Keegan Bradley Tweets Picture of Long Putter From 1900 in Defiance of Pending Rule That Will Ban Anchoring in 2016

by Anna Fogel on Fri, Feb 15, 2013 at 7:05PM

Despite a pending new rule that will outlaw anchored putting strokes in 2016, Keegan Bradley remains an advocate of the move. Earlier Friday, he showed just how long anchoring has been a part of golf.

The 2011 PGA champion, currently competing at the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles, tweeted a picture from the Riviera Country Club clubhouse dating to the early 1900s of a golfer using the anchored putting stroke. In addition to Bradley, Webb Simpson and Ernie Els have also used the belly putters in their successful careers.

The U.S. Golf Association and R&A have proposed a new rule that would outlaw a stroke in which the club is anchored to the body, but the final decision on long putters won’t be made for a few weeks. The PGA Tour hasn’t said whether it will adopt the rule if it passes, but Bradley did become the first player to win a major with a belly putter at the PGA Championship.

Check out the photo that Bradley tweeted below.