US duo Horschel and Piercy win team event

BILLY Horschel and Scott Piercy combined for a closing round of five-under par 67 to win the PGA Zurich Classic of New Orleans by one stroke over fellow Americans Jason Dufner and Pat Perez.

The Horschel-Piercy pairing rallied from a three-shot deficit to start the alternate shot format final round, vaulting into the top spot with a 22-under par total of 266.

“This means a lot to me,” said Horschel. “My game hasn’t been great in the last year.”

The US duo was one of 17 teams within five shots of the lead at the start of yesterday’s second foursomes round at TPC Louisiana.

The teams played a best-ball format in rounds one and three.

Dufner and Perez finished one shot back in second with a final-round 68. South Africans Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen were another stroke back in third with a 68.

Tommy Fleetwood-Chris Paisley made an eagle-three at No. 18 to shoot a 69 and finish tied for fourth.

Third round leaders Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown, who lost in a playoff last year, slumped to a 77 and finished in a tie for 15th.

Piercy drained a three-foot putt for par on the final hole to secure the win, but Horschel had the hotter putter of the two.

“I putted really well the last couple of weeks,” Horschel said. “I said, ‘Scott just get me on green’. I felt like every putt was going to go in the hole.’’

They birdied their first two holes yesterday and then added two more birdies to begin the back nine as they went head-tohead against Dufner and Perez down the stretch. “I knew my partner was hitting good shots,” Piercy said.

“I kept trying to put it in the right spot for him to do something good with it. To get back is nice and to do it with a good friend is even better.”

Kisner and Brown faltered late with a bogey and double bogey on 15 and 16. Dufner missed a 14-foot putt to force a playoff on 18.