Keegan Bradley Likens Memorial to US Open; 'Hardest Course in the World'
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Keegan Bradley is among the leaders of the Memorial Tournament after a stellar first round. However, this wasn't because the course was easy or the event itself wasn't challenging enough.
In fact, Bradley had the highest praise for the tournament taking place at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
"Basically a U.S. Open we're playing," he said after his first round's performance.
Given that sentiment, there's no doubt that Bradley should be grateful for such a challenging test of golf just two weeks before the actual US Open. In fact, it seems the American Ryder Cup captain has felt this way for most of the season:
"It seems like we're playing really hard courses every week, so it's more of the norm for these elevated events..."
"Yeah, it's tough. I mean, we don't have much of a break ever. Like, normally it's pretty tough every week. Basically I'm going to be playing back-to-back U.S. Opens here, but the course is very fair, setup nice, just a tough test."
Like the entire golf world, Bradley is at the Memorial Tournament, but he's already eyeing the US Open. It's no surprise that, when talking about difficult golf courses, the conversation turned to the venue of the third major of the season:
"I think it's really difficult to make the course fair and keep it at even par, but on a course like Oakmont that could be different because personally I think it's the hardest course in the world."
Keegan Bradley of the United States plays a shot from the 18th tee during the first round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday 2025 at Muirfield Village Golf Club on May 29, 2025 in...
Keegan Bradley of the United States plays a shot from the 18th tee during the first round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday 2025 at Muirfield Village Golf Club on May 29, 2025 in Dublin, Ohio. MoreBradley has only played in one PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament at Oakmont: the 2016 U.S. Open. He missed the cut after carding rounds of 71 and 78.
The seven-time PGA Tour winner recorded five birdies and two bogeys in the first round of the Memorial Tournament, finishing with a score of 3-under 69. He will start Friday tied for third, four strokes behind leader Ben Griffin.
Bradley has made 16 official starts at Muirfield Village Golf Club, including 15 individual tournaments and the 2013 Presidents Cup. In the latter, he contributed 2.5 points to the American team's victory in five matches.
In individual events, he has made the cut 10 times in 15 starts (14 of the Memorial Tournament and one of the Workday Charity Classic), with two top-10 finishes. His best results have been finishing eighth twice (Memorial in 2015 and 2016).
More Golf: PGA Tour brass defends Rory McIlroy's choice to skip The Memorial
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