From the PGA Tour: Bradley breaks major American drought

No sooner did the 93rd PGA Championship get underway than the contestants begin to take their lumps, bumps and bruises on the Atlanta Athletic Club's (AAC) 4 infamous closing holes.

As American Nick Watney put it: “It’s a very, very difficult closing stretch, you can’t fake it around there, the guy who win the tournament will have earned it.” Tiger Woods did make an appearance at the AAC.

However, he left posting 10 over par after 2 rounds, missing the cut by 6 strokes and perhaps wishing he would have been turned away at the gate when he arrived two days earlier.

The first round saw veteran players seize the leaderboard. American Steve Stricker exploded on day one to tie the PGA Championship record with a score of 63 at 7 under par. He was pursued by fellow countryman Jerry Kelly who shot a stellar 65 to register 5 under par, 2 strokes behind Stricker.

2003 PGA Championship winner Shaun Micheel was only 4 strokes back after posting a solid 66. In responding to a question about pressure, the low key Stricker said: “Try tricking yourself into thinking that there’s really nothing extra or different about an event. But knowing deep down that there is. That’s the trick.”

A writer accurately described the Atlanta weather as hotter than hades over the first 2 days of play with the mercury hovering around 35 degrees Celsius.

The AAC inflicted cruelty upon Stricker on Friday’s second round punishing him with a devastating score of 74, a full 11 strokes higher than his debut.

Needless to say the marquee of the leaderboard had a different flavor to it after round two. Americans Jason Dufner and Keegan Bradley shot to the top with impressive scores of 65 and 64 respectively.

At 5 under par after two rounds, the two men were one stroke ahead of Americans D.A. Points, Jim Furyk and Scott Verplank, all at 4 under par. The last 4 holes continued to inflict pain on the field with the three water bound holes, 15, 17 and 18 accepting many a round, dimpled guest.

The leader Dufner commented on the somewhat unrecognizable names now on top, saying: “The networks and the media maybe focus on bigger names for a reason. But there are other guys that can really, really play golf out here and who are really good and who you’ve never heard of.”

There was little change at the very top of the leaderboard after the 3rd round as Dufner continued his exceptional play, shooting a 2 under par 68 to move his score to 7 under for the event.

He was joined by fellow American Brendan Steele who shot a 66. The duo was trailed by Keegan Bradley and Scott Verplank at 6 and 5 under par respectively. Dufner’s astute way of finding fairways off the tee on the 4 diabolical closing holes distinguished him from the field.

The old golf cliché that a major championship begins on the back nine on Sunday could not have found a better canvas to play out than the Atlanta Athletics Club. The only exception being in this case is it really began on the final 4 holes.

For 14 holes on Sunday’s final round Dufner now at 11 under par executed his game to precision. He had taken what seemed like an insurmountable 5 stroke lead over Keegan Bradley with only the final 4 holes left to play on the Highlands Course.

After his tee shot on par 3, 15th Dufner registered his first bogey but still held a formidable 4 stroke lead over Bradley.

As Dufner stood on the fairway of the par 4, 16th hole he watched in bewilderment as Bradley made a birdie on the green ahead to the roars of the Sunday faithful.

Dufner’s lead was now 3. With a wayward 2nd shot on 16 Dufner found the greenside bunker and closed the hole with a bogey putt acknowledgedonly by the somber silence of the fans. He now had a 2 stroke lead at 9 under par over Bradley with the menacing par 3, 17th ahead of him.

Staring down at the 17th green Dufner took another blow as Bradley’s birdie putt found the bottom of the cup and was swallowed by the deafening chants of the crowd. Bradley at 8 under par was merely a stroke behind at this point.

Dufner gathered himself as his tee shot found the green but the fog that engulfed him lead to a 3 putt bogey. He was suddenly tying with Bradley at 8 under par as he took the long walk to par 4, the 18th tee box. Both men made a par on 18 and were headed for a playoff to determine the victor.

Keegan Bradley took control of the ensuing 3 hole playoff to beat Dufner who had little left after squandering his monumental 5 stroke lead. 25-year-old Keegan Bradley became the first American in seven majors to win a major championship. He is also the first player since 2003 to win a major championship on his first attempt.

Bradley’s mother and sister rushed to the 18th green to embrace a jubilant Keegan after he holed his final putt as Dufner watched in a daze.

Speaking on his victory, Keegan said: “Oh, it feels unbelievable. Like I said in there, it seems like a dream and I’m afraid I’m going to wake up here in the next five minutes and it’s not going to be real. It’s an honor to be a champion of the PGA.”

On his road to glory, Bradley overcame what appeared to be four of the toughest final examinations. Dufner in turn attempted to look ahead and said: “I know it’s hard for you guys to believe but the show goes on”.