Heartbreak for Fleetwood as Bradley denies him first PGA title

Final round of the Travelers Championship

-15 K Bradley (US), -14 T Fleetwood (Eng), R Henley (US), -13 H English (US), J Day (Aus)

Other notables: -12 R. McIlroy (NI), -6 A. Fitzpatrick (Eng), -6 R. MacIntyre (Sco), and E. S. Lowry (Ire).

Tommy Fleetwood, England’s Tommy Fleetwood, was denied his first PGA Tour title by American Keegan Bradley, who won by one shot.

With three holes to play and a one-shot lead going into the final hole, Fleetwood finally had a shot at winning his first PGA Tour title after 41 top-10 finishes.

The 34-year-old had to hole from six-feet to make par after a strong tee shot on the 18th hole and a poor putt on his third attempt.

However, Fleetwood narrowly missed, leaving Bradley, who had split up, to bogey and hope that Bradley would miss his birdie putt.

The 2011 USPGA Championship champion, who will lead the country in the Ryder Cup in September, made no mistakes when he slotted home from the finish line.

Fleetwood remarked, “I’m gutted right now.”

“I’ve not been that way for a while,” I said. It’s probably the least effective way to conclude.

The effects of his three-shot overnight lead meant that Fleetwood was still under constant pressure despite his scars from previous near-misses.

He was concerned that he might once more be set for a near miss after three bogeys and a birdie in his first four holes.

From there, Fleetwood maintained par until a pair of birdies on the 11th and 13th holes gave him a two-shot lead.

When Bradley bogeyed the par-four 14th, Bradley had lost sight of him and appeared out of the woods.

However, the 39-year-old was quickly put back in the running thanks to a sensational 35-foot birdie on the 15th.

The American was laying up five feet from the hole to put the pressure on Fleetwood on the 18th when Bradley made the turn.

Bradley had the perfect read of what he needed to accomplish with Fleetwood’s missed par-putt to win.

Fleetwood must have anticipated that he would win his first PGA Tour title as he made his way to the final green, which is heartbreaking.

However, his 16th-placed birdie resulted in a sluggish stretch of play after his position at the top of the leaderboard had been strengthened by those birdies at 11 and 13.

In two of his previous five matches, Fleetwood has dominated the Travelers event for the majority of it.

However, local star Bradley was inspired to make a brilliant birdie by the passionate, partisan atmosphere, which turned the tournament on its head.

Fleetwood won an Olympic silver medal last year and has twice placed second in the majors. Both those near misses and this placerunner finish will hurt.