CONNECTICUT – While some golfers might enjoy the respite of playing at an event without the red-hot Scottie Scheffler in the field, Keegan Bradley feels a triumph without the world’s best golfer present would leave something to be desired.
The seemingly invincible Scheffler has four wins and a runners-up finish in his past five starts – a run that includes a second Masters triumph – and is the first player since Tiger Woods in 2007-08 to have five consecutive top-two finishes.
Bradley, speaking to Reuters ahead of his title defence at the June 20-23 Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut, did not expect to see such dominance from Scheffler, a 10-time winner on the PGA Tour, so soon.
“It’s pretty remarkable,” the world No. 19 Bradley said in a video call from the Travelers Championship media day at TPC River Highlands.
“I don’t think anybody expected him to be this dominant, this fast.”
“He’s playing tournaments and winning them easily every week and I can’t really say I’ve seen that since like when Tiger was at his peak.”
Scheffler’s wife is expecting their first child any day now and the 27-year-old American said at the Masters he was ready to walk away from the year’s first Major “at a moment’s notice” if she went into labour.
While Scheffler’s absence at a tournament would surely open the door for some players, Bradley simply laughed when asked if he was hoping the baby’s due date was the week of his title defence at the Travelers, a PGA Tour signature event with a limited field and US$20 million (S$27.2 million) purse.
“When you come to a signature event or a Major, what makes it so special is you know you’ve beaten all the best players in the world and you know you’ve gone up against Scottie Scheffler and beaten him,” said Bradley, who counts the 2011 PGA Championship among his six PGA Tour wins.
“If I was to win a tournament and you could go down the stretch and beat Scottie Scheffler, it would mean that much more just because of how great a player he is.”
Bradley also admitted he has stopped relentlessly focusing on representing the United States after 2023’s crushing Ryder Cup snub.
But he still craves the validation a place in the 2024 Presidents Cup team would offer.
He said: “There was a point in my career where I thought I’m never going to be in one of these teams again. Then I got so close. I’d love that, for myself, my family, to be in these teams and play for my home country. It would mean a lot to me.”
Meanwhile, Hannah Green says she is not yet banking on a return to the Olympics in Paris, even though her second LPGA tournament win of the 2024 season at the weekend makes it a near-certainty.
The 27-year-old became Australia’s top-ranked women’s golfer at world No. 8 on April 29 after a three-stroke victory in her title defence at the LA Championship in California on April 28.
Her triumph at the Wilshire Country Club came on the back of her win at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore in March and means she is highly likely to team up with world No. 9 Minjee Lee to represent Australia in Paris.
“It’s definitely been on my mind,” Green said of the Aug 7-10 tournament at Le Golf National in Guyancourt.
“Obviously still have six or seven weeks until the team are announced, so still a lot that can happen between now and then.
“Now that I’ve had two wins in the season, obviously this... solidifies my spot, but I don’t want to assume I’m in the team.”
She added: “Whatever I do between now and then, I’m just going to try and play my best golf and hope to make that team.”
Green finished in a tie for fifth at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, four shots behind American gold medallist Nelly Korda. REUTERS
