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2021 Valspar Championship: Can Keegan Bradley Snap Winless Streak?

By Tim Letcher

PALM HARBOR, FLORIDA - MAY 01: Keegan Bradley of the United States lines up a putt on the seventh green during the third round of the Valspar Championship on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort on May 01, 2021 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
PALM HARBOR, FLORIDA - MAY 01: Keegan Bradley of the United States lines up a putt on the seventh green during the third round of the Valspar Championship on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort on May 01, 2021 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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Keegan Bradley got off to a very fast start in his PGA Tour career. However, the last few years have not been great to him. Now, he finds himself in contention at the 2021 Valspar Championship, trying to break a winless streak of nearly three years.

In his first year on tour, in 2011, Bradley had great success. He recorded his first career victory at the Byron Nelson and, later that year, claimed his first win in a major, taking home the title at the PGA Championship. Bradley was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year and his future seemed very bright, especially since he was just 24 years old.

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The following year, Bradley won his third PGA Tour title, taking the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, topping Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker by one shot. That was three wins in two seasons for Bradley.

However, from 2013 through 2017, Bradley did not win at all, in 130 starts. He finished second three times, twice in 2013 and once in 2014.

From there, he struggled for three years. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Bradley made 79 starts. He only finished in the Top 10 on 10 occasions. That was quite a drop-off for someone who had such a quick start to his career.

Bradley finally broke his non-winning streak in 2018 when he claimed the title at the BMW Championship.

However, Bradley has again fallen on hard times. He has entered 62 events in 2019, 2020 and so far in 2021. He has not won in that span.

This week, Bradley shot a 64 on Thursday and followed that with a 66 on Friday. He was tied for the lead through 36 holes.

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On Saturday, Bradley had a pair of birdies on the front side but fell behind Sam Burns by two shots. However, the hole that made the difference was the par-5 14th hole. While Burns was carding a par, Bradley chipped in for eagle to leap into a tie for the lead. That’s where he finished the day, tied with Burns and one shot ahead of Max Homa with one round to play.

Bradley hopes to have enough on Sunday to break another long winless drought. It remains to be seen if he can do that.

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