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Miami: 10 Runs, 19 Hits vs Red Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Following a 10-1, series-opening triumph on Tuesday, the Miami Marlins will look to keep up their winning ways when a three-game series against the Red Sox continues in Boston on Wednesday.

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Miami has won three straight games and nine of 12, and the Marlins remain in a National League playoff position at nearly the halfway mark of the season.

Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara, who got the win on Tuesday in one of his best outings of the season, said, “Everybody’s happy. Everybody’s supporting each other. But what we are doing this year is something that people will know (about), because we surprised a lot of people this year, and we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing.”

Braxton Garrett (3-2, 3.64 ERA) takes the ball for Miami in the second of three games against Boston. It will be the 25-year-old’s first career start against the Red Sox.

While the Marlins’ rotation also includes reigning Cy Young Award winner Alcantara and star rookie Eury Perez, Garrett is in the midst of an strong run of his own. The left-hander has allowed just two earned runs — one in each of his two most recent starts — over his past 18 1/3 innings.

Despite taking a no-decision on Thursday in his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Garrett became the first left-hander in Marlins history to record 13 strikeouts without walking a batter. He allowed just two runs, one earned, on three hits across seven innings.

“This guy can really pitch,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. “If you have stuff and pitch, you’ll be an All-Star. He might be an All-Star. He’s pitching like one and putting together some really good outings for us.”

Another exciting piece of Miami’s success is Luis Arraez’s chase for .400. The second baseman went 2-for-5 on Tuesday and has a 10-game hit streak while sitting at .399.

The Marlins’ lineup as a whole banged out 19 hits to tie a season high on Tuesday. Joey Wendle went 4-for-4 with two runs.

The Red Sox did not officially name a Wednesday starter following the Tuesday game, though manager Alex Cora named Kaleb Ort (1-1, 5.79 ERA) as the “most likely” option to get that nod.

Only one of Ort’s 17 appearances this season was a start, when he went 2 1/3 innings to help Boston in its June 18 doubleheader sweep of the New York Yankees.

He has since pitched twice in relief, most recently recording the last two outs of the eighth inning on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox.

After finishing 26-50 against American League East opponents last season, the Red Sox have taken their lumps during interleague play this year. Boston is 11-16 against the NL — including 2-11 at home, which is the worst mark in the majors.

All in all, Boston is exactly a .500 team for the first time in more than a week and will look to step it up in the dog days of the summer.

“40-40, yep. No more, no less,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Like I said, we’re not great, we’re not bad. We are where we’re at. Obviously, we’ve got a long way to go. (Wednesday) is the halfway game of the season and we just got to be better, man. That’s the bottom line.”

Cora’s club has been held to a single run in back-to-back games for the third time this season. The Red Sox also had a three-game stretch in May when they managed a total of one run.

On Tuesday, Alex Verdugo had two doubles and Triston Casas went 3-for-4 to lead the Boston offense. It wasn’t nearly enough as Garrett Whitlock allowed 11 hits and six runs in 4 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

Patriots Extend DeVante Parker

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FOXBORO – The New England Patriots and wide receiver DeVante Parker are in agreement on a new three-year contract worth $33 million, NFL Network and multiple media outlets reported.

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The deal includes $14 million in guaranteed money and per-game roster bonuses, per the report.

Parker, 30, was set to enter the 2023 season on the final year of his current contract, which would have paid him a base salary of $5.7 million.

Parker caught 31 passes for 539 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games (11 starts) for the Patriots in 2022, his first season with the team. The Patriots acquired Parker in a trade with the Miami Dolphins in April 2022.

Parker has 369 catches for 5,266 yards and 27 TDs in 106 career games (75 starts) with the Dolphins and Pats. He was selected No. 14 overall in the 2015 draft by Miami.

The Patriots also signed free agent wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster to a three-year, $25.5 million deal in March and reportedly are one of the teams in on free agent DeAndre Hopkins.

–Field Level Media

Bradley Wins Travelers, $3.6 million

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CROMWELL, Connecticut – New Englander Keegan Bradley, born in Vermont and reared in Hopkinton, Mass., looked at the annual Travelers Championship at the TPC River Highlands golf course as his only chance to play a home game.

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For a veteran of the PGA Tour and its relentless travel schedule, Bradley actually welcomed his poor performance at the recent U.S. Open in Los Angeles for a chance to work with his golf coach, Darren May, for some down and dirty and much-needed instruction this past Monday through Wednesday while Bradley enjoyed some time with his immediate family who were easily able to cruise into this suburb of Hartford to re-unite as four with his wife, Jillian, and two young boys, Logan and Cooper.

What the Bradley’s couldn’t have anticipated was the golfer in the family shooting a scorching 62-63-64 to start his adventure and approach the final round of this elevated PGA Tour $top on top of the leaderboard, a stroke ahead of playing partner, Chez Reavie, and a full five strokes ahead of Patrick Cantlay and the pack of FedEx Cup[ point-seeking professionals.

“This was the first PGA Tour event I’d ever been to back when I was a kid,” said Bradley to a crowded press room of mostly Connecticut-based media, all woofing-down some Frank Pepe New Haven pizza as a treat from The Travelers. “I drove from Vermont and drove here to come and watch David Duval play.

“It’s an event, my first handful of years on Tour, I really struggled at because the pressure of wanting to play well for my family and the local community. It was too much. I had to learn how to do it,” he said.

“Other than the majors and those type of tournaments, this was always on the top of my list.”

Heading into the day, Bradley knew he’d need another low score to stay on top of the pack and earn a cool $3.6 million dollars for his weekend of work. His scoring pace was setting records for 54-hole play on the PGA Tour and the possibilities for Sunday were for the best four rounds in Tour history.

Birdies on three of the first nine holes and two of the first three holes on the “Back Nine” of the Tournament Players Club course, put Bradley at a torrid (-26) for the tournament and in full control of his own destiny.

Then came hole No. 13.

“On that backside, there is water everywhere so you can make a bogey in a second,” noted Bradley.

Bradley’s bogey six was only his second bogey of the four-day sojourn as Cantlay showed his capabilities to post a (-22), applying just enough pressure for the New England leaning crowd to tense up while the confidence in Bradley’s face, his body-language and gate noticeably stiffened as the humidity took the air temperature soaring, sucking the breeze right out of the landscape on hole No. 14.

Another bogey.

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Then, a par-save on No. 15 led to his third bogey in four holes, dropping his score to (-23) while Cantlay was within reach. Bradley’s other competition finished their rounds, posting (-20 – for – 260s), safely three back for a golfer who then stared at No. 17 and No. 18, needing only to par (or better) the holes – which he had done all weekend.

Bradley’s tee shot on No. 17, he claimed in his post tournament interviews, was one of the best shots he could lay claim to.

“It was what was going to win or lose me the tournament,” he noted. “I remembered when I won the PGA (Championship), I made triple on 15 and then my tee shot on 16 was regular tee shot, but, again, I always used to say that was the best shot I’ve ever hit and not one that anyone would remember.

“That 17th hole, you have to take an aggressive line.”

“I just did an interview with (Golf Channel host) Brandel Chamblee and he said (the 17th) played as the second hardest hole on the course, or maybe the first (today). There were 44 balls in the water today.

“It was a stressful finish, but once I got that ball on the green on 17, I kind of could take a little bit of a deep breath,” he said. “What a great shot, one of the best I’ve ever hit in my life.”

A pair of fours brought Bradley in at (68 – 257) and (-23) for the Travelers tournament record, but not the 253 that would’ve been engraved in the record books. The win, however, earned Bradley a few welcome texts from some of the all-time greats, like basketball’s Michael Jordan, Howard Stern‘s “Baba Booey” and football’s Aaron Rodgers, “even though he’s a Jet now,” laughed Bradley.

“Winning a tournament with your family is the greatest feeling because they put up with a lot of nonsense,” Bradley said. “I would say because of my traveling, missing first days of school, or my wife being alone all the time when I’m on the road, so for them to be able to feel the excitement of this and be here and feel it,”

“I can’t put a price on that. It’s just the greatest feeling,” said the 2023 Travelers Champion.”

 

Red Sox Lose Series to White Sox

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CHICAGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Luis Robert Jr. hit two home runs to power the Chicago White Sox to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

Robert hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning and a solo homer in the sixth. Both home runs came against Red Sox starting pitcher Kutter Crawford (2-4). Robert, who went 3-for-4 in the win, also homered in Chicago’s 5-4 triumph over Boston on Saturday. He has 21 home runs this season.

The victory allowed the White Sox to win the final two games in the three-game series after Boston posted a 3-1 victory on Friday night. Chicago’s Andrew Benintendi, who began his career with the Red Sox, went 2-for-4 Sunday and had seven hits in the series.

Jesse Scholtens (1-2) tossed four innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory. He gave up two hits, struck out three and walked one. Scholtens replaced starter Tanner Banks with two outs in the third inning.

Keynan Middleton pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his second save.

Crawford gave up four runs on five hits in six innings. He recorded four strikeouts and walked one.

Boston’s Adam Duvall doubled in the third inning and drove in Justin Turner to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead, but the White Sox grabbed the lead when Robert hit the first of his two home runs to make it a 2-1 game in the fourth. Benintendi also scored on the play.

Duvall collected two of Boston’s five hits.

In the fifth inning, Benintendi hit an RBI double that scored Gavin Sheets to increase the lead to 3-1, and Robert’s solo home run in the sixth capped the scoring.

Sunday’s game ended Boston’s seven-game road trip. The Red Sox went 3-4 in those seven contests.

The loss dropped Boston’s record against teams at or below the .500 mark to 12-15.

–Field Level Media

Dalbec Awaits Sox Opportunity

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CHICAGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora is dealing with a lineup problem as his team finishes a three-game road series against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, but it’s a problem he may be happy to have.

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Bobby Dalbec

The Red Sox recalled hot-hitting corner infielder Bobby Dalbec from Triple-A Worcester on Friday, but they have no obvious place to play him.

Dalbec, 27, was used as a third baseman for much of his minor league career, but he played first base when the Red Sox called him up in 2020. Boston has Rafael Devers at third base and Triston Casas at first. Justin Turner has been the team’s primary backup at both positions.

Based on how Dalbec performed in Triple-A this year, it may behoove the Red Sox to find playing time for him, however. Dalbec batted .296 with 18 home runs and 42 RBIs in 54 games with Worcester and hit .333 with 15 home runs and 38 RBIs over his last 36 games.

Dalbec appeared in 133 games for the Red Sox in 2021 and 117 games in 2022. He totaled 37 home runs over those two seasons, 25 of them in 2021.

“Obviously, where we’re at roster-wise, he needs to be patient,” Cora told reporters before Boston’s 3-1 victory over Chicago on Friday night. “And I understand how it works. It’s part of it. While he’s here, he’s going to get chances to contribute. And he’s ready to go. That’s part of being a big-leaguer, a professional baseball player. He sees what’s going on here.

“But at the same time, he belongs to us. He’s with us. And he’s been working hard to get better. In this business, you’re always one injury away from coming up here and contributing. He’s here right now, and hopefully, he’s in the right frame of mind. And whenever he gets a shot, just go ahead and keep doing the things you were doing at Triple-A.”

Bradley Not Slowing Down at Travelers

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CROMWELL, Conn – New England’s Keegan Bradley recorded opening 54-hole score of 189, his lowest on the PGA Tour and one stroke shy of the all-time PGA Tour record. Bradley is seeking his sixth career Tour victory.

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The 2019 Travelers Championship winner Chez Reavie is looking for his fourth career Tour title. Reavie posted his lowest career opening 54-hole score (190) ever.

Bradley and Reavie play in the final round together for the third time on Tour (2019 Travelers Championship, 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions).

Australia’s Adam Scott is seeking to become the first international winner at the Travelers Championship since 2016 (Russell Knox/Scotland).

Defending champion Xander Schauffele (T-18) has never successfully defended a title in five previous attempts on the Tour.

Travelers Championship | Leaderboard After 54 Holes

Keegan Bradley 62-63-64—189 (-21)

Chez Reavie 64-63-63—190 (-20)

Patrick Cantlay 65-68-61—194 (-16)

Rickie Fowler 70-65-60—195 (-15)

Adam Scott 62-68-65—195 (-15)

Denny McCarthy 60-65-70—195 (-15)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Devers, Red Sox Blast White Sox

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CHICAGO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Brayan Bello turned in another strong start and Rafael Devers hit a two-run home run as the Boston Red Sox ended a two-game losing streak by beating the host Chicago White Sox 3-1 on Friday night.

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It was a 1-1 game until Devers hit his 18th home run of the season in the fourth inning. Masataka Yoshida, who reached on an error, also scored on the blast.

The homer came against Chicago starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (5-5), who allowed three runs (one earned) and struck out 10 in six innings. Giolito surrendered three hits and walked one.

Devers raised his RBI total to 60. Yoshida had two of Boston’s four hits in the win, with Enrique Hernandez collected the Red Sox’s other hit.

Bello (5-4) limited the White Sox to a run on six hits in 6 2/3 innings. He recorded five strikeouts and walked one. Bello has given up no more than two earned runs in nine of his past 10 starts, and pitching to a 2.45 ERA in that span.

Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 16th save of the season.

The Red Sox grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third, when David Hamilton walked, stole second and scored on a two-base error by second baseman Tim Anderson. The White Sox made it 1-1 in the bottom of the inning on Anderson’s sacrifice fly, which scored Seby Zavala.

Hamilton made his major league debut on Wednesday and made his second start on Friday, going 0-for-2 to leave him 1-for-5 overall. He stole 70 bases for Double-A Portland last season and had 27 thefts with Triple-A Worcester this year.

Eloy Jimenez had three hits for the White Sox, who have lost nine of their last 12 games. Chicago, which finished with eight hits, is 18-20 at home this season.

Boston’s victory came in the opener of a three-game series. It was the first meeting between the Red Sox and White Sox this season.

–Field Level Media

Bradley, McCarthy Tied After Record 36 Holes

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CROMWELL, Conn – Co-leaders Denny McCarthy and Keegan Bradley set the Travelers record for best 36-hole score. McCarthy holds 36-hole lead/co-lead for the first time in his career while Bradley is the second player this season to open with two rounds of (63) or better.

Only four players have posted lower opening 36-hole scores in PGA Tour history.

Reigning FedEx Cup champion and World No. 3 Rory McIlroy (T-10) moved into the Top-10 with 6-under (64).

Travelers’ 2022 winner, Xander Schauffele, (T-10) has never successfully defended a title in five previous attempts on Tour.

FedExCup leader Jon Rahm missed the cut for the first time on Tour since 2021 Fortinet Championship (Note: WD after first-round 71 at 2023 PLAYERS Championship)

Of the nine players at 9-under or better, three are international players – all from Australia (Adam Scott, Lucas Herbert, Min Woo Lee).

Travelers Championship | Leaderboard After 36 Holes

Denny McCarthy 60-65—125 (-15)

Keegan Bradley 62-63—125 (-15)

Chez Reavie 64-63—127 (-13)

Eric Cole 64-65—129 (-11)

Zac Blair 65-65—130 (-10)

Adam Scott 62-68—130 (-10)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Celtics Acquire Porzingis; Trade Smart

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Boston Acquired Jordan Walsh with 38th Pick in NBA Draft

BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Celtics have acquired center-forward Kristaps Porzingis from Washington, a 2023 Memphis first round draft pick (25th overall), and a future first round draft pick from Golden State via Memphis as part of a three-team transaction. As part of the transaction, Memphis received all-defensive team guard Marcus Smart from Boston, while Washington acquired guard Tyus Jones from Memphis and forwards Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala, in addition to the draft rights to the 35th overall pick in 2023 from Boston.

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With the 25th pick, the Celtics drafted another Marcus – Marcus Sasser of the University of Houston – and immediately dealt him to the Detroit Pistons in a deal that saw Boston move back to No. 31 and acquire future second-round picks.

“On behalf of everyone here, I would like to thank Marcus for his many contributions, both on and off the court, as a Celtic. The greatest legacy you can leave is to make a place better than you found it. We are all better for getting to compete with Marcus Smart these past nine years,” said the head of the Celtics’ basketball operations department, Brad Stevens.

Smart was selected by the Celtics with sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft and has since appeared in 581 games (360 starts) while averaging 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.6 steals in 30.0 minutes per game. The three-time all-defensive team selection led the Celtics to a playoff berth in each of his nine seasons with the franchise, including the 2022 Eastern Conference Championship and five Conference Finals. Smart ranks fourth in Celtics history with 914 steals and was honored with the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award, becoming the first league guard to take home the honor since Gary Payton in 1995-96.

“We are very happy to welcome Kristaps to Boston” said Stevens in a statement. “He brings a skill set and ability to impact the game that not only fits the needs of our team, but is elite for his position and size. The ability to play to his strengths with any combination of players is unique.”

Originally selected by New York with the fourth overall pick of the 2015 NBA Draft, Porzingis, 27, has appeared in 402 career games and has averaged 19.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.8 blocks in 31.1 minutes per game. The seven-year NBA veteran joins the Celtics after stints at New York (2015-19), Dallas (2019-22), and Washington (2022-23).

Porzingis was named to the 2018 NBA All-Star Game and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team with the Knicks in 2015-16. He became one of five players in league history to record at least 4,000 points, 1,500 rebounds, 400 made three-pointers and 400 blocks before his 25th birthday, joining LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Tracy McGrady, Karl-Anthony Towns.

This year with Washington, Porzingis made the most starts in a season (65) since his 2016-17 campaign (65) and recorded career-highs in points (23.2), assists (2.7), and steals (0.9). The Latvia native finished the season as one of only three players in the league to average at least 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks during the 2022-23 season (Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid). Porzingis led the Wizards with 20 double-doubles while shooting a career-high 49.8 percent from the floor this season and has now shot above 45.0 percent from the field in three consecutive years.

The Celtics also made a series of Draft night transactions and the following trades are not yet finalized: (i) Boston acquired the 31st  pick and two future second round picks from Detroit in exchange for the draft rights to the 25th pick (Sasser); (ii) Boston then acquired the 34th and 39th pick from Charlotte in exchange for the draft rights to the 31st pick (James Nnaji); (iii) Boston then acquired the draft rights to the 38th pick (Jordan Walsh) and a future Dallas second round draft pick from Sacramento in exchange for the draft rights to the 34th pick (Colby Jones); and (iv) acquired a future second round draft pick from Atlanta in exchange for the draft rights to the 39th pick (Mouhamed Gueye).

The following future second round draft picks will be acquired by the Celtics once the trades have been finalized:

  • Dallas’ 2024 second round pick
  • The best of Detroit’s, Golden State’s, or Washington’s 2025 second round pick
  • The best of Minnesota’s, New Orleans’s, New York’s, or Portland’s 2026 second round pick
  • Atlanta’s 2027 second round pick

In one of the proposed future trades, the Celtics will acquire the draft rights to forward Jordan Walsh, who was selected with the 38th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Walsh, 6-7/205, tied the program record for most games played by a freshman with 36 appearances in his lone season at Arkansas and averaged 7.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 24.4 minutes per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field. The Branson, Mo., native helped the Razorbacks advance to the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Walsh was ranked the No. 11 prospect by ESPN in the Class of 2022 after being named to the 2022 McDonald’s High School All-American Game and a Jordan Brand Classic participant.

Bradley Posts Opening Round, 62, at Travelers Championship

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Bradley’s Morning Round Bested by McCarthy’s 60 in Afternoon

By TERRY LYONS

CROMWELL, Conn – Sixty-two might be a typical score registered by the St. John’s University Red Storm in a mid-winter BIG EAST basketball game, but Keegan Bradley, an alum of the basketball-centric school currently undergoing a massive overhaul, was thrilled with a score of 62 posted today in the opening round at the Travelers Championship.

It stood as the clubhouse lead until Denny McCarthy carded a (60) in the afternoon and Australian Adam Scott recorded a (62) in the afternoon to equal Bradley.

The story at day’s end was the New England kid played well.

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Bradley flaunts his Northeast upbringing with a badge of honor. From his Vermont roots to his formative days in Hopkinton, Mass to his collegiate experience as sports management major in Jamaica Estates, graduating from his beloved St. John’s in 2008, Bradley eats-up the Travelers as a “home game.” With the loss of the Deutsche Bank – Northern Trust at TPC Boston, it’s his only “real” home game of the year, unless you count the tournaments in Westchester County, NY.

The nephew of LPGA superstar Pat Bradley, the St. John’s guy had an early wake-up call for his 7:25am tee-time, and he saddled up with Emiliano Grillo of Argentina and PGA Tour star Xander Shauffele of San Diego for a start off the 10th tee this morning.

Shauffele was coming off an impressive T-10 at last weekend’s U.S. Open while Grillo (+5) and Bradley (+6) each missed the cut at the Los Angeles Country Club.

“I just played so awful last week,” said Bradley, ” and I was able to get out of there (LA) and I got here early and flew my coach, Darren Mahan, out here and we got some great work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. It really helped,” he added.

“It was better for me to miss the cut, honestly, and get here and feel better about my swing. It helped a lot, said the Thursday morning clubhouse leader.

Just what did that extra work and maybe a little rest in familiar surroundings do for Bradley?

He went out with five birdies being etched to his scorecard from No. 10-to-14. Then, made a shot that even St. John’s Dream-Teamer, Chris Mullin couldn’t hit – Bradley drained a 74-foot birdie putt on No. 17 which combined with a par four on No. 18, gave him an impressive (29) score on his first nine holes.

“I can’t believe how hard I hit that putt (on No.17),” noted Bradley. “As soon as I hit it, I couldn’t believe it. A lot of times on those putts you’re begging for it to hit the flag. It’ll just miss or bang off, and (this putt) just hit perfectly in the center and dropped down.

“It was at least – probably – a two-shot swing. Instead of walking off that green at 6-under, I’m (might’ve been) minus-4, maybe minus-3. It’s a huge swing.”

Even flirting with the idea of a Jim Furyk-esque (58) is a dream in itself, but Bradley went on to birdie two of his first three holes on his back nine, holes No. 2 and 3.

“Well, when I made that really long putt on 17 and it was — it could have gone in the water. I don’t know, (59) crossed my mind. I wasn’t thinking about it a lot, but I certainly was going to try to do it.

“And, I thought about it hardly. You know, I got enough on my hands when I play out here,” he said.

“So, I mean, it popped into my mind for a second. For the most part I was trying to execute the shots and do what we’ve been trying to do out here, and it was fun to match up a good ball striking and putting day,” Bradley noted on his complete round, the best of his 2023 PGA Tour season.

He and his caddie (Scott Veil) came back down to earth when Bradley bogeyed No. 5, to drop his score from (-8) to (-7) and a stroke closer to the wild pack of PGA Tour hyenas chasing him from hole-to-hole at TPC River Highlands in the suburbs of Hartford, Connecticut – the insurance capital of the world.

But while Bradley was enjoying his round, he and Veil had a little fun along the way, carrying on with a superstition unlike any other.

“I don’t know,” Bradley paused before admitting, “we bow to the putter. When it’s working, that’s our God.”

That thought of joy brought Bradley to speak about his real priorities and his support group, a difficult circumstance for a Northeastern (and Florida, too) based golfer jetting all over the States and the world.

“This is a special week,” he said. “I don’t get to have my family out here a lot anymore with school, and having them out here is an advantage for me. It’s really special to see my son out in the crowd watching, cheering. It’s just really great.”

Does his son “get” the whole PGA Tour and intense competition?

“He’s five, and I would say over the last six months, eight months he’s getting it now and he loves to come out and watch. He likes to cheer and clap and it’s really special.

“I’ve grown up watching the veteran guys have their kids out here and seeing them grow up on the Tour, so it’s really fun to have my boys out here now, too.”

As Bradley exited from his interview duties, it seemed to be the right time to ask if he’s kept up on the St. John’s University basketball drama with the school making the bold hire of Rick Pitino, and Pitino’s summertime overhaul of all but one player from a year ago in center Joel Soriano.

With such a question, coming out of the blue, Bradley’s eyes lit up like the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center.

“Yeah, I’ve been following it,” he said as a PGA Tour official ushered him towards the player’s-only area of the clubhouse. The tour marshall wasn’t quick enough, though, as Bradley turned back a second later.

“I’m REALLY excited,” he said.

Let’s see if Bradley can hold a spot high on the leaderboard and if the St. John’s faithful turn out at TPC River Highlands for a weekend of golf within 100 miles of Carnesseca Arena, as the golf ball flies. Bradley is high on the leadboard at the last “elevated event” of the Tour season, meaning there’s $20 million in the kitty and a winner’s share of $3.6 million awaiting the best player of this well-run tournament.

After all, the new St. John’s basketball coach lives on the famed Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, NY, a place both Bradley and Pitino are sure to be when Bradley wants to play a round or two to practice long before he takes another shot at another U.S. Open, for that event is at Winged Foot in 2028.