Bridgestone Invitational 2012: Keegan Bradley Win Key to PGA Championship Repeat

Keegan Bradley has a chance to win back-to-back PGA Championship tournaments. After a win at Firestone, Bradley has salvaged an up-and-down sophomore year on the tour. The win, though, has helped him build momentum heading into Kiawah on Thursday.

There haven’t been very many who have won two PGA Championship Wanamaker Trophies in a row.

Tiger Woods did it twice. Jack Nicklaus won the prestigious major five times, but never consecutively. Sam Snead won three Wanamakers but could never repeat championships.

In fact, you would have to look before the beginning of stroke play in 1958 to find another golfer who has accomplished that feat. Look back even further actually, to 1937, as Denny Shute was the last one to do it.

The odds certainly aren’t in favor of the youngster.

The course he saw last year at the Atlanta Athletic Club was far more forgiving than the treacherous winds he will meet at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

“Being seaside, the wind can change. The wind comes out of different directions. There’s so much room out there, but as soon as the wind starts blowing 20, 30 miles an hour, there’s not much room,” tournament favorite Tiger Woods said (via the Post and Courier).

Woods has been doing his best to get in as much time as possible on the course in preparation for the daunting challenge it poses. He played practice rounds on the Ocean Course prior to this past weekend’s Bridgestone International.

Official pre-tournament practice begins today.

Bradley’s come-from-behind win over Jim Furyk, who led through most of Bridgestone, is somewhat reminiscent of his win at Atlanta last year. Jason Dufner collapsed over the course of the final five holes to make way for the surge of Bradley.

Bradley’s final-round 64 in Columbus didn’t make things easier for Furyk, though.

Is momentum enough?

In the three other major’s he has competed in, he hasn’t finished higher than 27th. Hopefully the devastating winds and harsh course conditions will be an equalizer for the youngster.

The youngster’s going to need all the help he can get as goes to battle against the best the golf world has to offer at Kiawah.

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