Cox/Getty ImagesAfter winning the PGA Championship, Keegan Bradley allowed himself to think about The Presidents Cup.By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
ATLANTA, Ga. — Keegan Bradley’s fearless performance at the Atlanta Athletic Club on Sunday has prompted the newly-crowned PGA champion to reassess his goals for the season in the space of about 24 hours.
Bradley has put himself in prime position to possibly win the FedExCup after jumping 20 spots to fourth in the standings with one week remaining in the regular season. Plus, with two victories, one of which is a major championship, he’s all-but sewn up the Rookie of the Year award — and suddenly becomes a candidate for an unprecedented sweep of Player of the Year honors with a strong performance in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.
And what about The Presidents Cup? Bradley moved from 39th to 18th in the standings with four events remaining before the 10 automatic qualifiers are finalized and five before the U.S. Captain Fred Couples and International skipped Greg Norman make their two picks.
If he continues to play well in the Playoffs, Bradley could conceivably catapult into the top 10. And at the very least he’s in the conversation as a potential Captain’s Pick.
"Now I can almost think about playing my way onto that Presidents Cup team," the smiling Bradley said between bites of a steak at CNN Center on Monday.
The prospect left him almost speechless. "That would be, I mean, that’s … Forget it. I can’t even believe I’m saying that. I can’t believe that’s coming out of my mouth," the 25-year-old said in genuine amazement.
Bradley called Couples his "absolute No. 1 hero of all time" and the chance to be a member of his team for the matches at Royal Melbourne in November would cap what is already a phenomenal season. The two played together in Houston earlier this year, and after Bradley won his first PGA TOUR event at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, Couples was among those who paid his respects.
"When he congratulated me for winning, that was the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me in my golfing career, for sure, just because he’s my idol," Bradley said. "Just a lot of stuff that can happen now that were in my wildest dreams."
The chance to win the FedExCup was not even on Bradley’s radar screen at the start of the season, for example. Now the Vermont native and die-hard Boston Red Sox fan is a lock to play in all four Playoffs events.
"I think the PGA TOUR has done a great job and FedEx is a great sponsor," Bradley said. "The FedExCup playoffs are a huge part of our schedule and I’m looking forward to those tournaments as much as any. And I get to go into the Northeast, too, and play some tournaments, one in Boston which will be really fun. Every week on the PGA TOUR is amazing and I think these events will be as good as it gets."
Good for him.
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