Buena Park’s Pat Bradley Aims for Gains on LPGA Victory List

BUENA PARK —  Things are back to normal this year for Pat Bradley, who has rebounded from a disastrous 1988 to her accustomed position as one of the LPGA Tour’s best players.

But there’s one thing wrong: Although Bradley ranks fourth on the LPGA money-winning list with $365,902 in earnings, she’s won only one tournament this year.

“I’m getting tired of finishing second,” said Bradley, who will compete in the $300,000 Nippon Travel-MBS Classic starting Thursday on the 6,351-yard par-72 Los Coyotes Country Club course. “Last year, I would have given anything to finish in the top 10.”

Bradley, 38, played in only 17 tournaments in 1988 and earned just $15,965, ranking her 109th on the earnings list. It was a horrible year: She was hampered by a thyroid condition and her father died.

Bradley has been a standout since joining the LPGA tour in 1974. She was 14th on the money-winning list as a rookie, then reached the top 10 every year until 1987, when she was 15th.

After the fall of 1988, she’s back near the top.