PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) – Keegan Bradley can’t recall having an easier time than he did Thursday at Innisbrook. He missed only one green. His longest par putt was just over 4 feet. It added to a 7-under 64 and another great start in the Valspar Championship.
It’s the second round that recently has given Bradley fits on the Copperhead course.
Bradley ran off four birdies over his last five holes, finishing with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th and a two-shot lead on a day of low scoring not typically seen at this PGA Tour stop.
“Zero stress the whole day,” Bradley said. “I know I will have some bogeys and some stress coming. But as for today, I played so well, and it feels good to go around a course like this and shoot that score.” Riviera winner Max Homa had eight birdies and was in a large group at 66, including Emiliano Grillo and Ryan Moore. It wasn’t a breeze for everyone. Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 player in the world, didn’t make a birdie over his final 12 holes and had to settle for a 71. Johnson hasn’t finished in the top 10 in over two months and must first worry about cutting.
Justin Thomas celebrated his 28th birthday by opening with an eagle and coming inches away from a hole-in-one, but he stalled on the back nine and shot 69.
Phil Mickelson, playing at Innisbrook for the first time since 2004, shot 73.
As for Bradley, this is the fifth straight time he has started the Valspar Championship in a tie for sixth or better. He had missed the cut twice – including in 2016 when he shared the 18-hole lead – and has cracked the top 30.
year, given the date change. The tournament has been part of the Florida swing in March since 2007. Because of a change in the calendar, it was moved to the last week in April.
With hotter weather – temperatures were pushing 90 – the course is getting more water than usual. Combined with a little more humidity, conditions were a little softer.
Bradley had his game dialed in from the start and especially at the finish. He made Birdie the only time he missed a green, short on the par-3 15th. He had the 4-foot par putt and another one from just over 3 feet. The other nine par putts were 20 inches or shorter.
“I didn’t come close to making a bogey, so that was an enjoyable day to be out there and playing,” Bradley said. In a season of players ending long stretches without winning, perhaps Moore is in line to join the list. The last of his five PGA Tour wins was in 2016, when he played in the Ryder Cup. He missed the previous four months of 2020 with a back injury, and it’s been slow coming back.
