Keegan Bradley wins thrilling BMW Championship in a play-off – Justin Rose moves to top of world rankings.

  • 2011 PGA Champion from the USA defeats 2013 U.S. Open
    Champion, Justin Rose (ENG), on first play-off hole to win battle
    of the major winners.
  • Second place at third Playoff tournament on the PGA TOUR
    takes Rose to top of world rankings.
  • Record winner Tiger Woods and a world-class field thrill
    golf fans in Philadelphia.
  • BMW Championship concludes on Monday following heavy rainfall.

 

Philadelphia. After the top 70 players on the PGA TOUR were
unable to play their final round on Sunday due to heavy rainfall at
Aronimink Golf Club, the BMW Championship ended in spectacular
fashion one day later than scheduled. At the end of a thrilling
final round, Bradley and Rose both finished one shot clear of the
high-class field. Bradley (66, 64, 66, 64, 260, -20) came out on top
in the play-off to claim his first PGA TOUR win for six years. Rose
(66, 63, 64, 67) narrowly missed out on his second victory at the
prestigious BMW Championship, which he had previously won in 2011.
However, he did reach a milestone in his career: the 2016 Olympic
champion replaced Dustin Johnson (USA, T24, -11) at the top of the
world rankings.

The leaderboard on a thrilling Monday read like a who is who of golf,
with ten players still in contention until well into the final round.
Bradley did manage to pull just clear thanks to birdies on holes 16
and 17, but Rose was able to respond with birdies of his own on the
same two holes. When the Englishman’s par putt unfortunately lipped
out on the final hole, it was play-off time. Rose pulled his tee shot
and could do no better than a bogey, while Bradley held his nerve to
par the hole and wrap up his fourth title on the PGA TOUR. 2014 BMW
Championship winner Billy Horschel and “PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year
2017” Xander Schauffele (both USA, -19) finished tied in third place.

“This is just incredible. It has been a hard road back. I just can’t
believe it,” said Bradley. “The organisers got a little unlucky with
the weather. The conditions were soft, so the scores were lower. But
everybody loved the golf course. It was just a joy to play. The fans
were great and it was a really, really fun week here.”

Stefan Richmann, Executive Vice President Finance BMW of North
America, said: “On behalf of BMW of North America and our dealers and
partners, I would like to congratulate Keegan Bradley on his
hard-fought victory at the 2018 BMW Championship. I would also like to
thank the fans in Philadelphia who, by attending the event, have
supported the Evans Scholars Foundation on its important mission.” All
proceeds from the BMW Championship go to the foundation, which
finances college scholarships for caddies. Since 2007, when BMW took
over as the title partner of the tournament, more than 27 million US
dollars have been raised for this worthy cause.

As well as Rose, many other Ryder Cup players from Europe and the USA
were in excellent form ahead of the showdown in Paris in three weeks’
time, at which BMW is “Official Partner”. Rory McIlroy (NIR, 5, -18)
was tied for the lead after round one with 14-time major winner Tiger
Woods (USA, T6, -17), who was named as a “Captain’s Pick” for the
Ryder Cup by US captain Jim Furyk on Tuesday. Tommy Fleetwood (ENG,
T8, -16) and Open winner Francesco Molinari (ITA, T8, -16) also
impressed, as did Webb Simpson (USA, T6, -17), Rickie Fowler (USA, T8,
-16) and defending FedExCup champion Justin Thomas (USA, T12, -15).

Another drama played out at the BMW Championship was qualification
for the season finale, the TOUR Championship, at which only the top 30
players in the FedExCup ranking are entitled to play. Coming into the
BMW Championship, Bryson DeChambeau (USA, T19, -12) held an
unassailable lead. Rose, Tony Finau (USA, T15, -11), Dustin Johnson
(T33, -8) and Thomas complete the top five, who are guaranteed to take
overall victory should they win in Atlanta, regardless of other
results. In contrast, three-time major winner Jordan Spieth (USA, T55,
-3) dropped into the thankless 31st  place in the FedExCup
ranking, meaning he will miss the season finale for the first time in
his career.

Next year’s BMW Championship will be held at Medinah Country Club in
Chicago – the same club, at which the European Ryder Cup team pulled
off a sensational comeback six years ago, snatching victory on the
final Sunday in what is now widely known as the “Miracle of Medinah”.