Who Is Michael Bradley?

Michael Bradley had his day in the sun, again. His last win came in 1998 at the Doral-Ryder Open. Doral—that’s where the bigger boys were playing two weeks ago in a World Golf Championship for a lot more money—$8 million versus the $3.5 million purse of the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular where Bradley was playing.

But it doesn’t really matter. While Phil Mickelson came out on top of the 80 best golfers in the world, Michael Bradley arguably came out on top of the next 130 golfers in the world when he won the Puerto Rico Open. All these guys are really good.

The 42-year-old golfer had only “Past Champion” exempt status on the 2009 PGA Tour. With his victory, he is now updated to “Tournament Winner” and is fully exempt through the 2011 PGA Tour season.

For a tour veteran of 276 career starts, the flexibility the higher priority ranking comes with to pick and choose what tournaments to play is priceless. So maybe if the winner’s check of $630,000 seems paltry compared to Mickelson’s $1.4 million prize, but it surely feels like a million dollars plus to Bradley.

Bradley was born in Largo, FL which is not far from last week’s Transitions Championship at the Innisbrook Resort. He has stayed close to his roots living nearby in Valrico, FL which is only about 40 miles from the first tee of the Copperhead golf course.

However, he did go west to attend Oklahoma State following guys like Bob Tway and Scott Verplank from OSU to the professional ranks in 1988. He was then followed by the likes of Bo Van Pelt, Charles Howell III, Hunter Mahan, and Casey Wittenberg.

From 1993 through 1998 ,Bradley finished in the Top 125 on the money list and was a regular on tour. A persistent back problem ended that streak. He competed on the Nationwide Tour and the PGA Tour when his limited eligibility allowed him to do so through the next eight seasons.

Finally, he got his card back at Q-School for the 2007 season only to fracture his right ankle early in the year. Competing in only eight events in 2007, he was granted a major medical extension for 2008 where his best finish, a T25 came at the last event of the Fall Series the Children’s Miracle Network Classic. After a T53 at last fall’s Q-Schoo,l he was headed back to the Nationwide Tour until the Puerto Rico Open win.      

The Floridian’s journey to three-time PGA Tour winner began with a five-way tie for the 36-hole lead in the 1996 Buick Challenge. Then it rained for two days on the Mountain Course at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

Once the final two rounds were canceled, Bradley won the playoff against Fred Funk, John Maginnes, Davis Love III, and Len Mattiace with a birdie on the first hole. After that tournament, the PGA Tour ruled that a tournament win will only be considered official if at least 54 holes are contested.

The road for the 2009 Puerto Rico Open champion includes all the twists and turns of most professional golfers out on tour for over twenty years. There was the drought early on not winning any official PGA Tour money during his second and third years. Then came a period of consistent performance and stability.

The big first victory came in 1996 at the Buick Challenge along with a 20th-place finish on the Money List. Then he won the 1998 Doral-Ryder Open. The back injury limited his playing performance for almost a decade. Success at the 2006 Q-School. More injury, but then his day in the sun came in Puerto Rico winning his third PGA Tour tournament in a 20-year golfing career.

Michael Bradley is the 2009 Puerto Rico Open champion. He is back, all the way back.

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Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to [e-mail].