Bradley falls one shot short of cut at nationals

Ken Bradley's stint at the senior men's Canadian golf championship came to an early end Wednesday as the Hillcrest Sports Centre player failed to make the cut.
"I started off unbelievably (well)," said Bradley, who finished 13-over after two days, one stroke shy of continuing at the tournament.
"I was three-under standing on the sixth tee, just hitting the ball very well," recalled Bradley. "My approach on (the sixth hole) missed the shelf and rolled away, and I ended up three-putting. Then the seventh hole is very tough and I had to hit into the wind. It went into the trees, and I ended up with a double (bogey). So I gave it all back in two holes."
Bradley finished with a 79 on Wednesday, to go with his 78 from the opening round of the Royal Canadian Golf Association's senior men's championship.
"I struggled more on the back nine," he said.
The greens at the Gorge Vale Golf Club in Victoria have been very fast this week due to dry conditions. Bradley predicted before the tournament that the short game would make or break the competitors, and he pointed to putting as a key reason for his scores.
"The greens here are just so tough. I had 34 putts today, and managed to stay away from the four-putt finally," he said. "The short game is where it's all at. Even knowing that, it's hard to get the ball up and down."
But putting was only part of the trouble.
"It's very difficult to chip the ball close to the hole," explained Bradley. "And if you don't get it close to the hole, you don't make many putts."
The Moose Javian is the captain of the Saskatchewan team at the tournament, which also features North Battleford's Herb Weinmeyer, Saskatoon's Murray Eddy and Delisle's Percy Murray, all of whom were cut. Murray finished 14-over, while Eddy was 15-over and Weinmeyer was 22-over.
Saskatchewan finished seventh in the inter-provincial standings at 42-over par.
Bradley finished early in the afternoon, but was near the cut line and had to nervously wait for others to finish in order to see if he would make the cut. He admits that a bigger buffer zone would have been nice.
"I had the opportunity today to have that cushion," he said. "I think I missed about three or four makeable putts. That could have made the difference."
The experience, though shorter than hoped, was a fantastic one, said Bradley.
"It was a great tournament. The hosting committee was awesome. We've been treated very royally here," he said. "The only thing that could have been better was my play."

Taylor Lambert can be reached at 691-1260