CASTLE ROCK (AP) – Keegan Bradley went from last man to winner at the BMW Championship on Sunday, closing with an even-par 72 to win by one stroke and opening up all sorts of possibilities he wouldn’t have even imagined possible a week ago.

Bradley was able to pull away from the error-prone Adam Scott early on the back nine and hit a decisive shot on the par-5 17th hole, giving him what was essentially the seventh and most unlikely victory of his PGA Tour career.

A week ago, he was biting his nails and needing help to finish 50th at the FedEx Cup and qualify for the second postseason event. And then he handled the mile-high air, wind and Sunday pressure to win at Castle Pines.

With this victory, the 38-year-old Bradley moved up from 50th place to fourth place in the FedEx Cup and qualified for the Tour Championship, where he will start four strokes behind Scottie Scheffler in a 72-hole race for the $25 million prize money.

There’s another trophy at stake, too. Bradley, the first Ryder Cup captain to win a PGA Tour event since Davis Love III nine years ago, moved up to 10th in the Presidents Cup standings. The top six after the BMW Championship qualify automatically, and Jim Furyk receives six captain’s picks. Bradley will certainly be in the conversation after his third consecutive win.

Scott, who finished second at the Scottish Open last month, was tied with the leader until he began the back nine with three easy bogeys, two of them with a wedge in hand from the fairway.

He managed a birdie on the last par 5, but missed a great opportunity when he missed the 15th green from 90 meters.

He finished with a 72, which also put him in the top 30 players qualified for East Lake.

Sam Burns finished with a 65, his best score of Sunday, including a bogey on the par-5 14th hole, and tied for second place with Scott and Ludvig Aberg of Sweden, with Aberg finishing with a 71.

Bradley finished the match at 12 under par, 276 strokes, earning $4 million for his second BMW Championship title, having also won at Aronimink in 2018.