough to keep them in check. Bradley clinched his sixth career win on the PGA Tour, using 257 shots around the TPC River Highlands this week. In doing so, he fell short of the PGA Tour’s 72-hole record and instead settled for a 23-under aggregate for the tournament and a three-racer win.
The triumph in Cromwell, Connecticut was Bradley’s second of the season and puts him in good company. With his win, Bradley becomes the sixth player to win multiple titles, joining Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, Max Homa and Wyndham Clark. The others will likely find themselves in their countries’ Ryder Cup teams in Rome in September and now Bradley can say the same.
“This is for all the kids who grew up in New England and have to sit through the winter and watch other people play golf,” Bradley said. “I’m just so proud to win this tournament. The Travelers and everyone involved are putting on a first class tournament. It’s been like this for a decade and I’m just so proud to be the winner here.”
The 37-year-old started the weekend with part of the lead alongside Denny McCarthy before moving up very slightly. He reached the last 18 at 21-under and a lead over playing partner Chez Reavie, who put up no resistance.
Three birdies from #3-6 put Bradley in control and the race for the record books was on. Looking for Justin Thomas’ 253 total at the 2017 Sony Open, Bradley started his back nine with excitement. A dart on the par-3 11 was followed by another birdie and Bradley reached 26 under with six holes to go. Two more birdies and the record was his.
The points record was in sight with a par 5 on the deck, but Bradley’s first erratic shot of the day resulted in his first miss since Thursday’s fifth hole and sent a shockwave through his system. Imprudent bogeys on the 14th and 16th saw his lead shrink to three when Patrick Cantlay launched a late attack of his own.
It was too little and too late for Cantlay as a missed birdie from 1.80m on the 71st hole gave Bradley enough breathing space, relaxed his shoulders and enjoyed the warm welcome of the winner’s circle.
“It was incredible,” Bradley said of the fan support. “I’m so happy and so grateful to be from this area of New England. I just can’t believe it. It seems like a dream to me.”
Like Sunday’s back nine, Bradley’s career has been an ups and downs. His rookie season was full of success, as a win at the Byron Nelson was followed by competition at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and a win at his first major championship at the 2011 PGA Championship.
He made amends for that with the win at Akron in 2012 and USA’s team performances moved in lockstep. However, it would not be until six years later that Bradley – afflicted with the anchored lockout – would earn his third FedEx Cup Playoff win. A win at this year’s Zozo Championship ended another losing streak, but perhaps it’s this win that puts the thought of further setbacks to rest.
Bradley’s Travelers Championship marked his first conversion from a 54-hole lead as he started the day 4-0 with four runners-up. Despite his old tap-dancing routine, stuttering strides when using AimPoint on the green, and sometimes hairy finishing skills, Bradley is one player who genuinely loves being in the arena. No matter the stake, no matter the price, he will always stand up for it. That’s why he’s managed to emerge from the depths of his career and why he can say he’s won not once, but twice, in a season dominated by some of the greats in the industry. Rating: A+
Here is the breakdown of the full 2023 Travelers Championship leaderboard.
T2. Zac Blair (-20): What a Sunday for ZB, who finished in the top five for the first time since…the 2019 Safeway Open with a 62 (with two bogeys!)! In fact, the T2 result will see Blair earn the most points in the official world golf rankings that he has accumulated in a tournament during his career. Playing on a major medical exemption, Blair even said after the round that he wasn’t sure he’d done enough to keep his PGA Tour card for next season, but he did note (correctly) that the nearly 250 FedEx Cup points earned on Sunday and $1.8 million is a nice first step in making this a reality. Rating: A+
T4. Scottie Scheffler (-19): Another week, another festival. Scheffler gave everything again this week and finished second from tee to green. This is the tenth consecutive tournament in which he has finished in the top five in this category. Think about it. Scheffler plays almost exclusively at the best events in the world and has not been worse than fifth in ball stroke since February. An absolute hit that he almost certainly should have picked up more wins from by now. Grade: A
T7. Rory McIlroy (-18): On Sunday, it looked as if Rory Jim Furyk might slightly smash a seven-year-old record of 58, which he set in the last round of this tournament in 2016. A bogey in 9th place ended it all, but that was the end for him of a pretty impressive T7-T7-T9-2-T6 run that started at the PGA Championship over a month ago. What’s exciting for him has to be that he’s made some nice progress outside of his driver and without a red-hot putter. Irons and wedges in hand, he’s been solid in practically four of his last five tournaments. There are perfectly valid arguments that he should be the favorite at Royal Liverpool here in three weeks. Another thing to consider about his performance at TPC River Highlands, he played the par 3 8th hole with a par even, which in itself is not an exceptional statistic. However, he did it with just two pars, no birdies and no bogeys. Grade: A
MC. Collin Morikawa (-3): I’m not sure what to think of Morikawa’s season. On the one hand, he has a couple of near misses early in the season. On the other hand, he missed four cuts in elevated events (Phoenix, Bay Hill, Quail Hollow, and this week’s Travelers). On the one hand, he’s played quite well in the major championships (he finished in the top 30 in all three tournaments). On the other hand, he hasn’t had a win since the end of 2021. He’s progressed into something I never imagined when he turned pro and didn’t miss a cut for a year…inconsistently. Of course, in golf it’s okay to be inconsistent because if your highs are high enough (e.g. wins) then nobody really cares about the lows (missed cuts). But Morikawa’s skills beyond setting are constantly screaming, so it seems like there’s something else going on at the moment. One thing’s for sure, the old adage “It’s never as good or as bad as it seems” definitely applies to both him and how this season has looked so far. Grade: D+