DUBLIN, Ohio – Billy Horschel does not idle well.
He walks fast, talks fast, plays fast and is one to get, well, angry fast. His middle name could be Impatient. Or Fidgety.
Always been that way for the veteran. From time to time, he’s overcome his lack of easing off the pedal and won six PGA Tour titles. But for some time now, his team has urged him on many occasions to slow his roll.
He’s finally taking their advice.
After a heart-to-heart with his caddie, Mark “Fooch” Fulcher, following last week’s missed cut in the Charles Schwab Challenge, Horschel deliberately eased his pace and took 10-15 more seconds to figure out what the two wanted to do on every shot in The Memorial, Jack Nicklaus’ annual gathering of the game’s best players at Muirfield Village Golf Club, the course the Golden Bear built.
Through three rounds, it worked and Horschel led by five with 18 holes to play.
But come Sunday, Horschel had to rely on a heavy dose of his new approach – and a ton of patience – in the final round to overcome a pedestrian start and shake Nicklaus’ hand in victory.
In winning for the seventh time on the PGA Tour, Horschel didn’t buckle when his consecutive bogey-free streak ended at 50 holes with a bogey on the sixth. Didn’t buckle despite his overnight lead falling to two with six holes to play. Didn’t buckle even after driving his ball on the 13th into the trees.
Staring collapse directly in its face, Horschel laid up to 102 yards on 13 and then canned an 11-footer for par to increase his lead to four.
After making a gutsy par from eight feet on the 14th, Horschel had the big moment he was waiting for by making a 53-foot eagle putt on the 15th.
Horschel signed for an even-par 72 to finish at 13 under and four shots clear.
Aaron Wise was playing alongside Horschel and pushed him best he could. He made big par saves and then big birdie putts on the 10th and 11th holes and another strong par save on the 12th to pull within two. But Horschel held him off.
Wise finished second at 9 under with a 71.
Defending champion Patrick Cantlay and Joaquin Niemann each shot 71 to finish in a tie for third at 7 under.
Max Homa (69), Will Zalatoris (70), Denny McCarthy (72), Sahith Theegala (71) and Daniel Berger (73) finished in a tie for fifth at 6 under.
