Early life and college career

Bradley is the elder child of Mark Bradley, the head professional at the Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club just outside Jackson, Wyoming. Growing up as an all-state ski racer in Woodstock, Vermont, Bradley decided as a teenager to pursue golf over skiing. He lived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 2001 and 2002 when his father was an assistant pro at Portsmouth Country Club. He then moved to Hopkinton, Massachusetts prior to his senior year at Hopkinton High School, where he won the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division 2 individual state championship in 2004. Hopkinton coach Dick Bliss later recalled that Bradley received the third-most attention of his players that season, and that "not many big-time college recruiters gave him much of a look." Bradley attended St. John's University and won nine collegiate events before graduating in 2008.

Professional career

2008-2010: Early years

Bradley turned professional in 2008 and began playing on the NGA Hooters Tour, where he won at Southern Dunes in his fifth and final start of the year. Bradley won a second Hooters Tour event in 2009 at the Texas Honing Open. He made 22 cuts in 26 events that season and earned $84,000. He also played two Nationwide Tour events that year, making the cut in both of them. He attempted to earn a 2010 PGA Tour card through qualifying school but fell short by two strokes. In 2010, Bradley played on the Nationwide Tour, where he recorded four consecutive top-five finishes late in the season to finish 14th on the money list and earn his PGA Tour card for 2011.

2011: PGA rookie season, first major win

Bradley made the cut in his first PGA Tour event, the 2011 Sony Open in Hawaii, and finished T-7 the following week at the Bob Hope Classic. He added a second top 10 finish at the Valero Texas Open in April. Bradley won his first PGA Tour event at the 2011 HP Byron Nelson Championship. He defeated Ryan Palmer on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. The victory gained him entry into the 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, where he shared the 36-hole lead and led midway through the final round before finishing T-15.

PGA Championship

The week after the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Bradley played in his first major, the 2011 PGA Championship. A second-round 64 propelled him into a share of the lead at the halfway stage, and Bradley remained only one shot out of the lead after 54 holes. In the final round, he triple-bogeyed the 15th hole to fall five shots behind Jason Dufner with three holes to play before recovering with back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 which, combined with three consecutive bogeys for Dufner, left Dufner and Bradley tied after 72 holes of regulation play. Bradley won the three-hole playoff with a birdie and two pars, while Dufner went par-bogey-birdie to finish one stroke behind. Bradley became only the third player after Francis Ouimet (1913) and Ben Curtis (2003) to win a major in his first attempt, and was the first golfer to win a major with a long putter. He also became the seventh consecutive first-time major winner and the first American major champion since Phil Mickelson won the 2010 Masters. With the victory, Bradley moved from number 108 to number 29 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

In December, he was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

2012

At the 2012 Northern Trust Open, Bradley and Phil Mickelson each made long birdie putts on the 72nd hole to force a three-man playoff with Bill Haas, who made a 45-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to win the tournament. During the final round of the event, Bradley was seen numerous times spitting on the course in between hitting his shots. He later apologized and cited his nervous reflex as the cause of the excessive spitting. Bradley held a two-stroke lead during the final round of the 2012 WGC-Cadillac Championship but dropped four shots over the final four holes, including a double bogey on the 18th, to finish T-8. He started the season with nine consecutive top-25 finishes, then had just one in his next ten outings. In June, Bradley played in Europe for the first time at The Irish Open at Royal Portrush and missed the cut.

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

Bradley won his third PGA Tour event at the 2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational by a stroke over Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker. Entering the final round trailing Jim Furyk by four strokes, Bradley narrowed the deficit to one going to the final hole. Bradley converted a 15-foot par putt while Furyk made double bogey to lose by one stroke. Bradley became the 11th player to win a major championship and a World Golf Championship. The win elevated Bradley to 15th in the world rankings. He moved up to a career high of 12th the next week, when he finished T3 at the 2012 PGA Championship.

Bradley qualified for the 2012 Ryder Cup, marking his first appearance in any cup competition.

Personal life

Bradley's aunt is former LPGA player and World Golf Hall of Fame member Pat Bradley. As a child he attended some of her tournaments and he has called her an inspiration. He is a fan of Boston Red Sox baseball, Boston Celtics basketball, New England Patriots football and Boston Bruins hockey, and has said his dream golf foursome includes his father, Ben Hogan, and Tom Brady. Bradley considers frequent practice-round partner Phil Mickelson a mentor, and he credits Mickelson for helping him win the 2011 PGA Championship. Bradley is also close friends with Jason Dufner and was one of the first to personally congratulate him after his victory in the 2013 PGA Championship.

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (3)

Legend

Major championships (1)

World Golf Championships (1)

Other PGA Tour (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	May 29, 2011	HP Byron Nelson Championship	−3 (66-71-72-68=277)	Playoff	Ryan Palmer
2	Aug 14, 2011	PGA Championship	−8 (71-64-69-68=272)	Playoff	Jason Dufner
3	Aug 5, 2012	WGC-Bridgestone Invitational	−13 (67-69-67-64=267)	1 stroke	Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker

PGA Tour playoff record (2-1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	2011	HP Byron Nelson Championship	Ryan Palmer	Won with par on the first extra hole
2	2011	PGA Championship	Jason Dufner	Won three-hole playoff (Bradley:10, Dufner:11)
3	2012	Northern Trust Open	Bill Haas, Phil Mickelson	Haas won with birdie on second extra hole

NGA Hooters Tour wins (2)

• 2008 Southern Dunes
• 2009 Texas Honing Open

Other wins (3)

• 2011 PGA Grand Slam of Golf, Franklin Templeton Shootout (with Brendan Steele)
• 2015 CVS Health Charity Classic (with Jon Curran)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2011	PGA Championship	1 shot deficit	−8 (71-64-69-68=272)	Playoff1	Jason Dufner

1 Defeated Jason Dufner in a three-hole playoff: Bradley (3-3-4=10) and Dufner (4-4-3=11)

Results timeline

Tournament	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Masters Tournament	DNP	T27	T54	CUT	T22	T52
U.S. Open	DNP	T68	CUT	T4	T27
The Open Championship	DNP	T34	T15	T19	CUT
PGA Championship	1	T3	T19	CUT	T61

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	4
U.S. Open	0	0	0	1	1	1	4	3
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	3
PGA Championship	1	0	1	2	2	3	5	4
Totals	1	0	1	3	3	7	18	14

• Most consecutive cuts made - 6 (2011 PGA - 2013 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s - 1 (three times)

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runners-up
2012	WGC-Bridgestone Invitational	4 shot deficit	−13 (67-69-67-64=267)	1 stroke	Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Cadillac Championship	DNP	T8	7	T50	T38
Cadillac Match Play Championship	DNP	R32	R64	R64	T52
Bridgestone Invitational	T15	1	T2	T4	T17
HSBC Champions	T16	23	T11	T64	DNP

DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

PGA Tour career summary

Season	Wins (Majors)	Earnings (US$)	Rank
2011	2 (1)	3,758,600	13
2012	1	3,910,658	10
2013	0	3,636,813	11
2014	0	2,828,638	28
2015	0	1,565,079	64
Career*	3 (1)	15,699,788	87

* As of the 2014-15 season.

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 2012, 2014
• Presidents Cup: 2013 (winners)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]