Normally, the hours after a PGA tournament concludes on Sunday afternoon see the golfers who finished near the top of the leaderboard trying to unwind, decompress, relax. None of that will be in the plans for Keegan Bradley this weekend.
TPC Scottsdale and University of Phoenix Stadium are about 30 miles apart. Bradley figures to bend numerous traffic laws attempting to get from one to the other after the Phoenix Open ends. Whatever happens — even if he wins the tournament — the diehard Patriots fan is not going to miss watching his team play in the Super Bowl.
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"I will do whatever it takes, so if I have to get in a car and go 150 miles an hour I'm going to do it," Bradley told AZ Central on Thursday. "I can't be this close to a Super Bowl with the Patriots playing and not go. So I will be there at some point."
The Vermont native is so devoted to the Pats that he has numerous game-day superstitions, like sitting in the same spot while watching every game. He also is pals with Tom Brady and other New England players and periodically exchanges text messages with them.
He might not make it until halftime, particularly if he happens to take home the title in Scottsdale. Bradley currently sits one shot back of the lead after a 6-under 65 in Thursday's opening round. Still, there's no question his allegiances will be torn as he comes down the back nine Sunday afternoon.
"I'm so pumped," he said. "I never thought I'd get to go to a Super Bowl in my life, let alone go and watch the Patriots play and win one. It's going to be a lot of fun."
