Unheralded Bradley savours the limelight

Bradley’s victory was all the more remarkable given that his late push came after the bitter disappointment of a triple-bogey on the par-three 15,where he found water. The 25-year-old said his cool reaction to that setback,as he recovered to make two birdies and eliminate a five-stroke deficit,was aided by some sound advice from four-times major winner Phil Mickelson.

“Phil has been great to me,” Bradley said. “He’s just told me to stay more patient out there. And the major thing I tried to do this week was under react to everything whether it was a good thing or a terrible thing. I under-reacted to the triple and I over-reacted a little when I made that putt on 17 but that was something that just came out of me. I didn’t even know it was coming. That was the key — to under-react. And if you watch Phil play,he gets excited but he never gets too down on himself,and that was the key.”

History will also note that Bradley is the first player with a long putter to win a Major. “I’m very,very proud to be the first belly putter to win a major,” he said,sparking laughter in the interview room. “I remember people telling me when I first switched: ‘But nobody has ever won a major with it’. And I remember looking at them and going,‘I’m going to be the first one to win a major’,just joking pretty much. It’s a surreal thing that it’s true.”