“Really Hard for Me”: Even After Multiple Disappointments, 37-Year-Old Patriot Keegan Bradley Still Remains Optimistic

With his unexpected ascend to the top of the leaderboard after the first round, Keegan Bradley set himself a really high reference point to keep up with. In the first round of the Tour Championship, he scored a 7-under, and combined with the 3-under lead he received, he rose to the first position.

Still harboring hopes for a win, there were more interesting discussions in the post-round conference about Bradley’s Ryder Cup aspirations. The player spoke about how he has been wanting to be a part of it for the past few years. Stepping into Bradley’s perspective, here is what the 37-year-old shared in the conference.

Keegan Bradley shares his Ryder Cup dreams

One question in the conference focused on whether Keegan Bradley was thinking of his Ryder Cup prospects while playing. He candidly admitted to thinking about it a lot more than he would prefer.

Another question requested Bradley to pitch to Zach Johnson for his spot. Bradley briefly mentioned how he had a great year, with two wins, including one at Hartford. However, he refused to pitch to Johnson. Bradley acknowledged how Johnson knew him as a player and would know best. 

The six-time PGA Tour winner confessed that it was hard for him to watch the Ryder Cup in the past few years since he wasn’t even in the conversation about picks. “There’s been, in years past it’s been really hard for me to watch the Ryder Cup because I just haven’t been in the conversation to be on the team.”

However, he said this year, irrespective of being picked, he will be watching it. “But this year if I don’t make the team it will be different. I’ll watch and I’ll be pulling for the guys just as if I was playing.”

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At 37 years old, Bradley doesn’t have much time left to wait for a Ryder Cup ticket. But can his weekend at the East Lake Golf Course change his fortunes?

Bradley’s exploits at the Tour Championship explored

With a massive performance in the first round, Bradley was not able to repeat that again. Although the first half of the round went dull for him, he picked up speed in the second half, especially after his tough time on the thirteenth hole. 

While he scored one birdie in all of the first nine holes combined, he didn’t sustain any bogeys either. However, getting into the second half, the thirteenth hole tested his patience. He shot the ball from the tee into the roughs to the left of the fairway. He was able to bring it close to the green in just one more shot. However, he took three more to get the ball into the hole and ended up scoring a bogey. 

Bradley collected himself well after that hole and scored three birdies in the final five holes. He finished the round with a decent 3-under. 

Do you think Bradley will secure a spot in the Ryder Cup based on his FedEx Cup rank? Comment below.

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