Billy Horschel became the first US golfer to win the BMW PGA Championship twice when he holed a brilliant eagle to beat four-time major winner Rory McIlroy in a playoff on Sunday.
Horschel showed no sign of nerves when he sank a long putt from near the edge of the green on the second playoff hole, and then hugged McIlroy warmly.
“It’s always one of my most special weeks of the year. I enjoy coming here. I feel a sense of ease, I feel a sense of calm,” the 37-year-old Horschel said. “I know I’m not from the UK or London or England, but I feel almost at home when I come here.”
Photo: AFP
Horschel won at Virginia Water three years ago. This year, he was locked in second place overnight with McIlroy, and they were both three strokes behind leader Matteo Manassero of Italy.
While Manassero fell back, they both carded 5-under 67s to join South African Thriston Lawrence — who posted a clinical 65 on the day — at 20 under and force a three-way playoff.
After they went back to the 18th at the storied West Course, Lawrence dropped out of contention after bogeying, while McIlroy and Horschel had birdies.
Photo: Reuters
However, McIlroy was beaten on the next hole.
“It just shows the standard out here. If you slip up just a little bit or don’t make a birdie on a crucial hole, someone is always waiting to take advantage of that,” McIlroy said. “Two weeks in a row, I’ve played well. Just not quite well enough.”
The No. 3-ranked Northern Irishman, who won the event in 2014, now has three runner-up finishes at Wentworth.
Manassero, who won the title in 2013 the last time it went to a playoff, finished in a share of fourth spot with Englishmen Matthew Baldwin and Aaron Rai after carding a 1-over 73 that included four bogeys. They ended 17 under.
A victory would have put Manassero on track to qualify for next year’s Ryder Cup and to claim one of the 10 PGA Tour cards available each year from the European tour.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
Naomi Osaka is braced for a “battle” after yesterday setting up a clash with Coco Gauff in the round-of-16 of the China Open, while top seed Aryna Sabalenka also marched on. Osaka defeated 60th-ranked American Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-2 and next faces Gauff in a showdown of former US Open champions in Beijing. World No. 2 Sabalenka swatted aside Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-2 for her 14th consecutive victory and plays another American in 24th-ranked Madison Keys. Looking ahead to the Gauff meeting, four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka said: “She’s very athletic, obviously.” “For me, my strongest traits are being aggressive and also my serve,
RSS