December 14, 2011
Bradley won two PGA Tour Events, including 2011
PGA Championship
The PGA Tour announced on Tuesday that St. John’s men’s golf
alumnus
Keegan Bradley was named the 2011 PGA Tour Rookie of
the Year.
Bradley, 25, earned playoff victories at the HP Byron Nelson
Championship and the PGA Championship, becoming the first rookie
since Todd Hamilton (2004) to win twice.
With his PGA Championship playoff victory over Jason Dufner at
Atlanta Athletic Club, Bradley became the first player since Ben
Curtis (2003) to win a major championship in his first major
start.
On the season, the 2006 STJ graduate totaled four top-10s in 29
starts and finished 20th on the final FedExCup
points list. Bradley became just the fourth rookie to play his way
into the FedExCup finale, the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, since
the inception of the PGA Tour finale, joining Brandt Snedeker
(2007), Andres Romero (2008) and Marc Leishman (2009).
Other players nominated for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year were Chris
Kirk, Charl Schwartzel, Scott Stallings, Brendan Steele and
Jhonattan Vegas.
Also on Bradley’s 2011 résumé was a title at the PGA Grand Slam of
Golf, the Tour’s version of an all-star game, and a victory with
teammate Steele at the Franklin Templeton Shootout. Bradley was
also on the ballot for 2011 PGA Tour Player of the Year, but lost
to world No. 1 Luke Donald.
As the only American golfer to win a major title in 2011,
Bradley—who narrowly missed out on a President’s Cup bid—leads the
2012 Ryder Cup points standings for the American squad.
For all the latest news on Bradley and the St. John’s men’s golf
program, log on to RedStormSports.com and follow the team
(@STJ_MensGolf) on Twitter.
The PGA Tour contributed to this report.