Miami (AFP) – Billy Horschel fired a final round 63 to win the PGA Tour’s Puntacana Championship on Sunday by two strokes from overnight leader Wesley Bryan.
Bryan had led after each of the first three rounds and shot 68 on Sunday, but there was little he could do in the face of Horschel’s superb nine-under effort.
The win is the 37-year-old Horschel’s eighth on the PGA Tour and his first since the Memorial Tournament in June, 2022.
Horschel, who began the day three shots off the lead, birdied four holes in a row from the second onwards and continued his charge with an eagle on the par-5 12th and a birdie on the 16th.
The Floridian said he had never doubted that he would get back to winning ways on the tour.
“This game of golf is so fickle, and I think you can put a lot into it and not get everything you want out of it. But I knew from my 13 years previously on the PGA Tour, that I had the ability, I had the talent,” he said.
“I just needed to continue to work hard, continue to do the right things, and continue to believe that the good stuff was going to come to the forefront at some point in time,” he said.
Once he had grabbed the lead, Horschel never looked like letting his grip on the top spot slip and he said he relished that pressure.
“I love being in the lead. I love having that spotlight on me. I love having everything on me, knowing that if I mess up, you know, it’s my fault and I’m the one who can control my destiny,” he said.
“I’ve always been really good up near lead, and today showed that a little bit,” he said.
The tournament at the Puntacana Resort and Club in the Dominican Republic, is an “alternate” event alongside this week’s RBC Heritage at Hilton Head.
© 2024 AFP
