CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE — When Sergio Garcia took a triple-bogey and Bubba Watson couldn’t make his eagle putt on No. 17, the BMW Championship was all Billy Horschel’s on Sunday at Cherry Hills Country Club.
Horschel got to 14-under after seven holes Sunday and finished with 11 consecutive pars to win the first PGA Tour event in Colorado in eight years.
“I knew I had the lead and everyone had to come chase me,” Horschel said. “So as long as I kept making pars and not giving shots back to the field, I was going to be tough to catch.”
With Garcia and Watson playing in the group ahead, Horschel watched from the 17th fairway as his two closest challengers couldn’t make their finishing move. Watson finished at 12-under, while Garcia fell to 9-under.
Morgan Hoffmann, who shot a course record 8-under 62 on Saturday, was back at it on Sunday and closed with a 7-under 63 to end the week in third at 11-under.
Horschel’s playing partner Ryan Palmer was the closest to taking the lead and put on some heat with a birdie on the par-5 No. 11 to draw to a tie at 14-under.
But as soon as Palmer tied, he quickly fell back. He dropped back with a bogey on the par-3 No. 12, then after putting his drive in the rough on No. 13, he sent his second shot into the creek. After the drop, he missed his 8-foot bogey putt and lost two strokes to fall back to 11-under.
His run ended with a bogey on the par-3 No. 15 to drop to 10-under.
At the same time, Garcia was making his late run. After getting to 11-under after seven holes, he put together a par streak up until a birdie at No. 15 to get to 12-under.
But his biggest mistake came on the par-5 No. 17 when he decided to layup after his drive left him 239 yards from the island green. His approach shot went long off the back of the green, then his chip back rolled past the pin and into the water. He finished with an 8.
“It’s really disappointing,” Garcia said of the triple-bogey. “But it’s what happens when you’re not just mentally sharp. If I was mentally sharp, if I was rested, and really, the way I was at the beginning and middle of the year, I would have talked myself into going for the green. But for some reason I was trying to but couldn’t. Then, just a mistake after another mistake.”
Garcia, who was the second-round leader, was lurking after shooting 5-under 29 on the front nine at Cherry Hills, including a chip-in eagle on No. 7 to go with three birdies. Garcia was at 11-under after 14 holes, and Graham DeLaet was also making a move at 10-underbut took a bogey on No. 13 and put his tee shot in the water on the par-3 No. 15 and took a triple-bogey to fall to 6-under.
Watson was at 10-under after 14 holes when he started the back nine with two birdies. He got to 11-under with a birdie on No. 16.
All signs point to it coming down to the final holes, especially the par-5 No. 17, which has seen a few eagles this week.
Horschel had three birdies and two bogeys on the front, and Palmer closed the gap with a 3-under 31 on the first nine.
Rory McIlroy, who started the day at 3-under, got to 6-under with an eagle on No. 7 but didn’t have enough to catch the leaders. He finished at 4-under for the day and 8-under for the tournament.
Not bad considering he again four-putted on the par-3 No. 12 for a 3-over. On Saturday, he four-putted for a triple-bogey on the same green.
“On the third putt I’m thinking, ‘OK, you don’t want to four-putt again,’ ” McIlroy said, “and I actually held a decent length putt for a four-putt, so …”
David Krause: 303-954-1893, dkrause@denverpost.com or
