CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) — Keegan Bradley went from last man to winner at the BMW Championship on Sunday, finishing with an even-par 72 to win by one stroke and opening up all sorts of possibilities he wouldn’t have imagined even a week ago.

Bradley was able to pull away from the error-prone Adam Scott early on the back nine and hit a decisive shot on the par-5 17th hole, giving him what was essentially the seventh and most unlikely victory of his PGA Tour career.

A week ago, he was biting his nails and needing help just to finish 50th in the FedEx Cup and qualify for the second postseason event. And then he handled the mile-high air, wind and Sunday pressure to win at Castle Pines.

“It shows why you have to grit your teeth because you never know how quickly things can change,” Bradley said on the 18th green, standing next to his father. Mark Bradley, a longtime club professional, had never seen his 38-year-old son win in person.

With the win, Bradley climbed from 50th place to fourth place in the FedEx Cup and qualified for the Tour Championship, where he will start four strokes behind Scottie Scheffler in a 72-hole race for the $25 million prize money.

There’s another trophy at stake, too. Bradley, the first Ryder Cup captain to win a PGA Tour event since Davis Love III nine years ago, moved up to 10th in the Presidents Cup standings. The top six after the BMW Championship qualify automatically, and Jim Furyk receives six captain’s picks. Bradley will certainly be in the conversation after his third consecutive win.

Bradley heard many chants of “USA! USA!” as he played the back nine holes at Castle Pines, the loudest being on the 18th hole when thousands of spectators were allowed to surround the green to put the finishing touches on a great week.

Scott, who finished second in the Scottish Open last month, was tied with the leader until he began the back nine with three easy bogeys, two of them with a wedge in hand from the fairway. He managed a birdie on the final par-5 but squandered a big opportunity when he missed the 15th green from 90 yards.

He finished with a 72, which also put him in the top 30 players qualified for East Lake.

Sam Burns finished with a 65, his best score on Sunday, including a bogey on the par-5 14th hole, and shared second place with Scott and Ludvig Aberg of Sweden, who missed another good opportunity by making too many mistakes on Sunday.

Aberg was 12 under par on the par 5s before the final round and played them at even par. He finished with a 71.

Justin Thomas somehow made it to East Lake for the Tour Championship, even though he was already back home in Florida at the same exciting venue as Bradley a week ago.

Thomas needed a lot of help to reach 30th place, and it came from former British Open winner Brian Harman and Alex Noren. Harman needed a par on the final hole to stay in the top 30 and made double bogey.

Noren, who has never made it to East Lake, was close to breaking into the top 30 when he holed a 25-foot par putt on the 13th and made a birdie on the 14th. But he finished with three bogeys in a row, the worst of which was on the par-5 17th, the easiest hole at Castle Pines. He had to lay up after a drive in the rough and hit a wedge into a bunker. He shot 75.

On the 17th hole, Bradley, who finished 12 under par with 276 strokes, all but sealed the deal.

Burns had shot 277. Aberg and Scott stayed close. Bradley hit a 5-iron between two bunkers to a back left pin on a firm green from 16 feet, the closest shot of the day. He missed the eagle chance, but it gave him a two-shot lead heading to the 18th hole.

And although he missed a four-foot par putt that only made the cut, he responded with the energy you’d expect from the 38-year-old New Englander, throwing his arm in the air and taking in the chants of “USA! USA!”

Bradley earned $4 million for his second BMW Championship title. He also won at Aronimink in 2018, when he was No. 52 in a then-70-man field.

Bradley and Scott joined Tommy Fleetwood (69) and Chris Kirk (69) who moved into the top 30 and qualified for the Tour Championship, edging out Harman, Jason Day, Davis Thompson and Denny McCarthy.

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AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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