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BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

September 10, 2018

Keegan Bradley

Carmel, Indiana

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THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with our winner of the 2018 BMW Championship, Keegan Bradley. Keegan moves to No. 6 in the FedExCup with the victory. Keegan, you probably didn't think you were going to have a chance to play today and capture this victory, but how does it feel at this point to get it done and move to such a high position in the FedExCup?

KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, truthfully I was really fixated on making the TOUR Championship, and I kind of knew if we didn't play today, I was in it. So it was a really weird position to be in. I hadn't been in the majors, so getting in the TOUR Championship was huge. But geez, things really have changed here over the last day. I'm so thrilled the grounds crew and the superintendent did such a great job to get us out there and play today.

Q. Overall what's your assessment of Aronimink, and what did you take away from the golf course after your experience here the last few days?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Well, Aronimink has got an incredible history, and we were thrilled to see it was on the schedule. Everybody loved it. They got a little unlucky with the weather, obviously. The conditions were soft, so the scores were lower. But it's a great golf course, good old-school course. I know everybody -- I didn't hear one negative thing about it. Everybody loved it. It was just a joy to play. The fans were great. It was a really, really fun week here.

Q. It's been a little over six years since your last win. What are the emotions like? I know it's a very short time since you won, but what are the emotions like after six and a half years of working hard and finally getting back to this point?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, a lot has happened to me over these six years. The belly putter was a tougher transition than I thought, and I kind of fell off the radar there for a little while. It's tough to go from being on Ryder Cup teams, being on Presidents Cup teams to not even -- outside the top 100 in the world. That was difficult. I had to really sit down with my coach Darren May, and we put a schedule together, and we worked hard to get back to this spot.

I felt so calm today. It was really, really kind of strange because I don't normally look at leaderboards, but I looked all day, and I felt so solid. It feels so good to be -- it's so gratifying to get what comes with hard work. Sometimes you never even get it.

To be back here and win this tournament is just incredible.

Q. Over those six years, what was maybe a low point or a point where you thought maybe this hard work wouldn't translate into a victory?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: It was about two years ago, maybe -- I can't remember. I had missed over 10 cuts. I was in jeopardy of not making the Playoffs, and I was exempt, but I was really struggling. And I didn't really know -- I wasn't really aware of how far off I was. I had to really get serious and put a lot of work in.

You know, it's scary when I look back because I didn't know I needed this much improvement. But to put it all together, especially with the putter the way it was this week and the way it's becoming, is so gratifying, because for a little while, I didn't know if I was going to be able to get back to this spot, and today I did it.

Q. Could you walk through the transition with the putter, the things you tried initially, and then what you finally found worked that gives you confidence enough to do what you did today?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, I switched to a shorter putter, kind of very similar to my belly, long, heavy. That didn't really work that well. And then kind of went back and forth from an arm lock to a short putter, but I didn't get mechanical with the long putter. I didn't really focus in on -- I was so worried about my swing and everything, I didn't have time to really go and work on both.

And when I got my swing to where it is, I was able to really sit down and focus on the fundamentals of putting with an arm putter, and it was really Webb Simpson, the way he was putting, and we're really close, and we had the same transition. Watching him do what he did really helped me focus in on this arm lock. Again, with my coach, we got down and we got a plan together, and I had never, ever been technical with my putting.

Since over the last six, seven, eight months, I've been really able to focus on that, and it's drastic improvements.

Q. At what point this week did you feel it was going to be a special week for you?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Well, I can't remember a week of playing so solid from start to finish. It was really all week I've played great. That par putt I made on Saturday night was so huge because -- for two reasons: One, I didn't know if we were coming back and I knew I needed that to make the TOUR Championship. And obviously now coming back and playing, I needed that putt. I made two par putts on 17 and 18 that day that really kept me in it and was the difference really.

Q. I have a question about your arm lock putter. Did you cut the old one to size it smaller?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: My old belly putter?

Q. Yeah.
KEEGAN BRADLEY: No, they don't really correlate. It's much shorter, and it's much more upright and with a lot of loft. So it wasn't a comparable thing.

Q. How about the Ryder Cup?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Listen, I wasn't on their radar before this. I still probably have to go win Atlanta, and even then, I don't know. Who knows, if I go win Atlanta or do something great, maybe I'll catch the eye of the guys. But Tony Finau and those guys have played so great all year, it's really not on my future that I thought, but you never know. I'm playing good, and I'd love to help the team. But I think the chances of that are pretty unlikely.

Q. You've mentioned multiple times already how focused you were on making it to Atlanta. If you had been given the option yesterday, would you have said, let's not play anymore, I just am happy I made it to the TOUR Championship, and how grateful are you you ended up getting out here today?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: To be honest with you, I might have, just because it's a game changer for a player like me that's not in the top 50 to get in the TOUR Championship. You're in all the WGCs, or most of them. You're in all the majors. And that's so huge for a player where I am at this point because then I can play my way back into the top 50.

It was the weirdest couple of days because I knew in the back of my mind if we didn't play, I was in Atlanta. It was my goal to start the year. And I -- it was difficult to get ready to play because I was like, man, if they call it, I'm good, but then I can go out -- I'm only three back. So thankfully we got out here and played, and I made it to Atlanta and more now.

Q. Being from New England, did you hear anything from the Philly crowd that got your attention?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: I did. I heard a lot from the Philly crowd. A lot of 41-33 yells, a lot of Eagle chants. They deserve it, though. They haven't won as many as the Patriots, so they've got to celebrate a little more when they win the Super Bowl.

Q. You talked about getting your full swing locked in and that helping you focus on your putter. When did you get the full swing locked in, and was there a time when you were more concerned with your full swing than you were with your putting?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, I was a little bit lost there with my swing, and I wasn't hitting it -- my whole game is ball-striking really, and when that went, I didn't know it was as bad as it was, but I was able to get that under control probably a year ago, year and a half ago, where I felt better. It wasn't until the last probably eight months where it's been really good.

And then my putter, I was able to shift my focus a little bit, and that's what made the difference, and I really had to look at myself and go, okay, I've got to get a plan together here of the stroke. When I used the belly, I just putted. There was no thought process. I'd just -- feel. And I had to really sit down and focus in on my putting stroke, which was something I had never done, and that made a big difference.

Q. So did we focus too much on putting, and are you happy to maybe not answer those questions anymore?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: I will answer any questions about putting ever now, in this situation, because I was pretty bitter there for a while. But you see a lot of guys that were using the belly or long putter that are putting great now. I think -- I'm so proud of that because I was so upset with that decision, and I still don't think it's right. But it's good to prove them wrong.

Q. Before I think you said you are not looking at the leaderboard. Do you mean your awareness wasn't like today?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Today I was watching the leaderboard pretty closely. I don't normally, but because of how many people were up there and the quality of the players that were up there, I figured it would be nice to know, especially coming down the end with the par-5s and the tough finish of 17 and 18. To be honest with you, it made me feel calm, which is rare. That was good.

Q. You stepped to 18 with a one-shot lead and bogeyed 18. How were you feeling coming off of 18 in regulation, and did playing with the family and playing with your son compared to maybe six years ago when you didn't have that?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, it does. I played that 18th so bad. I was so bummed out. I got a mud ball for my second shot, but I didn't hit a good putt and hit the worst drive I hit all week, and I was bummed out because I had played so well the whole week, and to play that hole like that is ridiculous.

To get another chance, it's going to go a long way in me continuing to play well, getting that chance, because that left a pretty bad taste in my mouth, just not making the bogey but the way I made the bogey. And to come back and play that hole really nicely and win the tournament, that's going to help me in the future.

Q. This course is hosting the PGA in like nine years. I know it's a long way off, but can you envision what it would be like? Can you talk about this being a major championship type venue?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, the venue is incredible. Hopefully it won't be this wet. It doesn't matter what course you play; if it's wet, the TOUR players are going to shoot low scores on it. So I think if this course plays firm and fast with high rough, I think it's a really difficult golf course, and it'll be a great test for us.

Q. You just touched on it, but this is your first win as a dad, as a husband. How is it different, and what were the emotions like seeing them when you came off the green?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: I mean, I've been dreaming of doing that with my wife for -- and we've been together for a long time. To have my son there, it's just like -- you see it on TV so much, and as a dad and as a husband, you think, geez, that would be the most incredible feeling, because I've won before, and I win and I finish, and I go home, just me, and now I get to go back and we get to have fun and enjoy it together, and it's just a completely different experience.

I had to -- I could see them a couple times in the playoff on the 18th hole, and I had to kind of not look because it was making me emotional to see them up there. That was just awesome.

Q. Just to follow that, your celebration was pretty unique. I think you picked them both up. Was that how you envisioned it, or was that spontaneous?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: I was so out of it at that point. I was just so happy to see them run out. To win and to put everything together when I didn't know if I was going to win again, to get to the TOUR Championship, I just -- to have them here and have just what's going on in my life is just so amazing, and I'm so lucky. This is an upper echelon tournament to win. It's a great win to come back after six years. So I'm very proud of that.

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