RIO GRANDE, PUERTO RICO (AP) - Michael Bradley is trying to keep it simple in his bid to win the Puerto Rico Open for the third time in four years.
“I just hope I play well and make some putts, Bradley said Wednesday. “That’s what it boils down to. If you’re hitting it where you’re aiming and making putts, and you’re not beating yourself and making mental mistakes, then hopefully come Sunday, you will have a chance. I’m trying to eliminate stupid mistakes, throwing shots away and not taking advantage of good shots. Hopefully, we can do that this week.”
Last year at windy Trump International Golf Club-Puerto Rico, Bradley took advantage of Troy Matteson’s short par miss on the first hole of a playoff.
“Definitely excited to be back,” Bradley said. “Course is in good shape. The conditions we’re used to, maybe a little bit of breeze, but looking forward to starting tomorrow and see what I can do.
“The course is playing long. It’s a little wet, not when you’re on the fairway, but you’re not getting a lot of roll, so it’s playing long. Rough is up this year over years past, greens are slower than they have been, but they’re in good shape.”
Twenty-year-old Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa also is in the field along with Lucas Glover, Argentina’s Angel Cabrera, Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas and 2010 U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein.
The wind got Ishikawa’s attention Wednesday in the pro-am.
“The wind can be strong, so I have to be patient,” Ishikawa said. “Playing in Japan, I haven’t faced constant, strong wind conditions. In Japan only a limited area gets this kind of wind, so I’m not used to the strong, consistent wind like over here. The courses are kind of narrow and there are up and downs, so it is quite different. Although, I mentioned it is comfortable playing here, it is dangerous to feel too comfortable, so I like to keep my edge and keep the appropriate attention on the course.”
Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, is making his first start of the season after spraining the medial collateral ligament in his right knee on Dec. 31 during a paddle boarding accident upon arriving in Hawaii for the season-opening Tournament of Champions.
DIVOTS: Bradley will play the first two rounds with Cabrera and 2010 winner Derek Lamely. … Edward Loar is coming off a victory Sunday in the Nationwide Tour’s Panama Championship.
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