Horschel wins BMW after Ryder Cup snub
Billy Horschel felt aggrieved this week at the manner in which he missed out on a place in the U.S. team for the Ryder Cup.
So he took down a bunch of leading Europeans by himself.
Horschel birdied Wentworth’s storied 18th hole after an approach shot that spun back to inside 2 feet, securing a closing 7-under 65 and a one-shot victory at the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday.
He became only the second American to win what is traditionally regarded as the biggest event on the European Tour, after Arnold Palmer in 1975.
Not a bad way to get over the disappointment of being overlooked for a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup team. And Horschel had a message for U.S. captain Steve Stricker.
“It (hurts) not making the team,” Horschel said. “I didn’t play consistent enough, and well enough, after I won the Match Play to warrant a pick or to get enough points to get an automatic selection.
“I was a little gutted I didn’t get a call this week. I didn’t think the call was going to say I made the team but I was a little gutted I didn’t get a call to say, ‘Hey, you know, you didn’t make the team.’ In my mind, I thought I would at least get that, so there was a little more added motivation after that.”
Horschel’s birdie on No. 18 took him above Kiradech Aphibarnrat (64) and Jamie Donaldson (66) to 19-under 269, and left only one player with a chance of beating him.
Laurie Canter, a 170th-ranked Englishman playing in the final group, needed an eagle on the par-5 last hole to win or a birdie to force a playoff, but had to lay up after driving into the rough. His third shot settled within about 15 feet and his birdie putt never had a chance, missing to the right.
Canter signed for a 67, tying him for second place.
It was the first time Horschel won a regular event on the European
American Billy Horschel celebrates after winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey, England on Sunday.
Tour and it will go a long way toward clinching him the seasonlong Race to Dubai, with Horschel having already won the equivalent on the PGA Tour — the FedEx Cup — in 2014.
Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Shane Lowry were picked by European captain Padraig Harrington on Sunday to fill out the team for the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.
Harrington had previously indicated Garcia and Poulter, who have a combined 15 appearances in the Ryder Cup, were in line to be selected.
Lowry got the nod ahead of Justin Rose and will be one of three rookies in the team, along with Bernd Wiesberger and Viktor Hovland.
Wiesberger, Lee Westwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton secured the final automatic qualifying places for Europe following the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday. They joined Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Hovland and Paul Casey in the team for the Sept. 24-26 event, when the Europeans will be defending the cup they won outside Paris in 2018.
David Toms beat Dicky Pride with a par on the first hole of a playoff in the PGA Tour Champions’
inaugural Ascension Charity Classic.
Toms hit his approach in the playoff on the par-4 18th to the middle of the green and twoputted from 18 feet. Pride’s approach went to the right into a greenside bunker and he couldn’t get a 16-footer for par to fall.
The 54-year-old Toms scrambled for par on the 18th in regulation after driving left into a fairway bunker. He shot a 5-under 66 to finish at 10-under 203 on Norwood Hills’ West Course, the tree-lined layout where Ben Hogan won the 1948 PGA Championship for his second major title.
Pride finished with a 67, forcing the playoff with an 18-foot birdie putt on 18. since Monaco in 2018. He finished 1.747 seconds ahead of teammate Lando Norris and 4.921 ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who turned in a strong performance after starting from the back of the grid after a penalty for taking a new engine.
But the biggest talking point of the race came on lap 26.
Hamilton had pitted from the lead and returned to the track just in front of Verstappen. The Red Bull driver tried to come up the inside on a turn as the seven-time champion defended his position.
As the two made contact, Verstappen’s car catapulted on to the top of the Mercedes as both slid into the gravel. The protective halo ring at the front of F1 car cockpits may have saved Hamilton from serious injury.
“That’s what you get when you don’t leave the space,” said a furious Verstappen over team radio.
Both drivers were able to walk away from their cars though Hamilton took a long time getting out of his, only clambering out after Verstappen had long gone.
Ricciardo won the race after a brilliant start allowed the Australian driver to pass Verstappen who started from pole position at turn one.
The stewards ruled that Verstappen “was predominantly to blame for the collision.” They gave the Red Bull driver a three-place grid drop for the start of the next race, the Russian GP on Sept. 26.
“I’m proud of the stewards,” Hamilton said after learning of their decision. “I need some time to really reflect on it but I think it definitely sets a precedent and I think it’s important for us moving forwards, for the safety of the drivers that there are strict rules set in place.”
• Alex Palou held on at the Portland International Raceway to win for the third time this season and reclaim the IndyCar points lead.
The victory put the Spaniard back on top of the standings for the ninth time in 14 races this season. The second-year IndyCar driver had lost a 42-point lead in back-to-back races and came to Portland down 10 points to Pato O’Ward.
• Tommy Johnson Jr. won the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals as a substitute driver for Matt Hagan, beating John Force in the Funny Car final in the playoff opener.
With Hagan recovering from COVID-19, Don Schumacher Racing turned their Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat over to the 53-year-old Johnson last week in Indianapolis. On Sunday at Maple Grove Raceway (Pa.), he beat the 72-year-old Force with a 3.926-second pass at 330.23 mph for his 22nd career Funny Car victory.
Billy Torrence won in Top Fuel, Greg Anderson in Pro Stock and Steve Johnson in Pro Stock Motorcycle.