Horschel follows in Palmer’s footsteps

Horschel won the PGA Championship after a superb final round at Wentworth, becoming only the second American after Arnold Palmer to lift the trophy.

Horschel hit seven birdies to finish 19 under par, putting him one shot ahead of England’s Laurie Canter, Welshman Jamie Donaldson and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat on the final leaderboard.

The 34-year-old (pictured) follows the legendary Palmer as an American winner of the European Tour’s flagship event, with his compatriot claiming the silverware at Royal St George’s in 1975.

Aphibarnrat had been the first to set the clubhouse target after covering his first 16 holes in nine under par, only to bogey the 17th after almost hitting his second shot out of bounds.

Donaldson birdied the 17th and 18th to complete a 66 and join Aphibarnrat in top spot before Horschel birdied the last to edge in front. Canter was unable to find a birdie on the 17th or 18th to force a play-off.

“Man, I’m speechless, which is very, very rare,” Horschel told Sky Sports.

“To win this event means a lot. In my mind, it’s equivalent to The Players Championship.

“We have a great event on the PGA Tour and I live there and would love to lift that one, but I have this one under my belt and I’m very happy.”

Horschel won the WGCDell Technologies Match Play in March but was overlooked for a US Ryder Cup wildcard last week.

He did not even receive a call from US captain Steve Stricker, a snub that provided motivation for Horschel at the PGA Championship.

“There was a little more added motivation this week for that,” he said.