Oh so close again for Rory but Horschel snatches Wentworth thriller

Anybody on the Rory McIlroy rollercoaster ride has gotten their money’s worth over the past two weeks, and the incredible low after coming up one shot short last week at Royal County Down was followed by an exhilarating run at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

But once again, it wasn’t enough. He didn’t even do anything wrong this time. Billy Horschel just went that one bit better.

Starting the day three behind Matteo Manassero but with a heavily bunched leaderboard, it was always going to take something special to come out on top and get his hands on the DP World Tour flagship event’s trophy for a second time, and an early bogey made an uphill task even tougher.

Back-to-back birdies was the perfect response, but birdie opportunities came and went over the next seven before he added another at the par-5 12th. Another birdie on the par-3 14th kept him in touch, but by then, Thriston Lawrence and Aaron Rai had hit the front and when the big South African holed an unlikely 26-footer for birdie on 16, it was his tournament to lose.

But McIlroy has made a habit of bouncing back when it looks like his chances are gone, and when Lawrence took the conservative approach on 17 and had to settle for par, McIlroy in the group behind had a glimmer of hope and two fairway woods got him to the front of the green. The Tour make percentage from 46 feet is 3%, but his fortunes turned and his weight and line were perfect and the resulting eagle brought him level with Lawrence who was choosing to layup on 18.

Rai’s hopes found a watery grave on the last, but Horschel followed McIlroy in for birdie on 17 to get within one and it was all to play for on the last. An underhit wedge left Lawrence just inside 30 feet and agonisingly left his putt a roll short, leaving McIlroy in the fairway behind with the tournament in his hands.

With no 3-iron in the bag, he was between clubs and hoped adrenaline would propel his 4-iron the required distance, but a pull seemed destined for the hazard until lady luck shined upon him and it came up just short, leaving a tricky chip but a chance to get up-and-down for the win.

Horschel almost picked his pocket with a wedge that almost spun back in for eagle, and came to rest a short distance away, meaning that if McIlroy failed to make birdie, a three-way playoff was a near certainty.

McIlroy’s short-sided pitch ran 16 feet past but was unable to convert so, following Horschel’s birdie, it was back to the 18th tee for the trio.

This time, McIlroy took the most aggressive of lines off the tee with his 3-wood and found position ‘A1’ down the right side of the fairway. Lawrence, out of position from the off, exited the stage when his third shot from the bunker spun off the green and into the hazard, but both McIlroy and Horschel missed the green right, the American in the bunker and McIlroy in the right rough.

Horschel’s splash was good, but a little pacy and ran six feet past, while McIlroy, coming across the ridge and downhill, got a hard kick left and left himself closer to 10 feet.

He held his nerve to hole the putt, piling the pressure onto the American who was up to the task, and it was back to the 18th tee once again.

McIlroy hit a fabulous four-iron into the heart of the 18th green but credit must go to Horschel. A proud West Ham fan, he was iron like in his response as he pipped a long iron just inside McIlroy.

McIlroy’s eagle effort would have been great nine times out of ten as it narrowly evaded the hole for a tap in birdie but Horschel became the latest player to spoil the Rory party and he knocked in his eagle effort to snatch his 2nd BMW PGA title away from the Holywood man with an almost sheepish celebration.