Horschel Completes the Tournament this Time


After bogeying the final hole in last week's Deutsche Bank Championship to drop into a tie for second behind winner Chris Kirk, Billy Horschel finished the job Sunday in the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver.

Beginning the last round with a three-stroke edge over Ryan Palmer, the 27-year-old Floridian closed with a 1-under 69 to end up at 14-under 266, two strokes ahead of Bubba Watson and three ahead of Morgan Hoffman.

Horschel played steadily all day. He posted three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine to make the turn in 1-under 33, then parred all of the back-side holes for a 69 and the biggest victory of his career.

"It just means a lot. I haven't had the greatest season and you know, I had my game today . . . I made some big putts," said Horschel at greenside. "I can rely on my putter because I'm a good putter inside of 10 feet. This feels good obviously after last week . . . I just made a bad swing at the wrong time/ To lead this thing, to have a three-shot lead and hold on, it means a lot."

In a comic moment late Sunday afternoon, Horschel took off running after finding the green with his second shot on the par-4 18th. As he approached the green at full gallop he signaled to the marshals to open space in the crowd and, once through the ropes, made a beeline for a Port-a-Potty.

"I'm sure the whole world saw me sprint, but I had to go to the bathroom, and I had been holding it for way too many holes and I just felt like, you know, I can sort of relax now, and let's just go ahead and go to the bathroom before I can't go."

Once he did his duty, Horschel returned to the green - to resounding gallery cheers - and two-putted for par and the ultimate winning margin.

The victory, worth $1.44 million and 2,500 FedEx Cup points, moves Horschel to No. 2 in the Playoffs.

Watson closed with a 66 to end up at 268, while Hoffman completed a personal weekend to remember. After firing a course-record-setting 8-under 62 Saturday, the 25-year-old carded a 63 in the final round to rise into solo third at 269.

On Sunday, Hoffman made eight birdies, an eagle on the par-5 17th, a bogey and a double on the par-4 fifth hole. His round Saturday listed nine birdies and a bogey.

Rickie Fowler (68), Jim Furyk (66), Sergio Garcia (67) and Palmer (71) tied for fourth at 9-under 271, while another stroke back were Adam Scott (66), Rory McIlroy (66) and Jordan Spieth (67).

On Sunday McIlroy - the No. 1-ranked player in golf and a two-time major winner this year - had four birdies, an eagle on the par-4 seventh, and a double on the par-3 12th.

The 12th proved fatal for the 25-year-old Northern Irishman as, over the weekend, he went 5-over par on the hole, four-putting it both days.

"I completely misread the first one," McIlroy said Saturday. "Then just hit a bad putt the second, and then the third one I was just going for a tap in and just lost concentration. So, obviously, to go from being right there in the tournament, dropping three shots in one hole wasn't what I wanted."

On Sunday McIlroy said, "Two four-putts on the same green? It's not my worst, I have five-putted before. But, it's one of those things that at least I can laugh about it and move on."

He later tweeted, "Just incase anyone missed my 4 putt yesterday, I had to do it again ?? decent week overall, still in a great position going to Atlanta."

Canada's Graham DeLaet shot a 68 to take solo 11th at 273, while sharing 12th at 274 were Angel Cabrera (65), Charl Schwartzel (66), J.B. Holmes (68) and Chesson Hadley (68).

With the conclusion of the BMW Championship - the third of four events in the Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs - the field for next week's Tour Championship is set.

Kirk goes into the season ending tournament ranked No 1, followed by Horschel, Watson, McIlroy and The Barclay's winner Hunter Mahan in the top-five. Normally, the top-30 players after the BMW Championship advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. But because No. 30 Dustin Johnson is on indefinite leave for personal reasons, only the top 29 will move on to Atlanta.

For the updated points' list, visit http://www.pgatour.com/fedexcup/projected-standings.html. For all the BMW Championship scores, visit http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html.