Electric Horschel hits the FedEx Cup jackpot

Billy Horschel ignited his PGA Tour season at the most lucrative time to capture the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup – and with them a US$11.44 million payday.

The excitable American stared down World No.1 Rory McIlroy in the final round at East Lake Golf Club and withstood a charge from veteran Jim Furyk to defeat both men by three strokes. As the second-ranked player on the FedEx Cup points list starting the tournament, the victory automatically gave Horschel the $10 million FedEx Cup title (Chris Kirk finished second in points and McIlroy third).

The embarrassment now is that Horschel wasn’t afforded the opportunity to be selected on the American team for next week’s Ryder Cup, a procedural shortcoming that will surely change in the future – especially if Europe wins again.

But that is next week; this week Horschel continued to ride the wave of form that saw him finish second at the Deutsche Bank Championship a fortnight ago then win the BMW Championship last weekend. He shared or held the lead after each round in Atlanta but faced the ominous spectre of McIlroy as a co-leader starting the final round. The Northern Irishman birdied East Lake’s difficult last two holes on Saturday to catch the Floridian and set up an intriguing last-day duel between golf’s current king and its hottest player.

Billy Horschel with the spoils of a second consecutive victory: the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup trophies. PHOTO: Getty Images

Yet it was McIlroy who felt the heat on Sunday. He rinsed his tee-shot at the water-laden par-3 6th to gift Horschel a three-shot edge and embarked on a stretch of five-over-par golf in six holes. Three late birdies couldn’t erase the earlier damage.

The main challenge instead came from Furyk, who was seeking his first PGA Tour title since this event four years ago. The oldest man in the field turned in three-under 32 on Sunday and remained just a shot behind Horschel standing in the 17th fairway. A weak iron shot, even weaker chip and a missed putt there led to a bogey Furyk couldn’t afford. He also three-putted the 18th after a death-or-glory birdie roll from long range.

Horschel was steady but flawless on the front nine, also shooting three-under. After a bogey at the 10th, he made the almost obligatory birdie on the par-5 15th to remain a stroke ahead of Furyk. Horschel’s key moment came when he holed a 30-foot par putt at the 16th to remain alone in front. Energised by the crucial save, he struck two pure iron shots to the last two greens to set up easy pars for a closing 68 and a three-shot victory.

“Unbelievable,” said Horschel, who until a week ago had just one career victory on Tour. “I woke up this morning and I just had this sense of calm over me, which is a little bit unusual, but I was just so calm waking up, and I wasn’t nervous at all, and got to the course and felt so relaxed out there.

“The Playoffs – besides the majors – are the four biggest events we have on the PGA Tour and that’s when the light shines the brightest, and I was able to rise to the occasion and get the job done. And that just gives me so much confidence, so much thrill to accomplish something like this, especially with the guys I was going up against.”

Horschel joins Tiger Woods (twice), Vijay Singh, Furyk, Bill Haas, Brandt Snedeker and Henrik Stenson as FedEx Cup winners. He is the first champion to begin the Playoffs outside the top-30 on the points list, beginning in a distant 69th place before his 2-1-1 surge. This is also the sixth time in the eight-year FedEx Cup era that saw a player win two of the four Playoff tournaments.

The Australian charge at the Tour Championship was twofold. Jason Day lurked near the lead most of the week and shared fourth place, unable to make inroads on the weekend once again. Adam Scott shot a third-round 65 but couldn’t muster another low round on Sunday to make an impression. Sadly, Geoff Ogilvy played the final three rounds alone as the first man out in the 29-player field and finished last by eight shots, while John Senden was never a factor.

LEADERBOARD

1. Billy Horschel (USA)             66-66-69-68—269

2. Jim Furyk (USA)                    67-69-67-69—272

3. Rory McIlroy (N.Ire)             69-65-67-71—272

T4. Jason Day (Qld)             67-67-70-69—273

T4. Chris Kirk (USA)                  66-68-71-68—273

T4. Justin Rose (Eng)                 72-66-66-69—273

Also:

T9. Adam Scott (Qld)             69-72-65-70—276

26. John Senden (Qld)          72-75-69-74—290

29. Geoff Ogilvy (Vic)             77-77-73-73—300

*For the full leaderboard, click here