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Billy Horschel cruises to 4-shot win at the Memorial Tournament

Ryan Young
Staff writer
·3 min read
8

Though his bogey streak ended Sunday afternoon at Muirfield Village, Billy Horschel easily ran away with the Memorial Tournament.

Horschel, who entered the final round with a five-shot lead, posted an even-par 72 to close out the event and grab his seventh career PGA Tour win.

Billy Horschel
Billy Horschel cruised to his seventh career Tour win on Sunday at the Memorial Tournament. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Horschel took off Saturday at Jack Nicklaus’ iconic Ohio course. After entering the weekend two shots back, Horschel chipped in for birdie to start the day before making six more birdies en route to his 7-under 65. He went 44 holes without making a bogey at that point, and took a five-shot lead over Aaron Wise and Cameron Smith.

"I think today, knowing the golf course, knowing how it was going to be fast and firm again, it was knowing the pin locations, he said. "I didn't have to do anything to do anything special out there. I've got a five-shot lead. I played great the last two days. I've just got to go out there and continue to execute golf shots and try not to do anything special, try not to do anything stupid that would allow guys to sort of come back into the fold.

"I felt I played a really great round of golf today. Nothing special."

Horschel made one bogey on the front nine, which snapped his bogey-free run at 50 holes. He offset that hiccup with a birdie at the 10th. He bogeyed again at No. 12 after getting caught in a bunker, but made a clutch eagle after draining a wild putt at the par-5 15th to get back to a four-shot lead.

"To make eagle, icing on the cake ... That lead is down to two. If I don't two-putt that it's down to two instead of a three-shot lead," Horschel said. "And like I said, icing on the cake to make eagle, have a four-shot lead with three tough holes out here, knowing I didn't have to do anything special, and Aaron [Wise] had to do something special to track me down."

Though he bogeyed No. 17, his lead was too big. Horschel finished his round at even par to seal the four-shot win.

Horshel has won seven times on the PGA Tour. His last win was at last year’s World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match play. He also won the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship last year.

Horschel has nine top-25 finishes this season and has a pair of runner-up finishes (at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans). He entered the past week ranked No. 17 in the world.

Wise finished in second at 9-under; Joaquin Niemann and Patrick Cantlay finished in a tie for third at 7-under.

Though he has had plenty of tough stretches since winning the FedExCup in 2014, Horschel knows that's all behind him. He hasn't let it bother him, and Sunday was proof of that.

"Some guys get down. Me, I kick myself in the butt, that should be me," Horschel said. "Pushes me to work harder and strive to be better. And sometimes it's a detriment because sometimes I push myself too hard. And I have to be aware where I am at the time.

"I think now, at the age of 35, I'm very aware of where I am in the game of golf and what I need to do and focus on and not worry about some other stuff that I can't control."