Woodstock, Vermont — Keegan Bradley found his groove at the right time on Sunday. On the last four holes of the Travelers Championship, Bradley went on a -3 run, including a beautiful birdie on the final hole. Tommy Fleetwood, who led Bradley by one stroke going into the final hole, had a disastrous ending to his tournament, resulting in Bradley’s victory.
While scrolling through the internet, I discovered some fascinating stories about the Bradley family. Back in 2019, Jim McCabe from PGATour.com wrote a piece describing Bradley’s short ski racing career. In 2023, Power Fades covered Keegan’s father, Mark Bradley’s, journey through golf and the ski industry.
The Bradleys are a family that loves skiing and golf. They even had a ski shop in Westford, Massachusetts. After a friend invited Mark Bradley to Jackson Hole for a vacation, Mark’s life was changed forever. After getting married to his then-wife Kara Bradley, they moved back to New England and raised a family.
Keegan Bradley grew up in Woodstock, Vermont, which could be argued to be the birthplace of skiing in New England and North America. When he was a kid, he learned to ski at Suicide Six (now known as Saskadena Six ski area). He and his sister were part of the historic Woodstock Ski Runners. Eventually, he grew into an excellent ski racer. The peak of his skiing career was at Smugglers’ Notch, where he competed in the same field as the US Ski Team’s Tim Kelley. He had a top-three finish in his first run, and while he had a slower second lap, he still got ninth place.
Bradley described the experience of competing at that level in 2019:
“This was Vermont, and I’m prejudiced, but if you’re a kid and you’re a ski-racer, there’s no better competition and at the start of the year, that’s what you wanted to be – top 10 in the states. It was a big deal. It was everyone’s goal.”
However, Bradley was a dual-sport athlete, and you can probably guess what his other main sport was. At next year’s state championship at Bromley Mountain, Keegan was falling out of love with ski racing. Mark Bradley described what happened that day to McCabe.
“He was good. He was really, good, but for whatever reason, skiing didn’t do it for him. He did well at Bromley, but something was different. We were back on the mountain after the race and I asked him, ‘What’s going on?’ He said, ‘You know.’ I said, ‘I don’t know. You have to tell me.’ He said, ‘I’m all done with skiing.’ And then, he skied down to the lodge.”
Keegan probably made the right choice by picking golf. He’s achieved 8 PGA Tour victories, including one Major (the PGA Championship in 2011) and this past weekend’s Travelers Championship. His career purse is $54,738,565.
While he retired from ski racing, he still listed skiing as one of his hobbies. Five years ago, he also shared a photo on Instagram from S6. Due to his current career, I imagine his runs down the mountain are a bit mellower than his racing days.
Meanwhile, Mark Bradley has stayed involved in the ski industry. He moved back to Jackson Hole, where he works as a club professional at the Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club in the offseason. He also coached at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (it’s unclear if he still does).
Click here to read the piece from the PGA Tour. Full video highlights from Round 4 of the Travelers Championship are below.
Image/Video Credits: Keegan Bradley, PGA Tour/CBS
