Keegan Bradley became the first player in eight years to win a major in his first ever appearance in one of the sport’s four biggest events when he triumphed at the 2011 PGA Championship.
Of course, Keegan Bradley seems to have had a second wind in his career in recent years. Between 2012 and 2022, Bradley won just once on the PGA Tour. Meanwhile, he made just three major cuts across 2020, 2021 and 2022.
He is now in contention to make his own Ryder Cup team later this year, and he has won in each of the last four seasons. It has been a remarkable return towards the summit of the game for the 39-year-old.
Certainly, few would have anticipated that Bradley would still be on one major ahead of the 2025 Open Championship following his victory at Atlanta Athletic Club 14 years earlier.
When Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship on his first major start
Bradley ended up winning the 2011 PGA Championship following a playoff with Jason Dufner. The pair finished at eight under par. Remarkably, both men had somewhat stumbled across the line towards the 72nd hole.
Dufner made bogey on three of the final four holes, while Bradley made a triple bogey on the 15th. He would respond with two birdies to tie things up again.
Bradley ended up winning the playoff by one shot on one under par. With that, he became the first player since Ben Curtis at the 2003 Open Championship to win on his first major start.
He would also make history in becoming the first player to win a major while using a belly putter.
Why Keegan Bradley no longer uses a belly putter
Some players enjoyed great success while using a longer putter. Webb Simpson won the US Open the following year. But of course, golf fans will not see anyone on the major tours using a flat stick which is anchored to their body.
It was decided ahead of 2016 that players were no longer allowed to have the end of their putters touching their body for further stability.
It did seem that the change had a real impact on players like Bradley, who took plenty of time to return to being one of the world’s best.
Should he play at Bethpage, it will end an 11-year wait for a third Ryder Cup appearance. On current form, it definitely feels as though Bradley is deserving of a spot on the team.