Bradshaw

HURRICANE — Former Jefferson High School and Shepherd University golfer David Bradshaw returned to the Mountain State to play in the 92nd West Virginia Open golf tournament, staged this year at the Sleepy Hollow Golf Club in Hurricane.

The West Virginia Open consists of three rounds for the leaders, and reduces its large field to 60 golfers after two rounds.

This year’s winner was Christian Brand, who was notching his fourth Open championship, doing so with a composite score of 11 under par.

Bradshaw was close up after a first round, where he carded a round of four under par.

His first-round score had the Bakerton native in a tie for second place.

The eventual champion, Brand, trailed the early leaders and only took charge midway through Round Three.

The beginning field of about 130 professionals and amateurs was pared to only 60 competitors after the second round.

Bradshaw’s chances of winning a 13th Open title were dimmed, when he carded a second-round score of just one under par, leaving him at five under with only 18 holes left to play. He was tied for sixth.

Brand charged through the field during the third round and eventually gained command, with three straight birdies toward the middle of his last round.

With a tournament-closing par round, Bradshaw couldn’t really menace the hold the early leaders had established.

Bradshaw actually won his first Open as an amateur in 2004, when the event was held in Sissonville.

He then turned professional in 2006 and left the state for the San Diego area in southern California. After exploring the professional golf landscape in that area, Bradshaw eventually moved his game to Canada and played during his summers there for several years.

West Virginia became one of the stops in his travels and he began to actually dominate the Open for about a decade. His number of wins mounted.

His last Open win came in 2021 when the yearly event was held in Bridgeport.

Bradshaw’s 12 Open wins have him trailing only the legendary Sam Snead, who had 17 Open wins in his long and illustrious career on the Professional Golfers Association tour. Snead is in the PGA Hall of Fame and has more tour wins than anybody in history.

The 41-year-old Bradshaw is in the Shepherd Athletic Hall of Fame.