NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Keegan Bradley had bottomed out, crashing from the high of winning the PGA Championship to tumbling out of the top 100 in the world. His chances to represent the U.S. in international play had dried up, his preferred putting method was banned, and the confidence that once put him on the cusp of greatness was shot.

“It’s scary when I look back, because I didn’t know I needed this much improvement,” Bradley said.

He was like a scientist in the lab, changing his swing, his putting stroke, his fundamentals – investing in the work needed to get to where he was Monday on soggy Aronimink: going head to head in a sudden-death playoff against the new No. 1 player in the world, Justin Rose.

For a player who had to reinvent his game, the clutch moment didn’t seem so scary.

Bradley topped Rose with a par on the first playoff hole to win the rain-plagued BMW Championship for his first PGA Tour victory in six years.

Bradley’s fourth career win meant a bit more than the others – yes, even the major he won in 2011 – because he held more than a trophy and a $1.62 million check.

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He also got to give his young son Logan a victory toss in the air on the 18th green for the first time. Bradley, who shot a final round 6-under 64 to finish at 20-under 260, thrust his arms toward the gray sky and drizzle in celebration and waved his family toward him.

“I’ve won before, and I win and I finish, and I go home, just me,” Bradley said. “Now, I get to go back and we get to have fun and enjoy it together. It’s just a completely different experience.”

Rose left Aronimink with a new reality as well. Though he was the runner-up at the FedEx Cup playoff event, he didn’t come up short in the world ranking. Rose moved to No. 1 ahead of Dustin Johnson and became the 22nd player to reach the top spot since the ranking began in 1986.

Rose could have won in regulation, but his 16-foot par putt on the final hole lipped out to force the playoff.

Tiger Woods caused some more noise and got within one shot of the lead when he birdied the par-5 ninth to go out in 31.

But he missed the green on 10 and made bogey. He found a bunker on the par-3 14th for another bogey.

And this was the kind of day when more than one mistake was going to be costly. Woods shot 65 and finished three shots back, with a 72-hole score of 263 for the sixth time in his career. The other five times he won; this one got him a tie for sixth.

RYDER CUP: Tony Finau was named to the U.S. team, the final selection by captain Jim Furyk.

Finau joins Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods as Furyk’s wild-card picks. Finau has 11 top-10s this season, including three in majors.


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