Rory McIlroy was happy with his performance as he bounced back from the "disappointment" of last week's US Open.
The world number three, who came into the week on the back of his second place in the US Open in Los Angeles, finished in a tie for seventh at the Travelers Championship, five shots behind winner Keegan Bradley.
“I got off to a hot start, which was nice and what I felt like I needed,” McIlroy said after a final round containing seven birdies and one bogey on Sunday.
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“Then hit a drive on nine that I didn’t think was that bad. Ended up against the boundary fence and made a bogey there which halted the momentum that I had.
“Bounced back well with a birdie on 11 but then missed a chance on 12, birdied 13. Then just couldn’t get anything to drop over those last few holes.
“I knew I was never going to win with the way Keegan was playing, but I felt like I probably needed a couple more birdies to finish top five.
“I’ll probably still sneak into the top 10 by the end of the day, but would’ve been nice to finish a little higher. Still, it’s another good week and solid performance after a long run, and looking forward to a couple of weeks off.”
He added: “Last Sunday feels like a month ago at this point.
“But coming off the disappointment of the US Open, coming straight here and sort of trying to refocus and forget about what happened in LA and tee it up here and play well, I thought was pretty good.
“I could have sort of went through the motions this week and mailed it in a little bit. I tried hard until the end and put in a decent performance.”
Bradley claimed his sixth PGA Tour title with a three-shot victory in Connecticut.
The American took a one-shot lead into the final round at TPC River Highlands and was never in real danger of being caught after making five birdies in his first 12 holes.
The 2011 US PGA Championship winner gave the chasing pack a glimmer of hope with three bogeys in four holes from the 13th, but eventually signed for a closing 68 to finish 23 under par.
Fellow American Zac Blair surged through the field with a final round of 62 to finish 20 under par alongside Brian Harman, who returned a second consecutive 64.
“This is for all the kids that grew up in New England, who got to sit through the winters and watch other people play golf,” said Bradley, who was born in Vermont, one of the six states which make up the New England region.
“I just am so proud to win this tournament. Travelers and everybody involved puts on a first-class tournament. It’s been like this for a decade and I’m so happy to be the winner here.
“I’m so lucky and thankful to be from this New England area. I just can’t believe it. This seems like a dream.”
World number one Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Chez Reavie shared fourth place on 19 under, with McIlroy another shot back after a closing 64.
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