American Keegan Bradley poses with the JK Wadley and event trophies after winning the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado on Sunday. (AFP)

Amid patriotic cheers, Keegan Bradley shot an even-par 72 in the final round of the BMW Championship on Sunday at Castle Pines Golf Club, giving him a score of 12 under par (276).

It capped a dramatic comeback for Bradley, who was named captain of the 2025 US Ryder Cup last month and was the last man in the field this week. However, his seventh victory on the PGA Tour means Bradley will enter next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta in fourth place at 6 under par based on the staggered start used at the final tournament of the season.

“Oh man, it just shows why you have to grind every week because you never know how quickly things can change,” Bradley said. “Now I’m going to Atlanta with a chance to win the FedEx Cup. I can’t believe it. I’m so excited.”

Bradley, who was not selected as captain of the 2023 Ryder Cup team, heard cheers from the stands everywhere he went, chanting “Let’s go, Captain” and “USA.” Bradley took a lead he would not relinquish with a par on the 537-yard par-4 10th hole, breaking a tie with Australian Adam Scott (72), who had a three-putt bogey on the course’s most difficult hole.

“I definitely struggled on the greens this weekend,” Scott said. “I just didn’t have the confidence to make some of the putts. Overall, I played pretty well. I thought I played well off the tee today, which was nice. But from there on out, I just didn’t take advantage of it.”

Bradley had a birdie and a bogey after 16 holes before reaching the par-5 17th hole. From 227 yards, he hit his second shot 16 feet short of the pin, setting up a decisive two-putt birdie.

That put Bradley at 13 under par, which negated his closing bogey. “I had an adjusted hole of 222 yards, elevation-wise and everything else, so I used a 5-iron,” Bradley said of the approach shot on hole 17.

“I was a little excited. One of the best shots of my life.”

World number one Scottie Scheffler (72) finished tied for 33rd place at the BMW, but comes to East Lake as the top seed and starts at 10 under par. Xander Schauffele (71, tied for fifth) finished second at 8 under par and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who withdrew from the BMW due to a back injury, finished third at 7 under par.

Sam Burns shot 65 (7 under par) in the final round, finishing in second place with Scott and Swede Ludvig Aberg (71) at 11 under par (277).

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