Bradley holds fort, paces BMW by a shot
CASTLE ROCK, Colorado—A strong finish on Saturday has Keegan Bradley standing out in an up-and-down third round of the BMW Championship, where the lead changed hands several times at Castle Pines Golf Club.
The 2025 United States Ryder Cup captain birdied the last two holes to post a two-under-par 70 for 204 to wrest the lead from Adam Scott, the second round leader who struggled early, missed a number of very makeable putts but is still just a shot down after a 74.
It was a wild round for Bradley, who had eight birdies and six bogeys and hit only 50 percent of greens in regulation. But Bradley’s putter bailed him out, as he ranked No. 1 on the day with 1.11 putts per green in regulation.
“It was tough out there today,” Bradley said. “It was really windy, a lot of elevated tees that were into the wind, which makes it really tough. Proud of the way I fought today. I played some brilliant golf but I hit also some terrible shots, too. I guess that’s the way of the world. But I’m proud of the way I fought there in the end.”
Scott was four-over through the first four holes and shot a 40 on the front nine, then bounced back with a gutsy performance coming home.
“I kind of felt like I made a meal of [the start], and I didn’t feel like I did that much wrong,” Scott said. “A couple of drives were just not quite right, and a three-putt, and all of a sudden I’m kind of chasing.”
Ludvig Aberg briefly held the lead before closing out with a 71 to be at joint third with fellow Swede Alex Noren (70) at 206. Noren fired a bogey-free back nine and birdied his last three holes.
Xander Schauffele (67) posted the second-lowest round of the day and was second with 129 feet of made putts. He is tied for fifth place with Wyndham Clark (69) at 209.
A two-time major winner, Schauffele rode a hot putter to a bogey-free back nine that featured four birdies. He also had birdies at Nos. 2, 7, 8 and 9.
