Keegan Bradley Leads BMW Championship After Wild Round
Castle Rock, Colorado – Keegan Bradley, the youngest U.S. Ryder Cup captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963, is still adjusting to his new role. Despite feeling like a player who should be competing to win, Bradley showed he can still play at a high level, shooting a 2-under 70 to take a one-shot lead over Adam Scott at the BMW Championship.
Bradley’s round featured three straight birdies on the front nine, followed by three straight bogeys on the back nine. He then birdied four of his last five holes, including a bogey on the par-3 16th, to finish at 12-under 204.
Scott, who was three shots ahead going into the third round, struggled with his drives, hitting one out-of-bounds and another in the water after just three holes. He rallied to limit the damage to a 74, leaving him one shot behind Bradley.
Ludvig Åberg, a Swedish golfer, had a wild round of his own, starting with a nose bleed in high altitude. He recovered to shoot 71 and finish two shots behind Bradley. Åberg was tied with fellow Swede Alex Noren, who closed with three straight birdies to shoot 70.
Xander Schauffele, who was 11 shots behind going into the weekend, had a 67 to move into contention. Denver native and former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark also had a strong round, shooting 69.
The top 30 players will advance to the FedEx Cup finale next week, with the winner earning a chance at the $25 million prize. Bradley, Scott, and Noren are all outside the top 40, but still have a chance to move up the leaderboard.
The BMW Championship is the 125th anniversary of the Western Golf Association, which has been running the elite tournament. The winner will take home one of two trophies, along with the title of BMW Championship champion.
The 48 players in the field combined to make 22 double bogeys, two triple bogeys, and one quadruple bogey in gusty conditions. Hideki Matsuyama and Robert MacIntyre withdrew from the tournament due to lower back issues.
