U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley birdied the final hole of the Travelers Championship and catapulted past England’s Tommy Fleetwood to win the tournament in a stunning conclusion Sunday in Cromwell, Conn.
Bradley shot 2-under-par 68 for a four-round total of 15-under 265 to win by one stroke over Fleetwood (72) and Russell Henley (69).
Bradley, a native of New England and playing in what he considers his home tournament, thrilled the huge crowd on the final hole at TPC River Highlands by sinking a 6-foot birdie putt. Fleetwood, who left an approach shot short, had just missed a par putt from inside 7 feet for a two-shot swing.
Fleetwood, who began the day with a three-shot lead, appeared to have recovered after a ragged opening stretch. Instead, Bradley won for the first time since last year’s BMW Championship. Bradley also won the Travelers Championship in 2023.
Fleetwood has won seven times on the DP World Tour, but he’s still without a victory in 159 PGA Tour events.
Harris English (65) and Australia’s Jason Day (68) tied for third place at 13 under.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the tournament’s defending champion, recovered from Saturday’s 72 to shoot 65 and finish in a sixth-place tie at 12 under with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who also posted 65.
Fleetwood recorded three bogeys and a birdie across the first four holes Sunday after registering only one bogey during the entire first three rounds. He got some juice from a birdie putt of about 14 1/2 feet on the par-3 11th hole.
Fleetwood and Bradley were all even through nine holes, with Bradley’s 64-foot putt on the ninth giving him a birdie and seemingly all sorts of momentum as the gallery roared its approval.
When Bradley rolled in a 37-foot birdie putt on No. 15, he moved to two strokes back. The margin was one shot when Fleetwood bogeyed No. 16, and it stayed that way until No. 18.
Henley chipped in for birdie at the final hole.
Scheffler’s 268 marked 10 more strokes than his winning 2024 total.
Justin Thomas, who was a 36-hole co-leader, had 67 in the final round to post 9 under for the tournament, tying for ninth place.
Viktor Hovland of Norway, who shot 63 on Saturday and was 10 strokes back through three rounds, withdrew from the final round because of a neck ailment. During the round, Germany’s Matti Schmid dropped out because of illness.
–Field Level Media
