Tommy Fleetwood was leading ahead of the final hole at the Travelers Championship, but suffered a painful defeat to Keegan Bradley at TPC River Highlands
Tommy Fleetwood finished T2 at the Travelers Championship(Image: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Tommy Fleetwood could not watch the winning putt as he suffered a dramatic defeat at the Travelers Championship.
The English golfer began the final round at TPC River Highlands with a three-shot lead. Fleetwood quickly began to squander his advantage early on Sunday, bogeying three of the first four holes, but responded well to keep himself in contention.
The 34-year-old held a one-shot lead ahead of the 18th and must have thought his wait to win a PGA title was finally coming to an end. However, Fleetwood three-putted on the last hole for bogey, which allowed Keegan Bradley to seal his comeback victory.
Ryder Cup captain Bradley had been three shots off the lead with four holes to play. A 35-foot birdie putt on the 15th saw him narrow the gap, with Fleetwood also dropping a shot on the 16th to set up a nervy finale.
Fleetwood maintained his lead on the penultimate hole but was made to pay for his approach at the 18th. Landing on the front of the green, Fleetwood’s first putt landed seven feet short, and his follow-up shot saw the ball agonizingly veer right.
Bradley capitalized on those errors by making birdie to overtake Fleetwood, who finished T2 with Russell Henley, one shot behind Bradley. However, an alternate view of Bradley’s winning putt shared by CBS showed Fleetwood unable to watch as victory slipped away.
“I’m gutted. A couple of wrong clubs down the last couple. I didn’t putt great today after putting well all week,” Fleetwood told CBS, as per Sky Sports. “There was a stretch on the back nine where I should have taken control.
“I left one in the jaws on 12 and I was playing good. On 14, a weak putt. On 16, a tough up and down.
“I was feeling good after flashing the drive on 18 but we got that one wrong and left it in the worst possible spot in front of Keegan’s ball. Then I didn’t hit the best putt.
“Things to work on. I hadn’t been in that situation for a long time and I felt I did a good job for the most part. But it’s the worst way to finish: leading by two with three to play and then leading by one down the last but not even making a play-off.”
Tommy Fleetwood congratulated Keegan Bradley on his win(Image: Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Bradley had tussled with Fleetwood and Henley for the lead throughout the day, but his chances looked to be over when he bogeyed the 14th to leave himself three strokes behind. However, he kept his cool as Fleetwood faltered to clinch his eighth PGA title.
The win prompted wild celebrations from Bradley, who admitted his surprise at the drama that had unfolded. “Really, really crazy,” he said. “I felt like I was just too far behind the whole day.
“I was just chasing, chasing. I just had that feeling that I was just too far behind the whole day, but I came in here and made the putts when I needed to.”
Bradley’s victory increases his chances of being a playing captain for the U.S. at the upcoming Ryder Cup. The 39-year-old claimed the $3.6 million grand prize while Fleetwood and Henley were each awarded $1.76M as joint-runners-up.
