AKRON, Ohio — Keegan Bradley only wanted a chance to get into a playoff Sunday at Firestone. All it took was a clutch par, along with a stunning collapse by Jim Furyk, for Bradley to win the Bridgestone Invitational and wrap up a spot on the Ryder Cup team.
Bradley closed with a 6-under 64, and the final stroke was the most important — a 15-foot putt to save par from a plugged lie in the bunker.
Furyk, who led for 71 holes and looked solid throughout the final round, chopped up the 18th hole for a double bogey to throw away a chance at his first win since the 2010 Tour Championship. He missed the green from the fairway. His chip with one foot in the sand barely cleared the bunker and stayed in the thick collar. He hit a weak chip to 5 feet, and his bogey putt never had a chance.
Furyk dropped his putter when the ball left the blade. He went from what appeared to be a certain win to a 69 and a tie for second with Steve Stricker, who made four birdies on his last five holes for a 64.
“I’ve got no one to blame but myself,” Furyk said. “There’s no way I should have made more than 5.”
Bradley won for the first time since last year’s PGA Championship, and now goes to Kiawah Island to defend his title with a lot more confidence.
“I still can’t believe it,” he said.
Bradley was four shots behind going into the final round, and was six shots back when Furyk opened with three straight birdies.
Bradley kept pecking away at the lead, holing a 25-foot birdie putt on the seventh, scrambling for par on the 12th, and starting the back nine with a pair of birdies.
UVa.’s Kohles wins again, secures 2013 PGA Tour card
OMAHA, Neb. — Ben Kohles won his second straight Web.com Tour title since turning professional, closing with an 8-under 62 on Sunday for a three-stroke victory in the Cox Classic.
The 22-year-old former University of Virginia player won the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational last week in a playoff in Columbus, Ohio, in his first professional start. He was the first player to win a Web.com title in his pro debut, and is the first to win in his first two tour starts.
Kohles also wrapped up a 2013 PGA Tour card from the Web.com money list, and moved within a victory of an immediate PGA Tour promotion.
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