Keegan Bradley is as New England as you can possibly get.
Keegan Bradley shares inspirational yet perfectly on-brand Tom Brady encounter
Bradley, who is from New England, loves the Patriots and Tom Brady. He also has a great connection with the seven-time Super Bowl Champion.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
He celebrates victories with Sam Adams, roots for the Boston Red Sox, and, not surprisingly, loves Tom Brady.
So a few weeks after the 2011 PGA Championship, the lone major championship Bradley has won, the New England Patriots invited Bradley to join them on the field before a preseason game.
“I was in the tunnel, standing three feet away from [Tom Brady],” Bradley recalled.
“He had this look on his face that I will never forget for the rest of his life. Everybody asked, ‘Did he recognize you?’ or ‘Did he say high to you?’ And I was like, Tom Brady would not have even recognized his own mother at that point. He was so intense, and this was a preseason game!”
Brady is one of the fiercest competitors in all of sports history and will do whatever it takes to win—even in exhibition matchups. His intensity is a big reason why he won seven Super Bowl titles and quarterbacked the greatest dynasty in NFL history.
He is the ‘greatest quarterback of all time.’
“You can learn a lot from Tom Brady,” Bradley added. “But to be able to talk to him and get a text message from him [after the] win shows what kind of guy he is.”
Brady ranks as one of the most beloved athletes in Boston sports history, right up there with Larry Bird, David Ortiz, and Bobby Orr to round out New England’s Mount Rushmore of athletes.
But for Brady, one of his favorite golfers is Bradley because of his charm and his New England roots.
“I talked to a couple of guys on the Patriots and some of the owners,” Bradley said. “I said, ‘Yeah, Tom Brady is my favorite.’ And he goes, ‘he might say the same thing about you.’ I just walked away shaking my head; I still can’t believe it.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
