Dan Bradbury has hit back at accusations he fixed his putter during his one-shot win at last weekend's French Open. The 25-year-old defeated Thorbjorn Olesen, Yannik Paul, Sam Bairstow and Jeff Winther. A narrow victory, but not without controversy.
Bradbury brought a broomstick putter to National Golf Club that some spectators felt he had attached to his body. A putter is considered stationary if a player intentionally holds the putter or clenched hand against any part of the body other than the hand or forearm.
Players caught fixing their putts usually receive a two-stroke penalty, but Bradbury was not penalized. He gave a passionate defense of his putting style during an appearance on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast.
“The way I hold it, my thumb is at the top of the handle,” he explains. “You are not allowed [the putter] Touch your chest or any part of your body. This would be classified as anchoring.
“Obviously, being a bigger lad, I have a lot of room in there and I wear baggy shirts. It allows for touching your shirt. That's absolutely no problem. I have mine, so to speak, and I can sweep my body without touching my hands so at least that much [showing a gap].
“I know it, the rules officials know it. Everybody I've played with, everybody knows it. If you're there in person, you can see it, but some people want to sit at home and comment on it, and that's fine.” , but within the rules.
“I'm 100 percent against it. Well. I always had this stigma until I tried it and realized how much it helped me. It's within the rules, so if you have a problem, change the rules , isn't it? It's not my fault…well, please don't change the rules!”
Bradbury received a £420,000 bonus for winning the French Open but would have earned far less if he was caught fixing his putter. A two-stroke penalty would have seen him slip to joint sixth place and receive only £80,000 in prize money.
Speaking after his win, the Wakefield man admitted he was surprised by his performance after going into the race with modest expectations.
He told Sky Sports: “Honestly, the goal this week is to qualify so I don't have to go to Korea and try to keep my card.”
