Billy Horschel secured his place in subsequent month’s PGA Championship with victory within the Corales Puntacana Championship.
The 37-year-old ran off 4 straight birdies on the entrance 9 to get within the combine, started to tug away with an eagle on the par-five twelfth gap and closed with a nine-under 63 for a two-shot victory within the Dominican Republic.
Horschel, who began the ultimate spherical three pictures behind, all however sealed his triumph with an 18-foot birdie putt on the sixteenth gap.
“This game of golf is so fickle,” Horschel mentioned. “You can put a lot into it and not get everything you want out of it.
“I knew…I had the flexibility, I had the expertise. I needed to proceed to consider the good things was going to return to the forefront.”
Wesley Bryan, making an attempt to go wire-to-wire, was bogey-free with 4 birdies and nonetheless just one shot behind late within the spherical. However proper after Horschel made his last birdie, Bryan missed a par putt from simply outdoors two toes and fell three behind.
Bryan birdied the 18th for a 68 to complete as runner-up, which can get him into the AT&T Byron Nelson in two weeks. He was enjoying on a sponsor exemption. Kevin Tway shot 69 and completed third.
Horschel completed at 23 underneath and earned $720,000, profitable for the eighth time on the PGA Tour and the primary time in almost two years. Together with incomes him a PGA Championship spot, he seemingly can be within the subsequent $20m signature occasion on the Wells Fargo Championship.
These are the tournaments Horschel, a former FedEx Cup champion, was used to enjoying. The alternative-field occasions are seen as an opportunity for youthful gamers to get their first win. Within the case of Horschel, it was essential to get some confidence again.
He delivered considered one of his finest closing rounds when he wanted it – the 4 straight birdies beginning on the par-three second gap, a 31 on the entrance 9, the eagle on gap 12 to grab management and no bogeys during the last 30 holes of the event.
It was almost a yr in the past on the Memorial that Horschel, the defending champion at Muirfield Village, shot 84 and was almost in tears speaking about how low his confidence had fallen. He missed the FedEx Cup playoffs for the primary time since 2012.
He had proven indicators this yr with a pair of prime 10s, and now has a victory for validation. Together with stepping into the PGA Championship at Valhalla, he’s assured of beginning subsequent yr at Kapalua in The Sentry.
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