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Remember Keegan Bradley? He's back on top of a PGA Tour leader board
It's just one round -- and it happened in a place far, far away from home -- but Keegan Bradley had to feel good about seeing his name on top of a PGA Tour leader board again. Bradley fired an opening 64 at the CIMB Classic, making him a co-leader in Malaysia after Day 1.
Of course, Bradley broke onto the golf scene with his win at the 2011 PGA Championship. He also won the Byron Nelson that year and added a WGC-Bridgestone Invitational title in 2012 before being a star for the U.S. in a Ryder Cup loss that fall. But Bradley hasn't won since. And more alarmingly, he didn't come close during a disastrous 2015-2016 campaign.
In 26 starts, Bradley missed 11 cuts, had just two top 10s (a pair of T-8s) and made less than $900,000 in on-course earnings. Perhaps more than any other player, Bradley was hurt by the anchoring ban that went into place at the start of 2016, but the start to the new season indicates hope that the St. John's product has turned a corner using a conventional grip with a long putter. Bradley finished T-22 at the Safeway Open last week, closing with a 66, and he's off to a hot start in Malaysia, thanks to putts like this dropping in:
However, he wasn't the only player to go low on Thursday. After one round, Bradley is tied with defending champ Justin Thomas, who now owns a 65.2 scoring average in five career rounds in this event, and Derek Fathauer. And lurking right behind is the red-hot Paul Casey (65), Sergio Garcia (66), and last week's winner, Brendan Steele (67). Here are highlights from a first round you probably slept through: