Latest news with #TravelersChampionships
Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Keegan Bradley confirms Ryder Cup stance after Travelers Championship triumph
Keegan Bradley could yet become the first United States captain to feature at the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963 after winning the Travelers Championship on Sunday US captain Keegan Bradley has admitted he could pick himself for the Ryder Cup after beating Tommy Fleetwood to win the Travelers Championships. 'It's insane,' he said. In a Ryder Cup style atmosphere with chants of 'USA, USA' ringing out at the TPC River Highlands in Connecticut, Bradley made a birdie on the 72nd hole to win by a single shot from the European star. The 2011 US PGA champion climbed to world No.7 and ninth in the American Ryder Cup standings. The top six qualify before six wildcard picks. Bradley had previously insisted he would only be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963 if he qualified automatically. But after his eighth PGA Tour title, the 39-year-old said: 'This changes the story a little bit. I never would have thought about playing if I hadn't won. This definitely opens the door to play. I don't know if I'm going to do it or not, but I certainly have to take a pretty hard look at what's best for the team and we'll see. It's still June, so we still got a long ways to go. This definitely changes things a little bit, and we'll all get together and figure out the best way to do this. 'It's insane. My whole life every year I was out here I wanted to play on the Ryder Cup team, and then this would be the first year where maybe I didn't want to. I just wanted to be the captain and, of course, you know, this is what happens. But we'll see. I'm going to do whatever I think is best for the team. Whether that's me on the team -- this certainly changes a lot of things. I was never going to play on the team unless I had won a tournament and so that's changed, but we'll see.' Bradley has two wins against world-class fields in the last 10 months and only World No.1 Scottie Scheffler has won more in the last 10 months among players ahead of him in the Ryder Cup standings. The time a top-10 player was not picked was when world No.7 Bubba Watson was snubbed in 2016 Qualifying lasts until August 17. After his press conference, Bradley told the Golf Channel that if he plays at Bethpage Black on Long Island he will still be captain with his assistants – Jim Furyk, Webb Simpson, Kevin Kisner and Brandt Snedeker – taking extra responsibilities. His omission from the 2023 team in Rome was controversial as he finished 11th on the points list. Zach Johnson chose the out-of-form Justin Thomas in one of the best storylines in the Netflix documentary "Full Swing". Bradley, who also won the Travelers Championship in 2023, said:I got the call at 8 o'clock tonight a year ago today. So I've been getting these questions for a year. Whether I play well or play poorly, it's something that I have become used to. To be honest with you, I never really planned on playing. I really wanted to just be the captain. I really felt strongly about that. I want to serve the guys. They asked me to do a job. I want to do it to the best of my abilities. Now, with the amazing vice captains that I have, and I have a better perspective of playing in the Presidents Cup and being around a lot of the guys, I feel a lot more comfortable if I went that route. I'm really proud of the guys that are vice captains and -- you know, obviously, you got Jim Furyk, one of the greatest players to play and also an incredibly great captain at the Presidents Cup.' Bradley spared a thought for European star Fleetwood who led by two shots with three to play and has still to win in 159 attempts on the PGA Tour. 'I know how hard it must be for him,' said the American. 'He's just an unbelievable player, and he's fighting so hard to get his first win. It's a weird thing to be on the other side of that. I do feel bad for him, but I got to go out and do what I need to do. But he battled today and I really hope that he gets his win soon.'
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Harris English survives tough Torrey Pines test, wins Farmers Insurance Open
SAN DIEGO — Harris English held off hard-charging Sam Stevens to win the Farmers Insurance Open by one shot Saturday, securing his fifth career PGA Tour victory with a 1-over 73 in challenging weather at Torrey Pines. English finished his first Tour win since 2021 at 8-under 280. Stevens began the day six shots off the lead, but surged into contention with a 68 for the best final round in this edition of a tournament with a tradition of furious final-day rallies . Stevens was playing six groups ahead, but his impressive number didn't rattle the 35-year-old English, who made two early bogeys in a round that began amid strong wind blowing in a different direction than it did in previous rounds. English steadied his game and calmly finished with 12 consecutive pars. 'It's hard to win,' English said. 'I might have looked calm out there on the course, but inside your emotions are going crazy. I just know how hard it is to win. It's just so much fun. You've got to soak it in when you do it.' English was businesslike to the end: He put his tee shot on the 18th into the rough, but got back into the fairway before putting his 115-yard approach shot squarely on the green. He two-putted for the victory, rolling his 25-footer to 7 inches for a tap-in and a subdued celebration. Andrew Novak was third at 6 under, missing out on his first tour victory with a disappointing 74 after briefly taking the lead. Sungjae Im and Kris Ventura tied for fourth at 5 under. English hadn't won since surviving an eight-hole playoff with Kramer Hickok at the Travelers Championships in 2021, although he still had nine top-10 finishes in the previous two seasons after missing five months in early 2022 while recovering from hip surgery. English already had a strong history at Torrey Pines, where he lost a four-way playoff to Jason Day in 2015 and then finished third at the U.S. Open in 2021. English surged into the lead Friday with three straight birdies to close his third-round 66, capitalizing on the mildest day of weather to make his move at the gorgeous coastal course. The wind that forced an 86-minute delay in the second round Thursday returned in intermittent force early Saturday on the oceanside holes, although it calmed somewhat in the afternoon. Lanto Griffin wore a wooly white beanie with a pompom on top, while many fans broke out winter jackets that don't normally get much use in San Diego. Novak and English, who live on the same island in coastal Georgia, played together in the final group — and while English overcame his early hiccups, Novak was up and down. Novak opened with two bogeys, but then surged into the lead with three straight birdies. He rolled in an astonishing 54-foot putt on the fifth, reading the drop from the green's top tier perfectly. Novak put both hands to his head in disbelief. 'That putt on 5, I could hit that a hundred times and not even sniff the hole again,' Novak said. 'Just crazy.' Farmers Insurance Open payout: $9.3 million purse prize money at Torrey Pines Here's how the $9.3 million purse was paid out at the Farmers Insurance Open. Golf Channel Staff , Golf Channel Staff , Novak made three bogeys and a birdie around the turn, while English began his string of pars, repeatedly getting up and down with minimal fuss. Stevens finished his round about 90 minutes before Novak and English, keeping pressure on the leaders. Novak couldn't apply his own pressure to English, making no birdies on the back nine. 'It was just a roller coaster on that front nine,' Novak said. 'Finally got it settled in on the back, but just wasn't hanging approach shots close enough to give myself birdie opportunities.' Stevens turned pro in 2018 and joined the Tour in 2023. The Oklahoma State product matched his best previous result in his runner-up finish to Corey Connors at the Valero Texas Open in April 2023. He charged up the leaderboard at Torrey Pines despite the wind, making four birdies on the front nine. Stevens even saved par on the 18th after putting his second shot in the water while trying to reach the green in two. 'These greens are tricky, especially (when) you get a little wind,' Stevens said. 'Today I just made the putts. I guess they had just been waiting 'til Sunday to go in for me, and sometimes that's how it goes. You take 'em when you get 'em.' World No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama finished at 1 over. He'll be back in San Diego in three weeks to defend his title at the Genesis Invitational, which has been moved from Riviera to Torrey Pines . Ludvig Åberg, who led after each of the first two rounds, finished at 3 over after battling through illness in his final two rounds.
