Heartbreak for Fleetwood as Bradley denies him first PGA title
Tommy Fleetwood's wait for a PGA Tour title goes on
- Published
Travelers Championship final round
-15 K Bradley (US); -14 T Fleetwood (Eng), R Henley (US); -13 H English (US), J Day (Aus)
Selected others: -12 R McIlroy (NI), S Scheffler (US); -6 A Rai (Eng), M Fitzpatrick (Eng), R MacIntyre (Sco); E S Lowry (Ire)
England's Tommy Fleetwood was denied his first PGA Tour title in heartbreaking fashion as American Keegan Bradley claimed the Travelers Championship by a single shot.
After 41 top-10 finishes, Fleetwood finally looked to be on course to claim his maiden PGA Tour title as he held a two-shot lead with three holes to play and a one-shot advantage going into the final hole.
After a decent tee shot on the 18th, a poor putt on his third shot left the 34-year-old needing to hole from six-feet to make par.
But Fleetwood narrowly missed, leaving him to bogey and hope that Bradley, who had reached the green in two, would miss his birdie putt.
The 2011 US PGA Championship winner - who will captain the USA at the Ryder Cup in September - made no mistake, slotting home to deny Fleetwood even a play-off.
"I'm gutted right now," said Fleetwood.
"I've not been in that situation for a long time. It's probably the worst way to finish.
"Leading by two with three to play. Leading by one going into the last and you don't even make it to a play-off. It's the worst way it could go."
From the brink of glory to despair
Despite his three-shot overnight lead, the scars of past near-misses meant the pressure was still firmly on Fleetwood.
Three bogeys and a birdie in his opening four holes raised fears that he could once again be set for a near miss.
Fleetwood steadied from there, keeping par until a pair of birdies on the 11th and 13th holes restored a two-shot lead.
Bradley had looked out of contention when he fell a shot back by bogeying the par-four 14th.
But a sensational 35-foot birdie on the 15th put the 39-year-old firmly back in the running.
It was Bradley's approach on the 18th that turned the tide, with the American laying up five feet from the hole to pile the pressure on Fleetwood.
Fleetwood's missed par putt gave Bradley a perfect read of what he needed to do to seal the win.
He stayed composed, closing with a two-under 68 to finish up on 15 under for the week, with Fleetwood a shot back - tied for second with Russell Henley, who chipped in on the last.
'Another near miss for Fleetwood' - Analysis
This is a heartbreaking defeat for Fleetwood, who must have thought he was about to land his first PGA Tour title while preparing his approach to the final green.
But his earlier bogey at the 16th meant that the closing stretch was laden with pressure after those birdies at 11 and 13 had strengthened his position at the top of the leaderboard.
Fleetwood has been top four in two of his past five tournaments and dominated for much of the Travelers event.
But the passionate, partisan atmosphere inspired local star Bradley to come up with a brilliant birdie while the Englishman slumped to a tame bogey that flipped the tournament on its head.
Fleetwood has finished second twice in majors and last year was an Olympic silver medallist. This runner-up finish will hurt just as much as those near misses.
Bradley's win, meanwhile, calls into question whether he would be better playing for America in this September's Ryder Cup rather than captaining the US side.