Phil: ‘I do a lot of dumb stuff’ on the golf course

POTOMAC, Md. — Keegan Bradley did nothing special on the only easy scoring day this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, opening with an even-par 70 that left him around the cut line. RELATED: Leaderboard Since the conditions got tougher, Bradley has been the best player at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. Bradley shot the lowest score for the second straight day Saturday, a 3-under 67 that gave him a three-day total of 8-under 202 and a two-shot lead over Max Homa in Open Championship like weather on a U.S. Open-style course. About 2 inches of rain has fallen since Friday morning, yet the low-lying course near the Potomac River has held up well enough to avoid any delays in play. Temperatures dropped into the low 40s Fahrenheit on Saturday. “It felt like a Patriots playoff game out there in December,” said Bradley, who grew up in New England. “It was fun, but I’m glad to be done.” Bradley was one of four players to shoot in the 60s. The scoring average was 73.7, the highest relative to par on the PGA TOUR since the final round of the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. Although he has only one win in the past nine years, the 35-year-old Bradley has been solid recently, with top-10 finishes in three of his last five events, including fifth at THE PLAYERS Championship during another week of bad weather. The eye-popping number for a player whose putter has held him back: Bradley ranks second in the field this week in putting by the PGA TOUR’s “strokes gained” metric. His key makes on Saturday: 14 feet for birdie on the par-3 ninth hole, 21 feet for birdie on the tough par-4 11th, 9 feet for birdie on the 16th and, finally, 8 feet to save par after going bunker-to-bunker on the closing hole. “Today and yesterday were just really good ball-striking and really good putting. It’s rare that we match those up and I’ve matched that up these last two days,” Bradley said. “If I can just keep that going a little bit, I’ll like my chances.” A win by Bradley would move him into the top 60 in the world, making him exempt for the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. “It’s on my mind,” he said. “I know what’s at stake.” Jason Day’s retooled swing couldn’t hold up for a third straight day. The leader after 18 and 36 holes, Day began struggling with his driver before it spilled over to the rest of the bag. He found the same pond on consecutive holes — a driver that never crossed dry land on the par-4 fourth, leading to triple bogey, and a 3-wood that hooked violently on the fifth. Day appeared to lose his grip on the club when he hit another hook into a water hazard with his second shot on the par-5 10th, even though he had half a dozen gloves hanging from the ribs of his umbrella. He shot 79 to fall seven shots off the lead. Homa shot a steady 71 while playing partners Day and Luke List struggled, finding fairways and hitting conservative approach shots for routine pars. He went from trailing Day by two to leading by two in a span of two holes that he played in even par. But consecutive bogeys on the back nine allowed Bradley to pass him. The day’s second-best score belonged to Rory McIlroy, who made the cut on the number and played on the opposite side of the course from the leaders. The highest-ranked player in the field at No. 7, McIlroy bogeyed his first two holes, made four birdies before the turn and closed with nine straight pars for a 68 that moved him into a tie for sixth at 2 under. “I think when you see conditions like this, you have to have a pretty upbeat attitude towards it and for me it was just grateful to be here,” McIlroy said. Anirban Lahiri shot 70 and was four shots back alongside James Hahn (72), a former champion of this event at its regular home, Quail Hollow, which is taking this year off because it’s hosting the Presidents Cup in September. Matt Fitzpatrick was 3 under after a 71. “It feels like I’ve just gone 12 rounds in a pro boxing match,” Lahiri said. “You’re fighting everything. You’re fighting your body, the elements, the water, the cold, the conditions. Yeah, it’s tough work and you just have to grit your teeth and kind of grind it out.”

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One year ago, our family experienced a terrible thing. At the same time, we ended up having a wonderful experience. Those two sentences only make sense because of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. In late-May 2019, we were in Ohio so I could play in the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. The Monday after the tournament, there was a U.S. Open qualifier at Scioto Country Club and Brookside Golf and Country Club. I didn’t play well at the Memorial, missing the cut, and that left me with a couple of days to get ready for the 36-hole qualifying tournament. On Monday morning, my wife, Soyoung, took me to the course, while our son, Eugene stayed at the hotel with his grandmother, my mother-in-law. At the golf course, I received a phone call from my wife who was telling me that our son had fallen off the bed and was hurt. I really didn’t think it was anything too serious. But when Soyoung told me they had gone to the hospital in an ambulance, I immediately withdrew from the tournament and left the course, heading straight to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. There, doctors told us Eugene had suffered a concussion and a fracture on his temporal bone that was causing spinal fluid to leak. It was a really dangerous situation. Doctors believe that when Eugene was falling off the bed, he landed at an odd angle, hitting right on the spot that caused all the problems. It was really a fluke. We basically moved into the hospital, and Soyoung and I probably didn’t eat anything for the first 48 hours. We slept very little, if at all. I kept looking at Eugene’s heart monitor because sometimes it can go up and down like crazy, so I stared at it and couldn’t fall asleep. We both had a hard time watching Eugene struggling. There was our child in real trouble. We felt helpless. The biggest problem was doctors couldn’t control and stop the fluid leak. They eventually decided surgery was the best option. After more than a week—eight days—as doctors were getting ready to perform the procedure, the leaking finally stopped. Very quickly, Eugene started acting normally. A couple of days later, doctors discharged Eugene, and we were free to go home. One problem. We couldn’t fly because the pressure inside an airplane was dangerous and could cause Eugene’s spine to start again leaking fluid. Our next choice? Drive 15 hours from Columbus to our home in Dallas. Knowing we didn’t want to do the drive in one day, we mapped out where children’s hospitals were on our route home—just in case. All along, we felt if we could get back home, everything would be OK, and Eugene would continue to improve. It took us three days to travel home, but we did arrive in Texas with no issues, and we were so thankful to be home safely. Of course, what happened was incredibly serious, but fortunately, Eugene’s accident occurred not far from one of the biggest and best children’s hospitals in the world. The staff at Nationwide Children’s Hospital couldn’t have been nicer. The doctors and nurses were professional and kind in every way. When Soyoung and Eugene arrived at the hospital, everyone was so attentive. Before the day was over, 10 doctors had come to Eugene’s room and checked on him. It was so scary, but everybody did what they could to put my wife at ease. They did the same for me after I got there. The whole episode is not something I enjoy remembering, but the care Eugene received brings back a flood of good memories. Eugene does have some hearing loss in his left ear because of nerve damage associated with his fall. Other than that, though, he’s doing well and is happy. The accident, though, isn’t far from my mind, and I will often check on Eugene to see how he is doing. He’s just a normal little boy, he’s so active, he climbs up to everywhere and he jumps around. He also doesn’t remember anything about what happened. While you can’t tell anything was ever wrong, I still get kind of scared of what could happen to him. If he could suffer such a major injury falling from a bed, imagine what could happen when he’s doing regular kid stuff. I do call my wife a lot to make sure he’s doing well, and we do keep an eye on him. Today, we’re extraordinarily grateful he’s recovered, and we know he will have a long and happy life. We have Nationwide Children’s Hospital to thank for that.

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