CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE — Billy Horschel proved Sunday that “par for the course” doesn’t have to mean mediocre.
After burying a 22-foot birdie putt on No. 7 to take a one-stroke lead, the poker-faced Floridian “grinded” his way down the fairways of Cherry Hills to win the BMW Championship. He parred his final 11 holes.
Horschel took a three-stroke lead into the final round and then played solid, smart golf on a pristine Sunday afternoon when all challengers fell back. His final round of 1-under-par 69 produced a 72-hole total of 14-under-par 266 for a two-shot margin over runner-up Bubba Watson.
Eleven consecutive pars can be a rarity at Cherry Hills, which is considered a classic layout renowned for its roller-coaster ride of birdie possibilities and difficult holes.
But playing steadily and avoiding trouble couldn’t have worked out any better for Horschel.
“This means a lot more because I didn’t have my best stuff,” Horschel said. “I was in a grind mode. It wasn’t easy.”
Horschel, 27, earned the second tour victory of his career and a $1.44 million first-place check and claimed the third leg of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs. He is now among the favorites to win The Tour Championship this week in Atlanta.
With his victory, Horschel jumped from 20th to second place in the FedEx Cup standings, trailing only Chris Kirk. The top 30 in FedEx Cup points qualified for Atlanta, but the field will be 29 because Dustin Johnson is taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. The final points champion receives a $10 million bonus, the top paycheck in professional golf.
“It means a lot to win here, especially in the FedEx Cup playoffs (where) it’s amplified 10 times,” Horschel said.
While Horschel remained rock steady, others teetered under pressure. Or dropped completely off the leader board.
Ryan Palmer began the day in second place, three strokes behind Horschel. The Texan pulled even at 13-under with a birdie on the 526-yard, par-4 No. 5. But Palmer proceeded to make a mess of the back nine, playing it in 4-over 40.
That mad adventure included an ugly shank from the left rough on No. 13 that squirted across the fairway and into a creek. Palmer took a penalty drop but failed to get up and down from there. The result: a double-bogey 6 that dropped him three shots from the lead. Palmer finished tied for fourth.
“A shank (doesn’t happen) very often,” Palmer said. “But downhill (lie), down in the rough. I’m blaming it on that. It’s a fickle game.”
With three birdies and a chip-in eagle 2 from 35 yards on the par-4 seventh, Sergio Garcia jumped into contention with a 29 on the front nine. Garcia stood two strokes behind Horschel when the Spaniard stood on the tee box of the legendary “Hogan Hole,” the 555-yard, par-5 17th.
Garcia, who has average length from off the tee, chose to lay up with his second shot rather than gamble by going for the island green from 251 yards out. But an apparent miscalculation on the layup still left him 65 yards from the cup, an awkward, flip-wedge distance that tour players like to avoid.
Sure enough, Garcia’s wedge flew past the flag stick and bounced into the rough behind the green. Coming back, he then bladed a pitch shot through the green and didn’t end the misery before posting a triple-bogey 8.
“A mistake after another mistake,” Garcia shrugged.
PHOTOS: Billy Horschel wins the Golf’s 2014 FedExCup BMW Championship
Rory McIlroy, the world’s top-ranked player, butchered the par-3 12th for the second day in a row, but at least this time he rolled in his fourth putt for a double bogey after four-putting that green for a triple bogey Saturday.
Watson, the reigning Masters champion and a crowd favorite, was able to avoid disaster. He fired a final-round 66, including a back-nine 32, but never pulled closer than to within two strokes of the lead.
“It’s a good finish,” Watson said. “Second place is a step in the right direction.”
Horschel hopes hoisting the BMW Championship trophy “will give me confidence to shoot me up to the upper echelon” on tour.
“If I was a betting man, I would put some money on me (at the Tour Championship),” he added. “It’s going to be great.”
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or
