2014 FedEx Cup Playoffs: Winners and Losers from the BMW Championship
What a difference a few days make.
Billy Horschel stood on the 18th fairway on Labor Day in the Deutsche Bank Championship and chunked his approach—and subsequently the tournament—into the thickets.
He finished T2 and moved way up the FedEx Cup standings, setting the table for his run (literally) at the BMW Championship in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains.
The BMW Championship saw the meltdown of Sergio Garcia, the resurgence of Bubba Watson and eight Rory McIlroy putts on one hole over two days.
With one more event remaining—the Tour Championship in Atlanta—many players moved, and the pieces are set for a run at the Cup and $10 million.
Read on to see the winners and losers from the penultimate leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
All stats, unless otherwise stated, were provided by PGATour.com.
Winner: Billy Horschel's Recovery from Labor Day
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Horschel had that six-iron shot on his mind after he won the BMW Championship, propelling him to No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings heading to the Tour Championship.
Horschel said during the NBC broadcast after his round that he heard the people on Twitter saying he choked. He never felt he choked. He was behind trying to make a move.
So Horschel became the third unlikely winner in as many events to win a FedEx Cup playoff tournament. Hunter Mahan won The Barclays, Chris Kirk (No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings) won the DBC and now Horschel.
Horschel said during the NBC broadcast:
"It means a lot. I haven't had the greatest season. I didn't have my game today. I just grinded. I made some big putts. I'm a good putter inside 10 feet. This feels good after last week because a lot of people on Twitter out there wanted to call me a choker. I didn't choke. I hit a bad swing at the wrong time. I was coming from behind. You don't choke coming from behind. To lead this thing. To have a three-shot lead, to hold on, means a lot.
"
This was his second career win on tour, and he did it T2 in greens, No. 1 in total strokes gained with 13.296 and No. 1 in strokes gained putting at 11.902.
Those are unbeatable numbers, and if he carries that with him to Atlanta, he will contend and possibly win the FedEx Cup.
Loser: Sergio Garcia's 'Flat Choke' on No. 17
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Who went from being a winner to a loser in one chip? Sergio Garcia.
On No. 17, Garcia was in second place at 12-under. He wisely laid up leaving his third shot 80 yards or so into the green. He flew the green, but it was his next chip that baffled the commentators, the gallery, everyone. He chipped way past the hole and watched his ball sleep with the fishes.
A drop and two putts turned his 12-under into a nine-under.
One commentator said during the NBC broadcast, “That is just a flat choke.”
A few minutes later, another announcer said during the broadcast that Garcia lacks something up top when it comes to closing out tournaments.
For a time, Garcia went 20 consecutive holes without a bogey. After his round on Friday where he took the lead, it appeared Garcia made the type of move that could redeem a major-less season.
Instead, he finished T4 while others closed. No choke.
Winner: Bubba Watson
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Bubba Watson’s average finish since he won the Masters back in April is 28.75. During that stretch of 10 tournaments, Watson also missed two cuts.
In the BMW, he finally put together a winning round reminiscent of how he played at Augusta. Watson finished alone in second place on the back of three consecutive 66s, a 12-under and a bump to No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings.
Watson bombed off the tee (No. 3 in average distance), hit his approaches close and drained his putts. It was the cleanest week of golf he’s played since April.
He was first in strokes gained tee-to-green at 15.520.
This is a good sign with the Ryder Cup around the corner and also, more urgent, the Tour Championship in a few days.
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Loser: Hunter Mahan's Razor
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An open letter to Hunter Mahan:
Earth to Mahan, haven’t you heard of the playoff beard? NHL players use them all the time, even some baseball teams. During the playoffs, they never shave. Never.
Why did you shave?
You won The Barclays with an impeccably groomed face sweater, and you ran away with the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs. You went from 62nd in the standings to No. 1. You redeemed your season and, as a result, earned yourself a spot on the Ryder Cup team.
Then you shaved.
You finished 64th at the Deutsche Bank Championship but still held strong at No. 3 in the standings. Then at the BMW, after Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson selected you as a captain’s pick, you finished T59 at seven-over.
You're still in the top five (fifth) in the FedEx Cup standings, so it's still within your grasp.
Throw out the razor, and the FedEx Cup could still be yours come Atlanta.
Winner: The Ryder Cup Snubs
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Of the golfers who were on the fringe of Tom Watson’s Ryder Cup selections, three had been playing championship-style golf through the playoffs: Chris Kirk, Billy Horschel and Ryan Palmer.
Kirk wasn’t as strong at the BMW as he was when he won the DBC, but Horschel and Palmer took part in a veritable match-play tournament on Sunday. Both were at 14-under on the back nine, three up on the rest of the field.
Palmer came a bit undone with a bogey and a double bogey on Nos. 12 and 13, respectively, slipping three strokes back of Horschel, en route to finishing five back. At one point, his strokes gained putting was No. 2 behind only Horschel.
Still, the way these three played dwarfed how Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley and Mahan handled the same course. The Ryder Cup picks were a combined 14-over, while the snubs shot 22 under.
Maybe that’s a coincidence, or maybe the three who went low played with a chip on their shoulders to show Watson he didn’t just make one mistake, he made three.
Loser: The Captain's Picks
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Tom Watson named Simpson, Bradley and Mahan his three captain’s picks earlier in the week, just a couple days prior to the BMW Championship.
Naturally, these three needed to validate their selection and show everyone that Watson made the right choice.
Simpson finished five over, and Mahan finished seven over. Bradley (two over par), for all his worth, may have made a $10 million mistake. He withdrew from the BMW after what he thought was a questionable drop—this after the rules officials absolved Bradley of any wrongdoing.
Bradley, whose approach on No. 18 plugged in a pitch mark allowing him to take a free drop, told The Associated Press, via USA Today, “It's eating me alive. I didn't call my fellow competitors for help in the first place and that bothers me. I know the official approved the drop but I just can't be absolutely sure it was the right spot.”
Maybe he and Cameron Tringale should talk moral shop.
Either way, Watson’s picks did little to prove they deserve a flight across the Atlantic for the Ryder Cup. What does that mean for Team USA? Maybe nothing.
Maybe they put extra pressure on themselves after Watson made his picks. They should bounce back just fine at Gleneagle.
Winner: Morgan Hoffmann
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Morgan Hoffmann finished ahead of McIlroy, Jim Furyk and Rickie Fowler. Hoffmann sat right around the cut line of 30 players and fought and grinded his way into the Tour Championship.
His 11-under performance rested on the back of his epic back nine. Four straight birdies and one eagle earned him six-under on the back, seven-under on the round.
Hoffmann was No. 1 in putts per green in regulation. As impressive as that is, Hoffmann was one of the lowest seeds coming into the playoffs. He started The Barclays 124th in FedEx Cup points. After the DBC, he was 68th.
Now Hoffmann is 23rd.
He probably won’t win, but given where he’s come from gives everyone hope that no matter how low in the rankings one may be, steady, progressive improvement can land a player in the Tour Championship.
Loser: Rory McIlroy's Putter
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McIlroy’s putter hurt him—literally and on the greens—during the BMW Championship.
His putter proved an immovable object when McIlroy gave it a dispassionate fist bump in the first round. He’d need to bandage his hand for Round 2.
Then on the par-three 12th, McIlroy four-putted from four feet. As a result, he went from a contending seven-under to a sputtering four-under.
The Telegraph’s James Corrigan wrote:
"McIlroy was inevitably angered by his Happy Gilmore impression; he had been only two off the pace. But in terms of winning the FedEx Cup and the $10m bonus at next week’s finale it should not make too much of a difference. Even with a victory he would probably still have needed to win in Atlanta anyway.
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McIlroy hasn’t been the same golfer from beginning to end as he was during his three-tournament tour de force from The Open Championship through the PGA Championship.
As if Round 3’s four-putt wasn’t enough, the sequel on Sunday was every bit as good. He four-putted the 12th hole again, taking him from eight-under and submarining his score to five-under and way out of contention. In two days, he lost six strokes on one hole.
McIlroy has shown brief flashes of brilliance, but clearly the knife needs sharpening if he’s going to win the FedEx Cup at the Tour Championship.
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