There is a bit of a poor man’s Ryder Cup feel to what awaits Sunday’s Tour Championship final round.
Sure, there are eight other players within five shots of co-leaders Rory McIlroy and Billy Horschel. But for simplicity sake, it’s just so much easier to focus on the last twosome, and the match between the prides of Holywood, Northern Ireland, and Grant, Fla.
Horschel, who won’t be part of the real Ryder Cup in two weeks even though he currently is the hottest player on either side of the pond, is so amped to play with the world’s No. 1 that he was suggesting they putt by moonlight.
“Can we just go ahead and tee it up right now?” he said, coming off the course Saturday evening. “I mean, I’m serious. I would love to tee it up right now. It would help me out a lot.”
With a win and a second in his previous two tournaments, and having led at the end of each of the first three rounds at East Lake, Horschel is understandably anxious to keep riding his roll. He shot his 11th consecutive round in the 60s Saturday (1-under 69) to push his third-round lead to 9 under.
Joining him there, two shots clear of the field, was McIlroy, by virtue of a 67 that satisfied all leadership requirements but not his proud standards.
“I haven’t played my best golf by any stretch this week, but I’m sort of grinding out scores and trying to keep myself at the top of the leaderboard,” he said. It was his eagle putt from just off the green — measured at precisely 26 feet, 9 inches — on the par-5 15th that eventually tied him with Horschel.
Yes, there is other clutter behind them.
Two shots back is Jim Furyk, the stubborn 44-year-old who seems to loiter near the lead of every tournament he enters, like that party guest who just won’t leave. He, in particular, has made the FedEx Cup his personal 401k, with more top 10 finishes in playoff events (14) than anyone since 2007.
Three are three back, at 6 under. That would be 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, the suddenly serious Rickie Fowler, now playing it as straight as the bill of his cap, and Jason Day, the fellow whose playing record may yet one day be as thick as his medical records.
But, for viewers who decide Sunday to split their time between those NFL players currently between suspensions and golf, the temptation will be strong to zero in on McIlroy-Horschel.
For one, should it come down to those two at the end, no slide rule will be required to figure out who gets the big $10 million FedEx Cup bonus. Winner takes all. (Well, OK, second place gets a nice $3 million consolation).
For another, everyone loves a straight-forward, head-to-head meeting, with the slightest nationalistic undertone.
The two share a bit of an interesting history, dating back to amateur days and the 2007 Walker Cup. Horschel beat McIlroy twice early in that international event, and his overt enthusiasm seemed to grate on the Northern Irishman. “His antics really (honked) me off,” McIlroy told Golf Digest a year later. He turned around and beat Horschel in a match at the close, and made sure to let his opponent know it.
But since they have fallen into the general fraternal conviviality that so rules the professional locker room. They’ve even played a practice round together at last year’s U.S. Open, and offered encouragement both ways when the situation required. So, we can’t make this into as much a grudge match as maybe we’d wish.
Instead, we’ll pit the current undisputed best player on the planet against the plucky underdog, who is just trying to cobble together a college fund for his unborn child.
With two majors in his pocket, McIlroy already has Player of the Year sewed up. Now it just a matter of gilding one of the most successful of seasons, non-Tiger Woods division.
“It’s just another chance to win another big tournament, and I really want to take advantage of that,” he said.
Meanwhile, the excitable Horschel can barely contain himself.
That energy is sure to radiate all the way to his home outside Jacksonville, where waits his wife, just weeks away from the scheduled delivery of their first child.
Who knows what a victory here Sunday could do to that schedule? Even induce labor, perhaps?
“You know, I thought about that,” Horschel said, laughing. “There could be a chance. I’m sure if I do win, there’s going to be a lot of excitement at the house.
“You never know, it could. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe I’ll have time to get home right for the birth,” he said. With ample money for diapers and formula in hand.
About the Author
