Quicken Loans National:
Overnight leader and sponsor invite Billy Hurley III steadied a 2-under-par 35-34=69 in the final round of the Quicken Loans National for a 72-hole aggregate of 17-under 267, good for a three-shot win over Hall of Famer Vijay Singh and his first PGA TOUR title in his 104th career start.
This was the 7th playing of the QL National at Congressional CC in Bethesda, Maryland, and the 10th edition overall. The 7,569-yard par-71 layout played to a cumulative scoring average of 70.933.
Hurley III was the second-lowest-ranked player in the field at No. 607 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and was a pre-tourney 125/1 outright. He entered the week having played only 11 events this season on conditional status and a best finish of T41 three starts prior at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
The 34-year-old’s previous-best finish on TOUR was T4 two times, most recently at the 2014 Greenbrier where he was the 54-hole leader by two but shot a 3-over 73, and also here in 2012 after rounds of 69-73-66-72.
Hurley III co-led thru 36 holes this week after opening his fifth appearance in 66-65, and took a two-shot lead into the finale over Hall of Famer and playing competitor Ernie Els after a third-round 67, breaking the previous 54-hole tournament record of 199 (Troy Merritt/Kevin Chappell, 2015) at 15-under 198.
He went out in 1-under 35, erasing bogey at the second with birdies on Nos. 1 and 9, but Els climbed to within one at the break with a first-nine 34. The Virginia native and Maryland resident 3-putted the par-4 12th (from 28 feet) for bogey-5, but calmly dropped a 10’2” par-saver on the par-3 13th to avoid back-to-backs.
Two holes later, he crafted the shot of his life, pitching-in from 35 yards away at the 15th for birdie-3 and backed it up with a 27'3" birdie putt on the par-5 16th. He improves to 1-for-3 when the 36-hole leader/co-leader and 1-for-2 when leading/co-leading after 54 holes.
With the win, Hurley III earns a two-year exemption on TOUR and secures invites to this week’s WGC-Bridgestone, the PGA Championship, the Hyundai TOC and the Masters. He also vaults 438 places to 169th in OWGR, two shy of a career-best 167th after the 2014 Open Championship.
Hurley III collects 500 FedExCup (FEC) points for the victory, catapulting from 198th in the FEC standings to 70th, and deposits $1,242,000, more than he made in 26 events during his previous-best season in 2014. He also gains entry into Royal Troon as this week’s top-finisher in The Open Championship Qualifying Series.
Winner’s Weekly Stats (ranking of 78 players):
Birdies: 22 (2nd)
Bogeys: 5 (T2)
Par-3 Scoring: 3.00 (T38)
Par-4 Scoring: 3.80 (T1)
Par-5 Scoring: 4.33 (2nd)
Driving Distance: 284.4 yards (58th)
Driving Accuracy: 36/56 (T17) at 64.29 percent
Greens in Regulation: 54/72 (T16) at 75.00 percent
Proximity to Hole: 26’1” (6th)
Putts per GIR: 1.667 (T7)
Total Putts: 110 (T3); by round: 27-26-28-29
Scrambling: 14/18 (5th) at 77.78 percent
SG: Off-the-Tee: 0.677 (37th)
SG: Approach-to-the-Green: 10.230 (1st)
SG: Around-the-Green: 3.250 (8th)
SG: Tee-to-Green: 14.157 (1st)
SG: Putting: 2.574 (26th)
Golf Channel Perfect Picks ($2,000,507):
Group 1: Justin Thomas (T12): $127,157
Group 2: Bill Haas (T3): $400,200
Group 3: Harold Varner III (7th): $231,150
Group 4: Billy Hurley III (Won): $1,242,000
Note: Hurley III was the first Group 4 winner since Brian Stuard at the weather-shortened Zurich Classic and just the THIRD of the fantasy season (Vaughn Taylor, AT&T Pebble Beach).
Draw:
Despite a weather delay of 2 hours and 15 minutes on Thursday, each round started and ended on the same day, a rare occurrence this season.
In total, 78 players from a field of 119 (Bud Cauley, hand, was a late scratch and not replaced) with 38 (of 57) EARLY/late advancing (two WDs, one DNS), versus 40 (of 60) LATE/early.
Of the four top-finishers in Golf Channel, three emerged from EARLY/late ranks, including the champion.
Billy Hurley III (Won): EARLY/late
Bill Haas (T3): EARLY/late
Harold Varner III (7th): EARLY/late
Justin Thomas (T12): LATE/early
Golf Channel aside, if you look at the top-7 finishers overall, SIX were EARLY/late, with Vijay Singh the only one to buck the trend.
Billy Hurley III (Won): EARLY/late
Vijay Singh (2nd): LATE/early
Bill Haas (T3): EARLY/late
Jon Rahm (T3): EARLY/late
Ernie Els (5th): EARLY/late
Webb Simpson (6th): EARLY/late
Harold Varner III (7th): EARLY/late
An interesting (and rare) occurrence took place this week. Of the top-7 finishers, ALL seven were in the top 7 after 36 holes as well, so gamers saw NO changes to names on the leaderboard from day’s end Friday thru day’s end Sunday.
The last time something similar happened on TOUR was at the 2014 WGC-Bridgestone, 87 events ago.
Yahoo! Low Rounds:
R1: Jon Rahm (64)
R2: Billy Hurley III (65)
R3: Ernie Els (65)
R4: John Huh, Chris Kirk, Francesco Molinari, Vijay Singh (65)
Bogey-free Rounds:
R1: Jon Rahm (64); Harold Varner III (66); Wesley Bryan (66); John Senden (67); Rickie Fowler (68); Vijay Singh (68); Byeong-Hun An (69); Jon Curran (69)
R2: Webb Simpson (68); Bill Haas (69); Sam Saunders (70)
R3: Ernie Els (65); Billy Hurley III (67); Bill Haas (68); Kevin Streelman (69)
R4: John Huh (65); Martin Laird (68); Bill Haas (68)
The Runner-up:
14-under 270
Vijay Singh: The Big Fijian matched the low round of the day on Sunday with a 6-under-par 32-33=65, up four places to solo second, three back of the champion.
The 53-year-old, looking to become the oldest winner on TOUR ever, circled seven birdies against a lone bogey on a failed scramble on the 71st hole. He bounced back with a 6'1" birdie on the 72nd hole for a walk-off 3 to record his best finish at the QLN, supplanting T7 in 2009, and his best lap in the tournament in his 32nd career round.
The Hall of Famer and Life Member nets just his second top 10 of the season in 16 starts (T6, Honda), and the runner-up is his 28th in 584 career events, first since the 2013-14 Frys.com Open.
With rounds of 68-66-71-65, Singh also claimed one of the four spots available this week to The Open Championship, going to the top four finishers inside the top 12 and ties who were not already exempt. More importantly perhaps, he leapfrogs 70 places in the FEC standings to No. 73.
3rd-Place (x2):
13-under 271
Jon Rahm: The sponsor invite conjured up a 1-under-par 35-35=70 in the final round to wrap his tournament and pro debut in a two-way T3, four swings shy of fellow sponsor invite and champion Hurley III.
Playing out of the penultimate twosome with 2013 champ Bill Haas, the 21-year-old began the finale on 12-under and in solo third, three back of the eventual champ. He led outright after the week’s low round of 64 and co-led thru 36 holes with a second-round 67. The former ASU standout played the weekend in twin 70s to record four red numbers and after taking home low am honors at last week’s U.S. Open with T23, he nabs one (of four) spots available this week at Congressional to The Open Championship in three weeks, where he’ll make his tournament debut.
Interestingly enough, he had just given up his Open exemption as the Mark H McCormack Medal winner as the No. 1-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in 2015.
The two-time Ben Hogan Award winner totaled 20 birdies for the week against seven bogeys en route to his best finish on TOUR in just his sixth career start, supplanting T5 at the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Bill Haas: The Wake Forest alum authored a bogey-free 3-under-par 35-33=68 in the final round to bump one place into a two-way T3, four back of overnight leader and eventual champ Hurley III.
It was his third consecutive blemish-free lap and overall, was bogey-free over his final 61 HOLES but alas, couldn’t card enough birdies to catch the would-be champ. For the week, the 34-year-old was No. 1 in total bogeys with only two, both coming in the first round, but was T24 in total birdies with only 15, three in each of his weekend laps.
Each of Haas’ three conversions in R4 traveled greater than 11 feet, with a long of 28'6" at the par-4 14th, but the only time he had a chance from inside of 10 feet came at the par-4 eighth, and he missed birdie from 4'5". His T3 is his fifth top 10 of the season in 17 starts, but first in stroke play since his playoff loss at the Valspar in mid-March. Haas bumps nine places in the FEC standings to No. 27.
What We Learned:
The pre-tourney odds-favorites have won just TWICE this season thru 33 events and Jordan Spieth has both of them, winning the DEAN & DELUCA and the Hyundai TOC. Rickie Fowler was the pre-tourney fave this week at 14/1 and finished T44 on 1-under 283 (68-68-73-74), 16 shots behind the champion.
In total, nine of the Top 50 OWGR were in the field and ONE finished in the Top 10:
No. 39: Bill Haas (T3)
If you STRETCH the list, 31 of the Top 100 OWGR were in the field, but only three more joined Haas:
No. 60: Smylie Kaufman (T10); back door with closing 67
No. 76: Webb Simpson (6th); 10-under 274 (67-68-68-71)
No. 83: Francesco Molinari (T8); back door with closing 65
Shout Outs:
No. 98: Kevin Streelman: The 37-year-old finished T12 on 6-under 278 (71-68-69-70). It’s his third straight top-15 finish (T13/U.S. Open, T8/Memorial).
No. 296: Ernie Els: The Hall of Famer backed up with a 1-over-par 34-38=72 in the final round for a four-day total of 12-under 272 (66-69-65-72), down three spots to solo fifth, five back of the champion.
He was chasing his 20th TOUR win in his 420th career start, first since the 2012 Open Championship. The 46-year-old played out of the final pairing with Hurley III and began the finale in solo second on 13-under, two back.
He landed just half (of 14) fairways and nine greens in regulation but circled six birdies for a stellar 1.444 putts per GIR. For the week, he was No. 1 in the latter at 1.553 so he made the most of his scoring chances. Unfortunately, he erased all his great work in R4 with five bogeys and a costly double bogey at the par-3 10th where he put his tee shot into the water, this after climbing to within one of Hurley at the break.
On the plus side, Els bags his first top 10 of the season in his 15th start, first since a T5 at the 2014 Barclays 22 months ago, and climbs 26 places in the FEC standings to No. 151.
No. 493: Andres Gonzales: The 33-year-old finished T12 on 6-under 278 (69-72-69-68). It’s a season best and just his second top 25 in 22 starts with the other a T15 at the 54-hole Zurich Classic. The UNLV alum led the field in GIR at 84.72 percent (61/72), including ALL 18 in the final round.
Biggest Disappointments:
Any number of pre-tourney headliners could populate this category but we’ll focus on two:
Rickie Fowler: The QLN Ambassador was the top-ranked player in the field at No. 6 OWGR and as mentioned above, the pre-tourney odds fave. On the plus side, he did end a streak of three consecutive missed cuts.
The 27-year-old, runner-up in 2015 at RTJ GC, opened promisingly with a bogey-free 3-under 68 and after another 68 in R2, sat T8 on the leaderboard, five back of 36-hole co-leaders Hurley III and Rahm. He got progressively worse from there however, posting weekend rounds of 73-74.
Patrick Reed: The 25-year-old was the second-highest at OWGR No. 13 and entered the week co-leading the TOUR in top-10 finishes with nine. The last time the QLN was held at Congressional (2014), he was the 54-hole leader by two before a closing 77 left him T11.
This year, he was T14 thru 54 holes (68-70-70) and entered the finale just one off the overnight top 10, but limped home in 74 (two birdies, five bogeys) to drop 25 places to T39.
Top-ranked player to miss the cut:
No. 62: Ryan Palmer missed the cut by three (3-over 69-76=145).
There were 21 first-timers in field of 119, and NINE (of 17) TOUR rookies.
Harold Varner III: While Rahm was the top debutant, Varner III took top rookie honors with solo seventh on 9-under 275 (66-69-70-70), jumping 12 places in the FEC standings to No. 60. He’s now connected eight straight paydays with five of those top 25s, three of which are top 10s. Overall, the 25-year-old has seven top 25s this season in 22 starts with four top 10s.
As one of the four top finishers in the top 12 and ties not already exempt, the East Carolina University alum also secured a spot in The Open Championship at Royal Troon in three weeks, where he’ll be making his tournament debut.
Honorable Mention:
Smylie Kaufman: The 24-year-old, battling wrist tendonitis that caused a pre-tourney WD at the Wells Fargo, back-doored a T10 on 7-under 277 (67-73-70-67) in his tournament debut. It’s his fourth top 10 of the season in 21 events but first since T8 at Doral the first week of March, 10 starts ago.
In addition, at 18th in the FedExCup standings, the Alabama native and resident qualified for the 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon, where he’ll be making his championship debut. The LSU alum finished T29 at the Masters out of the final pairing on Sunday, and missed the cut at the U.S. Open.
Up Next:
The TOUR plays two this week with the 61-man WGC-Bridgestone Invitational taking center stage. Shane Lowry is the defending champion at Firestone CC, winning his lone TOUR title in come-from-behind fashion with a bogey-free 66, besting Bubba Watson, who also shot a closing 66, by two shots. The opposite-field event is the 132-man Barracuda Championship in Reno, Nevada, where J.J. Henry defeated Kyle Reifers last year in sudden death after the duo deadlocked at +47 points in the Modified Stableford Format.
Stay tuned to this space for all the latest player news and opinions as the TOUR readies for its 34th and 35th tournaments of the season.
