Keegan Bradley warns of ‘wicked’, ‘violent’ mud balls ahead of PGA final round

Keegan Bradley will captain the U.S. Ryder Cup team later this year at Bethpage Black. But first, he has a chance for a comeback victory on Sunday at the 2025 PGA Championship. And though he trails by six, he shared a warning for the players ahead of him about the treacherous conditions that could turn this tournament on its head in the final round.

Bradley contends at difficult PGA

Bradley was shocked when he was announced as the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain last year, along with the rest of us. But this week at the 2025 PGA Championship, Bradley is providing the shock value on the course.

He heads into the final round with a chance to beat his Ryder Cup players and take home his second PGA Championship title. It would be his second major win, and first since that 2011 PGA triumph 14 years ago at Atlanta Athletic Club.

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Bradley put together a gutsy three-under 68 on a blustery Saturday at Quail Hollow. That moved him into T8 at five under, six shots off Scottie Scheffler’s lead.

Following the round, Bradley was pleased with how he handled himself in Round 3, especially on his final five holes, which he played in three under.

“It was great. It was really difficult out there. Any round under par is a great score,” Bradley shared after his round Saturday evening. “Proud of the way I finished up those last three holes, I think are the toughest three finishing holes in the world. What a way to finish.”

But Bradley also shared a warning for all the PGA competitors heading into the final round in North Carolina.

Keegan’s warning for PGA final round

All week, pros have been complaining about mud balls at host course Quail Hollow. From Scheffler, to Xander Schauffele, to Shane Lowry and ESPN analyst Curtis Strange, the criticism was frequent over the first two rounds.

The takes seemed to quiet down on Saturday. But after his round, Bradley cleared up any idea that the mud ball issue was over. He said he experienced some really bad ones on Saturday, and he expects them to play a big role on Sunday.

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“You have to really hang tough because there’s still wicked mud balls out there. I had a couple that were violent,” Bradley said. “You’ve just got to hang tough. There are some holes that you can make birdies on and there’s obviously holes like the last three that are just really, really difficult.”

And because of the difficult playing conditions, and the treacherous closing stretch at Quail Hollow, Bradley thinks he still has a chance to win.

“No matter what happens tomorrow, with these finishing holes, you just never know what’s going to happen. It seems like I’ll be out ahead of the leaders, which is kind of nice, and you know, hopefully go out there and shoot a great score. But we’re in a good spot,” Bradley said Saturday.

And while he certainly wants to bring home his second Wanamaker trophy Sunday night, Bradley also acknowledged that the Ryder Cup is still top of mind. And he’s happy some of his star U.S. team members are playing well this week, even if it means one of them takes the trophy.

“I was really excited to see Scottie [Scheffler] and Bryson [DeChambeau] up there. I’m always taking a peek at the leaderboard to see where I am and where our guys are at,” Bradley shared. “I love looking up there and seeing the leaderboard packed with Americans.”

Bradley tees off for Sunday’s final round of the 2025 PGA Championship at 2:10 p.m. ET. The 2025 Ryder Cup gets underway September 26 at Bethpage Black in New York.