THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome two-time and defending champion Keegan Bradley here at the Travelers Championship. Keegan, what do you remember about winning last year?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, I think coming here is always a highlight of my year. And then to leave here as a winner twice is pretty unbelievable. First tournament I ever went to was here. I have such incredible memories outside of golf here with my kids and my family being here. I'm really proud to have won this tournament because I think Travelers does as good of a job as any tournament that I play across the world.
THE MODERATOR: Coming off U.S. Open, just got done with your pro-am, how are you feeling with your game and what are you seeing from the course?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, the course is in incredible shape. It's a nice shift from the U.S. Open of where we're sort of hanging on for dear life there, and then you come here and you make some birdies. But there's still a lot of really challenging shots that you have to hit. But they create such an incredible atmosphere at this tournament for us players and our family, so it's really a treat to come back.
THE MODERATOR: Perfect. We'll open it up with questions.
Q. In a tournament where you obviously won twice, every single player comes to a PGA TOUR event, their goal is to win. Here, you've done that a couple of times. How do you temper your expectation wanting to contend and win and maybe going overboard where like this is becoming sort of my event? You've talked very openly about, like, how important this specific event is to you because family comes, your family's sort of adopted this event, etcetera.
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, well I feel a real responsibility to represent golf in this region because there's not many of us playing the TOUR. So I feel a real responsibility to represent the area at the best that I can. So when I come here I want to win the tournament. I want to show, you know, that I can still come out here and compete and win. Then for me, this year hasn't been my best year, so I need FedExCup points, so coming in here I need to have a nice week. It's a nice time of the year to come back here, something familiar. But every week I tee it up I want to represent this area and so when I get to play here it means that much more to me.
THE MODERATOR: Similar to that, when your family was here with the win, are you someone, do you ever re-watch your wins, have you done that with family?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: No, we reminisce a little. One of the cool moments was last year when I was driving home and the neighborhood that I rent a house in, people were all out in their driveways with signs and cheering me as I drove by, which was really special. So we have these really unique memories. This house that we stay in is where my youngest son slept in a big-boy bed for the first time. So we have like these milestone memories from this tournament outside of the golf, which is really, really fun.
Q. I wanted to ask about the U.S. Open and some of the crowd behavior that became an issue out of that, particularly toward Wyndham. I know the crowds here have a certain reputation for kind of being the opposite of that, but just wondering if you had some thoughts on that on whether the impact on golf and just that whole situation.
KEEGAN BRADLEY: I think that golf is in the process of, you know, turning into -- it's leaving just the golf world, where people are coming to tournaments that are sports fans and that's how, you know, people in New York cheer on the Knicks or the Giants or whatever. And they're coming to tournaments and they're sports fans, and they're golfers, but I think that we're entering a time where the game is really growing in popularity. I think people are coming to golf tournaments to have a good time. I found it a little surprising, considering Wyndham's American, and at the U.S. Open, but Scottie Scheffler's a really popular player going for the Grand Slam. Unfortunate, but hey, I mean, Wyndham won, so he handled it really well. I think it's just, we're in an interesting time here where golf is really taking off and we're seeing a different group of people coming to these tournaments.
THE MODERATOR: With four top 25s so far this season kinds of past that halfway point, how would you overall assess the season so far for you?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Not very good (laughing). I've been playing pretty solidly since THE PLAYERS, but have nothing really to show for it. I felt like at the U.S. Open was the best U.S. Open I played tee to green of my career and didn't putt very well. I feel like, you know, my game's in really good shape. Maybe it's something that I need to come to a place like this for it to show.
Q. Can you also comments about some of the things that Brian Rolapp was able to announce here earlier this week as far as the Championship Series, Challenger Series, and whatever your thoughts are on that. Second, within that conversation he said potentially taking the TOUR Championship to other venues other places and such. I don't know if Quechee or the Woodstock Inn golf course is going to be on that list, but what are some of the venues in New England that you think it would be really cool to go back to? Obviously TPC Boston has been bantered around, but some other places that are really unique and can showcase the golf in this region generally?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: I think the stuff that Brian announced is sort of what we've been hearing, confirmed what we're going to do. It's going to be just extremely competitive. Golf has always been a sport where you have to earn what you get and, like, this is going to become even more so with that. I mean, you're going to see players that are, you know, top, top players that -- you know, I think a lot of the Europeans that don't get to play a full schedule out here, where they're playing 14, 15 events, because -- they better play some solid golf in those, because the consequences now are extreme. You're going from playing the biggest tournaments in the world to you're not in 'em, which is going to be really, really intense. I think the membership is very aware of that and golf is now even more so becoming a result-oriented sport. Can't rely on, I had a good year two years ago, you got to prove it every year, which I think is great. I mean, for me, I think The Country Club is our crown jewel and I really love the idea of going to these unique places and maybe having it be more of like a U.S. Amateur feel where there's people walking in the fairways and I think The Country Club is just one of the most spectacular venues in the world. I think to have the best players in the world play there and to play in New England in that time of year, I mean, I'm biased I think we should have a whole New England swing. But The Country Club is the one that comes to mind for me.
Q. Seemed a little bit odd over the past couple seasons that the PGA TOUR hasn't been in New York, Boston, or Chicago, which are enormous markets and big golf regions.
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, very strange. I think if you spoke to everyone of the membership they would all sort of agree that this is like the best place to play golf for us, especially as the season, end of the summer into the fall. Who knows how the schedule is going to evolve, and maybe there will be a swing in the northeast. But I think it's really important that we play golf courses like The Country Club, like the golf courses all over New York, all over Philadelphia. These are just how, you know, I grew up playing courses, tree-lined, rough, I think that they're great for tournament venues.
Q. To stick with the northeast theme. Ben James is playing here for the first time as a pro. He's played the Travelers before. Have you had any interactions from him?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, so I actually wasn't aware he was from Connecticut and I found that out two days ago. I actually mentioned to my agent that, please, I would like to talk to him and introduce myself. I was so -- I saw on the TV he's from Connecticut and I was like, Is that right? Because he's such an incredible player. There's not many of us that pop up like Ben James from New England. And immediately I had this huge sense of pride of like, Wow, this is going to be really fun for me to be able to follow this kid's career and watch him grow into an unbelievable TOUR player. I was immediately hit with just pride that he was from this area and somebody that I'll pull for forever. I look forward to meeting him this week.
Q. In the past you've talked about how much you care about playing this event and how you were hard on yourself because you really wanted to do well here. Is that some type of wisdom that you might try to pass on to him knowing once again how unique it is to be able to play for him this close to home?
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Yeah, I think you sort of have to go through it. It's easy for someone to tell you like, Hey, don't try as hard, or this doesn't matter. You know, I think you have to sort of work your way through it. It doesn't mean he can't play well right away. But I had to really grow into my career before I could really play well here. I was just so worked up to come out and play. I remember when I got my PGA TOUR card, it was my first thought of like, I get to play Hartford. So for him I'm sure that's on his list as well. He'll have to learn how to manage that. He may not, he may just come right out here and play great. That could be not the case for him. But I look forward to following him.
THE MODERATOR: All right, thank you for the time.
KEEGAN BRADLEY: Thank you.
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