Keegan Bradley welcomes up-hill battle at Northern Trust Open
OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. — Keegan Bradley knows he has a tough road ahead of him come Sunday considering the caliber of players that stand between him and the championship hardware at the Northern Trust Open.
The likes of Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Paul Casey. And Jon Rahm, Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed.
But it’s a road Bradley gladly will take. The last of the major champion’s three PGA Tour titles came in the 2012 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. And one of his top goals at the beginning of the year is within sight — getting to the Tour Championship, where the 30 players who make it to East Lake in Atlanta will earn spots in the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and likely the PGA Championship in 2018.
Bradley shot a 4-under-par 66 on Saturday at sunbaked Glen Oaks Club and moved up the leaderboard in the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs. He stands at 6 under through 54 holes and six shots behind pace-setting Spieth, the reigning British Open champ who shot 64 to move to 12 under.
Three back of Spieth was world No. 1 Johnson (67). In a tie for third five back were Casey (66), Rahm (67), Kuchar (68) and Reed (66).
While the task to win is a tall one for Bradley, he has a chance and he’s pumped about moving up in the FedExCup standings. He started the playoffs in 46th place. His projected standing right now is 26th — which if he stays there or improves gets him to the Tour Championship.
“Feels good to be where I'm at,” Bradley said. “Playing good. Feel like I'm in a pretty good spot. Only problem is the players at the top of the leaderboard are pretty good. But we’ll see. If you can go out there and shoot something in the mid-60s, you never know. The FedExCup the way it is, a good round can go a long way. … I was thinking about it while I was out there. I was a couple back and I was thinking, geez, I've got to make as many birdies as I can today because of who is at the top.
“It's going to be tough to catch them. But again, this course is so tough that a good round goes a long way.”
MORE GOLF NEWS
Dustin Johnson returns to powerful form at the perfect time
Time running out for Jason Day, Rory McIlroy to get wins
It’s been a long road for Bradley this year. This is his 22nd start of the year. He’ll play next week in the Dell Technologies Championship, which will be four tournaments in a row for Bradley. He also played four in a row earlier this summer and in all will play 10 of 15 weeks.
But there’s no noticeable wear and tear.
“I can't get any points sitting at home,” he said. “I'm out here playing, and when I'm home, I play more anyway. It’s actually less work when I'm out here. I get a little crazy when I'm at home not playing.”
Besides, Bradley will be spending a lot of time at home this fall. His wife, Jillian, is expecting the couple’s first child, a boy due Nov. 18. At times Bradley has had a hard time not thinking ahead of becoming a father as he’s out there trying to drive his ball 300 yards and sink 3-foot putts.
“It is a little (distracting),” Bradley said. “I'm lucky that my wife has really taken control of everything. She lets me come out here and play. But it's been more exciting than anything. I can't wait.”
On that front, it’s already a very good year. With something special Sunday, it can be an even better year.
“I've had a good year. I've played well,” Bradley said. “There's one thing missing, and it's just, do it. I'm so happy that I put myself in a position where I can make some noise tomorrow, because on this course, if you shoot a low round, you never know what can happen.”