AKRON, Ohio: Keegan Bradley saved par on the final hole by pouring in a 15-foot putt to claim the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Sunday, denying Jim Furyk the first wire-to-wire victory of his career.
Bradley rallied with a final round six-under 64 Sunday to finish at 13-under 267 and win by one stroke over Furyk and Steve Stricker.
“I still can’t believe it,” Bradley said. “I am just so thrilled.”
It was the first win for Bradley since capturing the 2011 PGA Championship and he now heads to Kiawah Island, South Carolina to try to defend that title next week.
Furyk led the tournament for 71 holes before suffering a meltdown on the par-four No. 18 where he shot a double bogey. He had an eight-foot putt to get into a playoff with Bradley but missed it right and it scooted six feet past the cup.
“My fifth shot I hit was my worst shot of the week,” Furyk said. “I have no one to blame but myself when things go wrong. It is an empty pit.”
Furyk closed with a one-under 69 while Stricker shot a six-under 64 as they finished in a tie for second at 12-under 268.
South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen fired a one-under 69 to finish in fourth place by himself, two shots adrift of Furyk.
England’s Justin Rose (67) and Rory McIlroy (68) of Northern Ireland tied for fifth at eight under.
World No. 2 Tiger Woods closed with nine straight pars in a bogey-free round of 66.
Bradley saved par on 18 by pouring in a 16-footer after hitting his approach into the sand.
He nailed the putt and then pumped his right fist several times in celebration. Bradley then had to wait to see if Furyk could sink his bogey putt to send them back to the 18th tee for a tiebreaker.
Bradley began the round four shots back of Furyk who appeared to be cruising to his 17th PGA Tour win after making birdie on his first three holes.
Bradley’s approach on 18 landed deep in the sand in the right side bunker. He overcooked his swing on the bunker shot and the ball sailed about 15 feet past the cup.
Bradley’s win was the third of his career and also earned him a spot on the America’s Ryder Cup team.
Furyk was trying for his first win since the 2010 Tour Championship and his first wire-to-wire win of his career. Had he won Sunday he would have joined Woods (2000) and Stewart Cink (2004) as the only wire-to-wire winners at the Bridgestone.
You can add Furyk’s name to the long list of final-round collapses on the Tour this year.
He hit his tee shot on 18 into the trees but got a lucky bounce when his ball deflected back onto the fairway.
Furyk’s approach missed the green and barely got over a bunker into thick grass on the right. He bungled his chip shot to five feet and then the bogey putt to force a playoff never had a chance.
A dejected Furyk said he would use this as a learning experience.
“I am disappointed,” Furyk said. “I hated to see .... I walked over and my boys are crying right after the round.
“It reminds you as an adult and as a parent you have to act the proper way you have to do and say the right things and show them the right lessons.
“There is no way I should have made any worse than five on the last hole. No way I should be at worst in a playoff.”
Woods finished in a tie for eighth with a group of eight golfers that included England’s Luke Donald, Aaron Baddeley of Australia and South Korea’s K.J. Choi.
It was a small consolation for Woods who has not been playing well and was 11 shots back heading into the fourth round.
“I putted well the last two days which was good,” said Woods, a seven-time winner here. “So that was something positive that came out of it. I am heading in the right direction on that.”
Woods commits
to Malaysia in October
Meantime, Tiger Woods will compete for the first time in Malaysia’s $ 6.1 million CIMB Classic in October, organizers said Yesterday, in a big boost for Southeast Asia’s only USPGA Tour-sanctioned event.
It will be a first appearance in Malaysia in well over a decade for the US star, who has clawed his way back to world number two after struggling for three years with injuries and a well-publicized sex scandal.
The tournament, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, will be held October 25-28 at the Mines Resort and Golf Club outside the capital Kuala Lumpur.
Organizers also said that beginning next year, the CIMB Classic will become an official USPGA Tour money event and part of the FedExCup, the Tour’s season-long championship competition.
Confirmed participants this time include reigning champion Bo Van Pelt and Ben Crane of the United States.
“The early confirmations will give this year’s event great early momentum. Ben and Bo have developed a good local following and Tiger will be a huge draw especially given his ASEAN roots,” Nazir Razak, CEO of banking group CIMB, said in a statement released by the Asian Tour.
Woods last played in Malaysia in 1999, when he won the World Cup of Golf.
“I haven’t been back to Malaysia since ‘99, so that’s one reason I want to go back,” Woods was quoted as saying by ESPN.com.
“It’s nice to go back to a place where I’ve already played and won.”
Woods, however, will skip the World Golf Championship the following week in China, ESPN quoted his agent Mark Steinberg as saying.
The WGC-HSBC Champions is set for Nov. 1-4 at Mission Hills in southern China, but Steinberg said Woods would be participating in “special events” that week.
