Keegan Bradley Embraces Northeast Roots Ahead of PGA Championship at Aronimink

Keegan Bradley has long been viewed as the top PGA Tour player from the Northeast.

With this week's PGA Championship at Aronimink just outside Philadelphia, reporters quickly asked the 39-year-old about the vibe of the region's courses. Bradley gave a fresh response to a question he has fielded many times.

"Definitely," he said when asked if he senses different energy playing in the Northeast. "Yeah, I even went out on my deck today when I was at my house, and I could smell, like, the northeast. I could smell the grass. It was different."

Bradley grew up in Vermont, played college golf at St. John's in New York and roots for Boston pro teams. He won the 2018 BMW Championship at Aronimink and took the Travelers Championship twice in Connecticut.

"I take extreme pride and I feel a lot of weight to represent New England and the northeast in the golf world, because there's not that many of us," Bradley said. "I feel like I have a duty to the younger generation and people that are growing up to show them that, you know, we can compete from being around here."

"It's difficult, but I do feel when I come here, not just the courses suit me a lot better here and my career, because this is how I grew up playing. But I do feel a duty to represent the area. Philly is a little bit south for me but I'll take it. It's northeast to me."