Horschel beats Day in playoff to end Byron Nelson’s run in Irving

Jason Day picked the worst possible time for his only three-putt green of tournament week at the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Day, the No. 4 player in the world golf rankings, completed all 72 holes of regulation without a three-putt but posted one on his first playoff hole to open the door to a Nelson triumph by Billy Horschel.

Horschel sealed the deal with a closing par on the playoff hole (No. 18), securing his fourth career triumph as a PGA Tour competitor in the tournament’s final competitive round at the Four Seasons Resort.

Horschel, who had missed the cut in his only previous Nelson appearances before this season (2011, 2012), became the 35th, and final, Nelson champion crowned in Irving before the event shifts next season to Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.

He also became the 14th golfer in 35 years to prevail in a Nelson playoff at the TPC Las Colinas, a course that has produced the highest playoff percentage of any PGA Tour venue (40 percent) in that stretch.

Horschel secured the $1.35 million winner’s check with a routine par on the playoff hole, leaving an 18-foot birdie putt roughly 2 inches short before tapping in for the stroke that sealed his win. Day, who faced a 48-foot birdie putt at the 18th green during the playoff, sent his birdie effort 4 feet past the hole and pulled the comeback attempt for par left of the cup.

Horschel, 30, will have a chance to complete a D-FW double when he makes his Colonial debut at this week’s Dean & DeLuca Invitational in Fort Worth. But Sunday, he was in a mood to celebrate.

“It’s really surreal. This is probably the most emotional win I’ve had,” said Horschel, who had missed the cut in his last four starts at PGA Tour events. “I’m sort of speechless. Because the other three wins I’ve had have come off really good play. To come in here after missing four straight cuts, with no type of momentum … it’s amazing.”

Horschel secured his spot in the playoff with a closing round of 69 to finish regulation at 12-under par, matching Day. But he acknowledged that collecting a trophy because of Day’s playoff blunder, rather than his own birdie, “was not the way I wanted to win.”

Nor was it the way that Day, the 2010 Nelson champion, wanted to say goodbye to a venue where he picked up his first PGA Tour victory. But in a playoff situation, Day did what he had to do.

“Obviously, when you’re in a position like this, you’ve got to go for it,” Day said. “You can’t just lag it down there 2 feet short and keep going back and forth. You go for the win.”

After sliding the birdie putt past the cut on the playoff hole, Day said: “The second putt, I just misread it, I guess. I’m disappointed.”

Sunday began with a morning rain delay, forcing tournament officials to regroup golfers into threesomes and moving Day into the final group with Horschel and James Hahn. The three headed to the back nine deadlocked at 11 under before trading the lead down the stretch.

Horshcel buried a 59-foot birdie putt at No. 14, then a 4-footer at No. 16 for his final birdie of regulation. Day chipped in for birdie from 78 feet off an awkward lie in the rough after missing the green in regulation at No. 15.

Hahn, who damaged his playoff chances with three consecutive bogeys at Nos. 12-14, almost redeemed himself at No. 18. His approach from the fairway tickled the back of the cup but stayed out. Had it fallen, he would have joined the playoff. Instead, he tapped in for birdie to finish at 11 under, one stroke shy of the playoff and in sole possession of third place.

Once in the playoff, Horschel hammered a drive that trickled into the right rough but found the green in regulation before two-putting. Day teed off with an iron but pushed it into the right rough, then faced a 48-foot birdie attempt that led to his lone, but decisive, three-putt of the tournament.

Throughout his round, Horschel said he reflected on words of encouragement given to him last week by caddie Josh Cassell while he was on his way to a missed cut at The Players Championship but seemed to be making progress with his swing.

“He just said he saw something in my game. He said, ‘You know what? We’re going next week to Dallas, we’re going to go to the Byron Nelson and we’re going to win,’ ” Horschel said. “I kept telling myself that today and kept trying to believe what he was telling me.”

As a result, Horschel walked away with a trophy from a course he never learned to love … until Sunday.

“It’s sad that (the tournament) is leaving because I was never a fan of this course,” Horschel said of the Nelson venue. “But I came here and, now, I am. And I don’t want to leave.”

But he must for next year’s title defense. He’ll also leave as the final Byron Nelson champion crowned in Irving.

This story was originally published May 21, 2017 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Horschel beats Day in playoff to end Byron Nelson’s run in Irving."