Monday, August 26th, 2024 Edition

With BMW victory, Keegan Bradley enters Presidents Cup picture and the real possibility of becoming Ryder Cup playing captain

– by John Strege / Golf Digest

Per John: “It already was a year to remember for Keegan Bradley but it became even more memorable on this day, in this place, when he was a captain marvel…”

B&B POV: Keegan’s having himself a summer to remember. First, he was named Ryder Cup captain (2025), which surprised everyone who wasn’t in the room who made the decision. Then, yesterday he won the BMW (for the 2nd time no less), playing from the front for a good portion of the weekend. With the victory, he enters this week’s Tour Championship 4th place in points and will be in striking distance to beat Scottie for the $25M prize.

Tomorrow, Keegan WILL BE SELECTED to play in this fall’s Presidents Cup, less than a year removed from being shamefully left off the ’24 Ryder Cup team. How ‘bout them apples?

Rory McIlroy snaps driver, then nearly pulls off the unthinkable

– by Jack Hirsh / GOLF

Per Jack: “It hasn’t been a good week to be one of Rory McIlroy’s metal woods…”

B&B POV: Rory McIlroy rarely comes across like the rest of us. He’s just too good at golf. Too rich. Too handsome. Too smart. Too much of too many things that make even his fellow pros jealous.

But this past week at the BMW he morphed into one of us. More than a few times. Only he had cameras following him. He lost his shi* on Friday and tossed his 3-wood into a lake (he even retrieved it as we would). And Sunday, he snapped his driver shaft halfway through the round. And for good measure, after tracking down his errant ball, he took off his shoes, stepped into the running creek water, and tried to hit the impossible shot. Which he almost pulled off.

Oh, Rory. At least for a minute last week you felt the same pain and shame we all do when we tee it up. Left, right. Left, right. Ugh. 😊 

WITB Winner’s Bag: Keegan Bradley, 2024 BMW Championship

– Thomas Hamden / Balls & Bogeys

Per Thomas: Keegan Bradley, Mr. Ryder Cup Captain (2025), #TEAMSRIXON tour pro, fan favorite of all Northeasterners, did the unthinkable this past weekend. He won the BMW Championship; and, one year after being snubbed for a captain’s pick to play in the ’24 Ryder Cup, has surely earned a captain’s pick to play on this year’s Presidents Cup team. What a great story!

Shop Keegan Bradley Golf Gear:

DRIVER: Ping G430 LST – ON SALE (10.5 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: TaylorMade Qi10 (16.5 degrees), with Aldila Rogue White 130 MSI 70 TX shaft

HYBRID: Callaway Apex UW (19 degrees), with Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 80 TX shaft

IRONS: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (3-5), ZX7 Mk II (6-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts

WEDGES: Cleveland RTX ZipCore (52, 58 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts

PUTTER: Odyssey Versa Jailbird

BALL: Srixon Z-Star Diamond
 

GRIPS: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4 (full swing) / SuperStroke Zenergy WristLock (putter)

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PAYDAY! 2024 BMW Championship Prize Money Payouts

– Thomas Hamden / Balls & Bogeys

Per Thomas: Keegan Bradley may have been the last man to qualify for the BMW, but he walked away with a boatload of cash after finishing the week in 1st. Standing alongside his dad and family on the 18th at Castle Pines, he lifted a glorious Big-A Trophy and wiped away what was left of the chip that had been attached to his shoulder since last fall after being snubbed by Zach and the gang. 

This PGA Tour victory for Keegan—lucky #7—had to have been his sweetest yet. Along with the trophy, he pocketed a cool $3.6M. Had handsome Adam Scott putted at least as good as a 2-handicapper on Sunday, he would have won the big prize instead of steady Keegan.

GETTY IMAGES

Tour Confidential: Lydia Ko’s hot run, mega-purses and Keegan Bradley…playing-captain?

– by Kevin Cunningham / GOLF

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we rank Lydia Ko’s AIG Women’s Open victory, debate Keegan Bradley’s Ryder Cup playing-captain bid and more.

B&B POV: 

1. Where does Lydia Ko’s victory in the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews rank for best major finishes of the season (men and women)? We are scoring it a tie with Rory & Bryson’s US Open because Ko’s victory comes only two weeks after winning gold in France and she bested the best late Sunday evening to win her 3rd major championship.
2.  Which 2024 major championship moment will you most likely remember in the future? Rory’s collapse coupled with the ridiculous bunker shot Bryson played on 18 to pull out victory in the US Open. All day Sunday at Pinehurst was arguably the best sports watching this year.
3. Will Keegan play his way onto next year’s Ryder Cup team? The one he’s already captain of? We think no, but hope yes. And we want Netflix to cover the whole build-up no matter how his season plays out in ’25.
4. Does it seem chasing cash in golf is considered greedy when sports like the NFL and NBA hand out considerably more? Thanks to LIV and their gargantuan sign-on fees, yes, pros who talk about purses and how much they earn come across as narcissistic and greedy to golf fans. We’ll see if this belief changes if/when the PGA Tour and LIV ever merge.
5. Should professional golfers be allowed to use rangefinders to speed up play? We don’t care what they do to speed things up – carts, shorts, rangefinders. Approve it all. Play faster, please.
6. Should Lexi Thompson be selected as a captain’s pick for the Solheim Cup? If picked, her story would be compelling considering she has announced that she is retiring from professional golf. But man, watching her putt is hard to stomach. She makes Adam Scott look like Denny McCarthy on the greens.  

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