Captain Keegan ruined what looked like a sure career moment for Tommy Fleetwood on Sunday afternoon at TPC River Highlands.
While Fleetwood is headed home without what would’ve been his inaugural PGA Tour victory, it was Keegan Bradley who came out on top at the Travelers Championship.
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Bradley, who is the United States captain for the upcoming Ryder Cup, stunned Fleetwood and birdied the final hole to grab a one-shot win at the Travelers Championship, the final signature event of the PGA Tour season.
Fleetwood dominated the field on Saturday to build up a three-shot lead after the 54-hole mark. He hit every single fairway and posted a 7-under 63 in the third round. While Russell Henley posted a career-low 61 and Bradley matched Fleetwood’s number, Fleetwood still took his massive lead into the final round.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler struggled on Saturday, which was also his 29th birthday. Scheffler, who shared the lead at the midway point, opened his round with a triple bogey — which is something he’s never done before throughout his PGA Tour career. He ended up posting a 72 on Saturday to fall nine shots back.
Fleetwood’s big lead, however, dissipated almost immediately on Sunday. He made three bogeys in his first four holes, though he limited his damage with a birdie in there at the second, and made the turn at 2-over on the day. Bradley matched him at 14-under at the halfway point of the round, thanks to a wild 64-footer from across the green for birdie at the ninth.
Bradley, though, couldn’t keep the momentum going. He bogeyed the very next hole to give Fleetwood his lead again, and then Fleetwood pushed that lead to two after sticking his drive at the par-3 11th within 15 feet. He birdied again two holes later after going up-and-down on the par-5 13th, too, which brought him back to even on the day. Both Bradley and Henley birdied that hole too, however, so his lead remained at two strokes.
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But Fleetwood bogeyed again at the par-3 16th when his tee shot landed well past the green. That opened the door for Bradley, who was suddenly just a shot back. Henley and Jason Day bogeyed, too, which pushed them out and made it a two-man race.
But Fleetwood saved his par at the 17th, and then striped his drive at the final hole. But Bradley landed his approach on the 18th not even 6 feet from the cup.
Fleetwood, who landed just off the front side of the green, ended up three-putting for a bogey. He pushed an 8-footer just to the right of the cup to save his par and force a playoff.
But, with the green cleared, Bradley sank his putt to secure the win at the final hole.
Fleetwood entered this week at No. 17 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He’s missed just a single cut on Tour this season, which came last week at the U.S. Open, and he now has five top-10 finishes on the year. Fleetwood’s last win came at the Dubai Invitational last year on the DP World Tour, and he’s been a regular on the European Ryder Cup teams in recent years. He nearly picked up his first Tour win in 2023, too, though he fell to Nick Taylor in a playoff at the RBC Canadian Open.
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Bradley has now won eight times on the PGA Tour in his career. Sunday’s win marked his first of the season, too. He entered the week at No. 21 in the world rankings, and he’s now secured three top-10 finishes in his last four starts.
While it’s only a matter of time before Fleetwood joined the winner’s circle in the United States, that’s going to have to wait just a little bit longer.
And though it won’t count on the scoreboard, count Sunday’s win as an early point for the United States in the upcoming battle at Bethpage Black this fall. Based on the scenes at the final green, it was an incredible preview of what’s sure to come.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.
