Golf:Keegan Bradley staged a remarkable rally over the closing holes to eventually see off fellow American Jason Duffner in a three-hole play-off to become the USPGA champion and lift the Wannamaker trophy at the Atlanta Athletic club.

Not only is Bradley the first player to capture a major with a long putter, but also seven majors in a row have now been taken by first-time winners; a sequence never seen before in the history of the majors. The 25-year-old, whose aunt Pat won six majors and is in the sport’s Hall of Fame, looked to have blown his chances of becoming only the second player since 1913 to win on his major debut when he triple-bogeyed the short 15th.

But the world number 108 birdied the 16th and then made a 40-footer for another at the 160-yard, 17th. In the group behind world number 80 Dufner also went in the water at the 259-yard 15th and, after doing well to escape with a bogey there, he failed to get up and down from sand on the next and then three-putted the penultimate hole.

Suddenly they were level on eight under par and after both players managed pars at the last to finish one shot clear of Dane Anders Hansen, the pair returned to the 16th. Dufner almost holed his second shot, but Bradley also hit in to within five feet of the flag and he was the one to make the birdie putt.

A par was good enough to make the gap two as Dufner three-putted the 17th once more and, although the latter made a brilliant birdie on the last, Bradley’s par secured the title.

Bradley admitted: “I can’t believe it. I had a tough finish last week (he shot 74 when in contention for the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in Akron) but a lot of people have been great to me since. It’s because of them that I was able to fight back.”

Duffney was philosophical. “Those are tough holes, but it was disappointing. There’s a lot to be learnt from this.