CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE — The winner wore predominantly orange and blue. How appropriate.
The losers wore out. How inappropriate.
Last Monday, Billy Horschel chili-chunked a sixth iron on the last hole of the Deutsche Bank Championship and lost. Social media chumps labeled him a choker.
On a perfect Colorado Sunday that Monet would have painted, Horschel stifled the horde — and triumphed at the grand and glorious BMW Championship.
“It was nice to get that victory and stick it to some of those people that had negative comments for me on Twitter,” Horschel said, getting in the last words.
Most of his rivals at Cherry Hills on Sunday played wretchedly, and had little to say.
Consider The Mishaps of McIlroy, the world’s greatest golfer, on the 12th of Never.
As he did Saturday, Rory McIlroy inexplicably four-jacked the par 3 No. 12. In two rounds he went six-five. Take away those two brain burps, and McIlroy might have prevailed.
At the Masters once, we asked Seve Ballesteros to describe how he four-putted. He paused, contemplated and replied: “Miss … uh, miss, miss, make.”
Rory Misstake!
Sergio Garcia, who was two strokes behind and one hole ahead of Horschel at No. 17, also had some “splainin” to do. His tee shot left him 251 yards to the pin on the pivotal island green. Sergio obviously didn’t want to Hoganesque it — draw the ball back into the creek. He initially intended to go for the hole, then reconsidered and decided to lay up 70 yards shy. Then Garcia skipped the ball over the green. He bladed a wedge past the hole and had a splashdown. He reloaded from the same spot and eventually made an eight.
“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,” he said. “But, for some reason I was trying to, but I couldn’t.”
Sergio The Snowman was gone.
Ryan Palmer was tied with Horschel after a birdie at 11. He bogeyed that infamous 12 and did a “shanks for the memories” into the Little Dry Creek, which was wet, on No. 13 for a double bogey. Ryan’s hope was over. Arnold Palmer invented the Arnold Palmer drink — half iced tea, half lemonade. Ryan Palmer might be responsible for the Ryan Palmer sandwich — half chicken salad, half, er, chicken parts.
Martin Kaymer, in the trio with Palmer and Horschel, disappeared early and finished minus-5. Rickie Fowler hung around through nine, but a 35 on the backside did him no favors. Graham DeLaet got to 11-under, then slipped with a bogey and a triple, and evaporated.
Then there was Bubba.
This year’s Masters champion opened and closed the first nine with bogeys, but was attracting Horschel’s attention after a birdie at 16. He was three back. Watson, who had reached the par-5 17 all week in two, needed a 3-3 conclusion to put the heat on. He was eagle-eyed on No. 17, but his putt was off, just as his birdie putt was awry on 18. He was what seemed like a distant two shots shy.
Morgan Hoffman had begun the tournament 72-72. If there were a cut, he wouldn’t have made the weekend.
Instead, he blazed around Cherry Hills with a record 62 on Saturday. On Sunday he made eight birdies on 11 middle-of-the-round holes and acted like he might shoot 55. He ended up with a 63 (15-under in two incredible rounds) and probably would have passed Horschel if they played another nine holes. As it was, Hoffman was one of only three pros in double-digit numbers under par (an achievement never reached before in majors at the historic wonderland south of Denver.)
Meanwhile, back at the front, Horschel played steady and solid, smart and sturdy.
“I didn’t have my great stuff,” he said, but “I was able to grind something out.”
No gags.
He had two bogeys and two birdies in the first seven holes, then converted 11 consecutive pars. The guy from the University of Florida turned everyone else into Gator bait. He made back-to-back 7-footers for pars and, ultimately hit a splendid nine iron — not a six — to the center of the 18th green, where many majors have been won, and lost.
Horschel sprinted up the hill, through the crowd and — really — to a portable toilet behind the grandstand. He was not going over to throw up. “I had been holding it for way too many holes, and I could relax now,” he said.
Horschel returned to make his par and win by two — in orange and blue.
And it was swell to have golf back. Hurry back!
Woody Paige: woody@woodypaige.com or
