When Keegan Bradley triple-bogeyed the 15th at the Atlanta Athletic Club during yesterday's final round of the USPGA championship, it looked like he was about to dramatically fall at the final hurdle for the second week running.
Bradley's misfortune gifted tournament leader Jason Dufner, who was watching events back on the tee, with a five-stroke lead and the Wannamaker Trophy within his grasp.
Amazingly, after being so cool throughout his round until this point, Dufner - he of the extravagant pre-shot waggle - pushed his tee shot into the water and dropped the first of three consecutive strokes.
While Dufner struggled down Atlanta's notorious closing stretch, Bradley recovered from his 15th hole horror and pulled one shot back with a monster putt at the 17th. Thus by the time Dufner putted out for par on the 18th to take the championship into a play-off with Bradley, one could sense the writing was on the wall for him.
Bradley went on to win the three-hole shoot out by one stroke and claim his first Major title in his debut event - a superb achievement. The victory does wonders for his world ranking and for US golf - he is the first American to win a Major since Phil Mickelson claimed his third Masters title in 2010 just down the road at Augusta National.
It was a triumph in perseverance and shows that Bradley has got what it takes to recover quickly from potential knock-out blows. Will the unfortunate Dufner be able to do the same in the coming weeks.
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