Keegan Bradley wins thrilling BMW Championship in a play-off – Justin Rose moves to top of world rankings.

• 2011 PGA Champion from the USA defeats 2013 U.S. Open Champion, Justin Rose (ENG), on first play-off hole to win battle of the major winners.
• Second place at third Playoff tournament on the PGA TOUR takes Rose to top of world rankings.
• Record winner Tiger Woods and a world-class field thrill golf fans in Philadelphia.
• BMW Championship concludes on Monday following heavy rainfall.

Philadelphia. After the top 70 players on the PGA TOUR were unable to play their final round on Sunday due to heavy rainfall at Aronimink Golf Club, the BMW Championship ended in spectacular fashion one day later than scheduled. At the end of a thrilling final round, Bradley and Rose both finished one shot clear of the high-class field. Bradley (66, 64, 66, 64, 260, -20) came out on top in the play-off to claim his first PGA TOUR win for six years. Rose (66, 63, 64, 67) narrowly missed out on his second victory at the prestigious BMW Championship, which he had previously won in 2011. However, he did reach a milestone in his career: the 2016 Olympic champion replaced Dustin Johnson (USA, T24, -11) at the top of the world rankings.

The leaderboard on a thrilling Monday read like a who is who of golf, with ten players still in contention until well into the final round. Bradley did manage to pull just clear thanks to birdies on holes 16 and 17, but Rose was able to respond with birdies of his own on the same two holes. When the Englishman’s par putt unfortunately lipped out on the final hole, it was play-off time. Rose pulled his tee shot and could do no better than a bogey, while Bradley held his nerve to par the hole and wrap up his fourth title on the PGA TOUR. 2014 BMW Championship winner Billy Horschel and “PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year 2017” Xander Schauffele (both USA, -19) finished tied in third place.

“This is just incredible. It has been a hard road back. I just can’t believe it,” said Bradley. “The organisers got a little unlucky with the weather. The conditions were soft, so the scores were lower. But everybody loved the golf course. It was just a joy to play. The fans were great and it was a really, really fun week here.”

Stefan Richmann, Executive Vice President Finance BMW of North America, said: “On behalf of BMW of North America and our dealers and partners, I would like to congratulate Keegan Bradley on his hard-fought victory at the 2018 BMW Championship. I would also like to thank the fans in Philadelphia who, by attending the event, have supported the Evans Scholars Foundation on its important mission.” All proceeds from the BMW Championship go to the foundation, which finances college scholarships for caddies. Since 2007, when BMW took over as the title partner of the tournament, more than 27 million US dollars have been raised for this worthy cause.

As well as Rose, many other Ryder Cup players from Europe and the USA were in excellent form ahead of the showdown in Paris in three weeks’ time, at which BMW is “Official Partner”. Rory McIlroy (NIR, 5, -18) was tied for the lead after round one with 14-time major winner Tiger Woods (USA, T6, -17), who was named as a “Captain’s Pick” for the Ryder Cup by US captain Jim Furyk on Tuesday. Tommy Fleetwood (ENG, T8, -16) and Open winner Francesco Molinari (ITA, T8, -16) also impressed, as did Webb Simpson (USA, T6, -17), Rickie Fowler (USA, T8, -16) and defending FedExCup champion Justin Thomas (USA, T12, -15).

Another drama played out at the BMW Championship was qualification for the season finale, the TOUR Championship, at which only the top 30 players in the FedExCup ranking are entitled to play. Coming into the BMW Championship, Bryson DeChambeau (USA, T19, -12) held an unassailable lead. Rose, Tony Finau (USA, T15, -11), Dustin Johnson (T33, -8) and Thomas complete the top five, who are guaranteed to take overall victory should they win in Atlanta, regardless of other results. In contrast, three-time major winner Jordan Spieth (USA, T55, -3) dropped into the thankless 31^st  place in the FedExCup ranking, meaning he will miss the season finale for the first time in his career.

Next year’s BMW Championship will be held at Medinah Country Club in Chicago – the same club, at which the European Ryder Cup team pulled off a sensational comeback six years ago, snatching victory on the final Sunday in what is now widely known as the “Miracle of Medinah”.