Rookie Bradley in the Hunt at FedEx St. Jude Classic
Winning on the PGA Tour is never easy. Every week brings a new list of variables to master.
For rookie Keegan Bradley, his win two weeks ago in a playoff over Ryan Palmer at the HP Byron Nelson Championship looked difficult. In reality, winning was just the beginning.
"Last week was kind of a tough week for me," said Bradley of playing at The Memorial. "I was so tired. It took me by surprise how many more things I needed to do. But this week I'm back to normal. My caddy and me were out there doing what we did at Nelson. We feel good again."
What Bradley is talking about are the requirements of the media, the PGA Tour and now the fans that all want more of his time. Jhonattan Vegas ran into the same problem. After winning the Bob Hope Classic in January, Vegas, of Venezuela, was in demand on two continents—North and South America.
Since his win, Vegas has struggled, missing six of the last seven cuts, including The Masters, The Players Championship and The Memorial Tournament.
Bradley appears to have recognized some of winning's pitfalls and is quickly back in the hunt at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
"I got off [track] at the Memorial," Bradley said. "I was like 7-over through 11, and then I actually played 4-under the rest of the way. Now since then, since the first couple of holes, I'm going back to playing some good golf."
Only Mark Wilson has multiple wins on the PGA Tour in 2011, but with Bradley playing well again, his chances of making it two in the last three weeks are on the rise.
"I played a great round of golf," Bradley said after his bogey-free second round on Friday. "I did hit a few funky shots, but when I did, I got it up and down. I hit a shot on 17—looked like one of my uncle's—but I luckily got it up and down and it was just a good solid round. Like I said, when I got in trouble, I hit great shots."
Stuart Hall is editor of the Golf Press Association.
