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Stat attack!: BMW Championship review

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Billy Horschel sure knows how to recover from disappointment. One week after a final-hole bogey cost him a chance to win the Deutsche Bank Championship in a playoff, the fourth-year PGA Tour player rebounded to win the BMW Championship, the third leg of the PGA Tour Playoffs, with a stellar 14-under 266 at Cherry Hills CC. Horschel shot four rounds in the 60s to become the sixth player since 2010 to win after finishing second the previous week, and he brought back memories of other great recoveries of recent years.

Players who won on the PGA Tour one week after finishing second: 2010-2014

 Player Runner-up Victory
 Billy Horschel 2014 Deutsche Bank 2014 BMW Championship
 Matt Kuchar 2013 Colonial 2013 Memorial
 Brandt Snedeker 2013 Waste Management 2013 AT&T Pebble Beach
 Kyle Stanley 2012 Farmers Insurance 2012 Waste Management
 Rory McIlroy 2012 Match Play 2012 Honda Classic
 David Toms 2011 Players 2011 Colonial

Memorable recoveries after losses in recent men’s golf history

 Billy
 Horschel		 Needing a birdie at the last hole to force a playoff at the 2014 Barclays, he chunked a chip and made bogey. There were no such issues Sunday, as a final-round 69 kept him two comfortable strokes ahead of Bubba Watson at the BMW.
 Kyle
 Stanley		 Stanley imploded at the 2012 Farmers, making 8 on the last hole and losing a playoff to Brandt Snedeker. One week later he made up 8 strokes in the final round to win in Phoenix.
 Rory
 McIlroy		 Not a week-to-week rebound, but major-to-major. Rory recovered from his final-round 80 in the 2011 Masters to win the U.S. Open with a record-setting 72-hole score (268).

 Phil
 Mickelson

 Another major-to-major rebound, Phil was the 54-hole leader at the 2013 U.S. Open, then shot 74 Sunday to lose by two. He followed with his first Open Championship victory in his next major start.
 Jim
 Furyk		 Furyk bogeyed two of his last three holes at the 2005 Barclays to lose by a stroke to Padraig Harrington, and then won the Western Open (now the BMW) the following week.
 Bernhard
 Langer		 After missing a 6-foot putt on the last hole of the 1991 Ryder Cup that cost Europe a chance to win, Langer won the following week’s German Masters in a playoff. 

Horschel’s victory at the BMW Championship was the work of improved putting (he led the field in strokes gained after entering the week ranked 100th on Tour in that category) that led to four rounds in the 60s for the second straight week. Entering the playoffs, Horschel’s longest streak of rounds in the 60s this season was three, all coming in the FedEx St. Jude Classic. These past two weeks mark the third and fourth times in his career that Horschel has had four rounds in the 60s.

Billy Horschel: Four rounds in the 60s

 Tournament Scores Finish
 2014 BMW Championship 68-66-63-69—266 Won
 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship 69-66-67-69—271 T-2
 2013 Waste Management Open 69-68-64-67—268 T-11
 2013 Humana Challenge 67-68-65-67—267 T-10

Horschel also was second in the field in greens in regulation at the BMW, hitting 55 of 72, including 11 straight to end the second round. Accuracy on approach shots has long been a staple of Horschel’s game. He’s fourth on Tour in GIR and has been in the top 50 in each of his four seasons. He famously hit all 18 greens in regulation in the second round of the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion.

Billy Horschel’s rank on the PGA Tour in greens in regulation

 Year GIR percentage Rank
 2014 70.03% 4
 2013 67.48 27
 2012 68.79 14
 2011 67.07 47

Next up for Horschel is the Tour Championship at East Lake, which he enters as the hottest player on the PGA Tour. But he’s not the only golfer playing well entering the season finale. Six men come into the Tour Championship with two top-10 finishes in the PGA Tour playoffs.

Golfers with two top-10 finishes in the PGA Tour Playoffs

 Player Barclays Deutsche Bank BMW
 Jason Day T-2 T-7 WD
 Rickie Fowler T-9 T-23 T-4
 Jim Furyk 8 T-23 T-4
 Morgan Hoffmann T-9 T-35 T-3
 Billy Horschel MC T-2 Won
 Rory McIlroy T-22 T-5 T-8

All six will have a chance for a third top-10 (and perhaps more) at East Lake, although Day must be considered questionable after withdrawing from the BMW with a sore back halfway through the second round. The 30 players who advanced to East Lake include every one of the top 10 finishers at Cherry Hills. The big winners were Morgan Hoffmann, who climbed from 68th to 21st by virtue of his third-place finish, and Ryan Palmer, who finished T-4 and moved from 37th to 23rd on the point’s list.

How the top 10 finishers at the BMW Championship rank entering the Tour Championship

 Finish Player FedEx rank Rank entering BMW
 1 Billy Horschel 2 20
 2 Bubba Watson 3 6
 3 Morgan Hoffmann 21 68
 T-4 Jim Furyk 7 8
 T-4 Sergio Garcia 13 23
 T-4 Ryan Palmer 23 37
 T-4 Rickie Fowler 9 10
 T-8 Adam Scott 12 13
 T-8 Rory McIlroy 4 2
 T-8 Jordan Spieth 11 9

While the top finishers at the BMW Championship all lived to play another day and continue their 2013-14 PGA Tour seasons, the next five finishers at Cherry Hills all failed to advance.

How the players who finished 11-15 did not qualify for the Tour Championship

 Finish Player FedEx rank What was needed to advance
 11 Graham Delaet 37 T-4 with no more than three players
 T-12 Angel Cabrera 50 Solo fourth or better
 T-12 Charl Schwartzel 43 Solo fourth or better
 T-12 J.B. Holmes 42 T-4 with no more than two players
 T-12 Chesson Hadley 49 Solo fourth or better

As the players above lament missed chances, the most snake bit player after the BMW Championship was Stuart Appleby, who finished 31st in the FedEx Cup standings, 14 points behind Dustin Johnson. Appleby, who finished T-46 at Cherry Hills, basically finished two strokes too high, needing a solo 44th or no more than a three-way tie for 43rd to advance. To add to Appleby’s poor luck, Johnson, who finished 30th, is not going to play in the Tour Championship, having taken a leave of absence from the Tour prior to the Playoffs for personal reasons.

 

 

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After Further Review: Closer look at fatigue, RC picks

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Each week, GolfChannel.com takes a look back at the week in golf. In this edition of After Further Review, our writers weigh in on the timing of Ryder Cup captain’s picks in the wake of Billy Horschel’s two-stroke win at the BMW Championship and the fatigue that comes with playing in four-straight weeks of FedEx Cup playoffs.

Four consecutive weeks of playoff golf, particularly postseason play that is just two week’s removed from a World Golf Championship and a major, is too much. First Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose who bypassed the second postseason stop at TPC Boston for various reasons, then Phil Mickelson opted for rest over a late-season attempt to qualify for the Tour Championship on Saturday at the BMW Championship. Although the traditional post-Deutsche Bank Championship “off” week returns next year, that doesn’t change the growing perception among players that four consecutive weeks, or even four of five weeks, is not conducive to good golf. – Rex Hoggard

There is a major procedural problem with the timing of the Ryder Cup captain’s picks.

While I understand the rationale behind the PGA Championship as the automatic qualifier list cutoff point (offering an additional plotline to the PGA of America’s other crown jewel), there’s no rhyme or reason to picks being announced after just two FedEx Cup events.

This might sound like Monday morning quarterbacking, but on a week where Billy Horschel won and players like Ryan Palmer, Morgan Hoffmann and Brooks Koepka contended for titles, it only exacerbated Tom Watson’s claim that he wanted hot hands on his roster.

How should it be fixed? Two suggestions: Either move back the captain’s picks to after the Tour Championship or release one name each week for three weeks in a row – a move which would certainly maximize fan interest and heighten the impending drama. – Jason Sobel

FedEx Cup fatigue has set in. Rory McIlroy four-putted two days in a row. Sergio Garcia bladed a chip into a pond. Ryan Palmer shanked a wedge into a hazard. Hey, at least they were still in Denver on Sunday – Phil Mickelson bailed after two rounds. Multimillionaires won’t get much sympathy for being forced to play four events in a row with tens of millions of dollars at stake, but it’s clear that the quality of play in these playoffs has been sacrificed with the nonstop schedule. When trying to handicap the field for this week’s Tour Championship, don’t just consider who is playing well or has a strong history at East Lake. Also ask: At this point, who still cares? – Ryan Lavner

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After Further Review: Closer look at fatigue, RC picks

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Each week, GolfChannel.com takes a look back at the week in golf. In this edition of After Further Review, our writers weigh in on the timing of Ryder Cup captain’s picks in the wake of Billy Horschel’s two-stroke win at the BMW Championship and the fatigue that comes with playing in four-straight weeks of FedEx Cup playoffs.

Four consecutive weeks of playoff golf, particularly postseason play that is just two week’s removed from a World Golf Championship and a major, is too much. First Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose who bypassed the second postseason stop at TPC Boston for various reasons, then Phil Mickelson opted for rest over a late-season attempt to qualify for the Tour Championship on Saturday at the BMW Championship. Although the traditional post-Deutsche Bank Championship “off” week returns next year, that doesn’t change the growing perception among players that four consecutive weeks, or even four of five weeks, is not conducive to good golf. – Rex Hoggard

There is a major procedural problem with the timing of the Ryder Cup captain’s picks.

While I understand the rationale behind the PGA Championship as the automatic qualifier list cutoff point (offering an additional plotline to the PGA of America’s other crown jewel), there’s no rhyme or reason to picks being announced after just two FedEx Cup events.

This might sound like Monday morning quarterbacking, but on a week where Billy Horschel won and players like Ryan Palmer, Morgan Hoffmann and Brooks Koepka contended for titles, it only exacerbated Tom Watson’s claim that he wanted hot hands on his roster.

How should it be fixed? Two suggestions: Either move back the captain’s picks to after the Tour Championship or release one name each week for three weeks in a row – a move which would certainly maximize fan interest and heighten the impending drama. – Jason Sobel

FedEx Cup fatigue has set in. Rory McIlroy four-putted two days in a row. Sergio Garcia bladed a chip into a pond. Ryan Palmer shanked a wedge into a hazard. Hey, at least they were still in Denver on Sunday – Phil Mickelson bailed after two rounds. Multimillionaires won’t get much sympathy for being forced to play four events in a row with tens of millions of dollars at stake, but it’s clear that the quality of play in these playoffs has been sacrificed with the nonstop schedule. When trying to handicap the field for this week’s Tour Championship, don’t just consider who is playing well or has a strong history at East Lake. Also ask: At this point, who still cares? – Ryan Lavner

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Horschel hangs on for two-shot win at BMW

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Billy Horschel redeemed himself for last week’s 72nd-hole disappointment with a two-shot victory Sunday at the BMW Championship. Here’s the skinny on the final round at Cherry Hills:

The leaderboard: Billy Horschel (-14); Bubba Watson (-12); Morgan Hoffmann (-11); Ryan Palmer, Sergio Garcia Rickie Fowler and Jim Furyk at -9 

What it means: It’s the second career victory for Horschel, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2013, including a victory at the Zurich Classic, but had only a pair of top 10s entering the FedEx Cup playoffs. Last week he had a chance to win the Deutsche Bank Championship, only to chunk his second shot into the par-5 18th and finish in a tie for second. After this victory, Horschel moved to No. 1 in points (the top 5 at East Lake control their own destiny) heading into the Tour Championship.

Round of the day: Morgan Hoffmann came home in 30 for a 62-63 weekend and solo third in Denver. His two-round score of 125 was the lowest on the PGA Tour this season. That was more than enough to punch his ticket to the Tour Championship – an incredible feat, given that the former Oklahoma State standout started these playoffs at No. 124 in points.

Best of the rest: Despite four-putting the 12th hole again Sunday, Rory McIlroy still managed to shoot 66 and record another top-10 finish. The 66 was the same final-round score shot by Jim Furyk and Adam Scott, who finished T-4 and T-8, respectively.

Biggest disappointment: Closing in on Horschel at the top, Ryan Palmer cold-shanked a wedge shot into the creek on 13, leading to a double bogey. He dropped five shots in his last seven holes. Honorable mention goes to Sergio Garcia, who pulled within two shots after going out in 29 Sunday, but then he bladed a chip into the water on 17 and made a triple-bogey 8.       

Quote of the day: “After last week a lot of people on Twitter wanted to call me a choker. I didn’t choke; I just made a bad swing at the wrong time. You don’t choke coming from behind. To lead this thing, to hold on, it means a lot.” – Horschel 

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A Palmer charge leaves two stars in his wake

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CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. – Ryan Palmer stole the show in the marquee pairing Saturday at the BMW Championship.

Palmer shot a 5-under-par 67, besting Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy, who both struggled to 72s. Palmer’s effort left him in second place going to Sunday, three shots behind Billy Horschel.

“I’m just proud of the way I fought and hung in there today,” Palmer said. “Being in that atmosphere, I’m not used to, playing with Rory and Sergio in the final group, with that kind of crowd.”

Palmer said McIlroy and Garcia were clearly the crowd favorites.

“You heard a lot of `Rorys’ and `Sergios,’ but I had a few `Ryans’ out there,” Palmer said. “I had my 10, 15 people yelling for me, as opposed to their hundreds.

BMW Championship: Articles, videos and photos

“I know that Rory, he’s No. 1 in the world, and Sergio has been up there for years. So, for me to come out and hang in there and play well, I’m taking the next step in my career, I think, and hopefully tomorrow we can give myself a chance down the end.”

Palmer, a three-time PGA Tour winner, started the week No. 37 in FedEx Cup points. He’s projected to go to No. 9 based on his second-place position. He would be the only player from outside the top 30 this week to crack the ceiling and earn his way to the Tour Championship. Keegan Bradley is the only player projected to get bumped out of the top 30. Bradley withdrew Saturday morning.

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