This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
So many wonderful stories were unfolding at the Quicken Loans National on Sunday. Really, any one of them would have put a smile on your face. But in the end, the best story of them all was the one that actually happened.
Thirty-four-year-old former U.S. Navy Lieutenant and Washington-area native Billy Hurley III won his first PGA tournament, and it's the one that honors American servicemen and servicewomen more than any other.
Hurley defeated 53-year-old Vijay Singh by three shots and 21-year-old Jon Rahm, in his first professional event, by four. Playing partner Ernie Els, bidding for his first title in four years, was another shot back at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., where the South African won the U.S. Open almost a quarter-century ago.
This past year had been one of incredible heartache for Hurley. He had been playing without a tour card because he came up $394 short in earnings. His best finish this season, when he was even able to make it to the weekend, had been 41st. And it was at last year's Quicken Loans National that Hurley announced that his father had gone missing. Three weeks later, the elder Hurley died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
"It's been a hard year, been a really hard year," Hurley, choking back tears, said on TV immediately after he won the tournament. "So, it's nice to have something go well."
Hurley had never finished higher than fourth in 103 previous PGA events. He was ranked 607th in
So many wonderful stories were unfolding at the Quicken Loans National on Sunday. Really, any one of them would have put a smile on your face. But in the end, the best story of them all was the one that actually happened.
Thirty-four-year-old former U.S. Navy Lieutenant and Washington-area native Billy Hurley III won his first PGA tournament, and it's the one that honors American servicemen and servicewomen more than any other.
Hurley defeated 53-year-old Vijay Singh by three shots and 21-year-old Jon Rahm, in his first professional event, by four. Playing partner Ernie Els, bidding for his first title in four years, was another shot back at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., where the South African won the U.S. Open almost a quarter-century ago.
This past year had been one of incredible heartache for Hurley. He had been playing without a tour card because he came up $394 short in earnings. His best finish this season, when he was even able to make it to the weekend, had been 41st. And it was at last year's Quicken Loans National that Hurley announced that his father had gone missing. Three weeks later, the elder Hurley died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
"It's been a hard year, been a really hard year," Hurley, choking back tears, said on TV immediately after he won the tournament. "So, it's nice to have something go well."
Hurley had never finished higher than fourth in 103 previous PGA events. He was ranked 607th in the world, 198th in the FedEx Cup point standings and, candidly, wasn't in the 120-man invitational field because of his on-course success. This is why Hurley was invited: He was born in nearby Leesburg, Va., and in 2004 graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, where he and his family now live. He rose to the rank of lieutenant while serving from 2004 to 2009, including a stint on a destroyer in the Persian Gulf.
Now, Hurley's job is "only" golf, but on Sunday he displayed the poise befitting military personnel. Forged in a four-way battle for the title, Hurley hit the shot of his life, a 35-yard chip-in for birdie on No. 15 that extended his lead to two shots. As the pro-Hurley crowd roared, he pumped his right fist.
"That's probably like the most emotion I've ever shown in my life," Hurley said in his post-tournament news conference.
None other than tournament host Tiger Woods called the shot, "impressive, really impressive."
Then on No. 16, Hurley rolled in a 27-foot putt for birdie that effectively made the final two holes a coronation in front of friends, family and partisan military members. Two Naval officers were the honorary starters.
"To have a serviceman actually win the event, it doesn't get any better than that," Woods told reporters. He's actually truly one that did serve his country, and for him to win an event that honors the military more than any other event, it's very apropos that he did it here."
Hurley closed with a 2-under 69 and played all four rounds in the 60s, finishing at 17-under 267. The victory propelled him up the world rankings, to No. 169. And he's now 70th in the FedEx standings.
After missing out on full playing privileges by a measly 400 bucks, Hurley won more than $1.2 million on Sunday, and secured his card through 2018. He's been added to the field for the elite WGC-Bridgestone this week, the Open Championship at Royal Troon in two weeks, the PGA Championship in August and next year's Masters. (Hurley was noncommittal about the Open, as his sister is getting married in Leesburg that weekend.)
"You know, it all happened so fast there," Hurley said, according to the Washington Post. "Holing the wedge shot, the pitch on 15, and then making the putt on 16. Yeah, it's cliché, but a dream come true. This is the stuff I remember being in plebe summer at the Naval Academy telling one of my teammates I was going to play on the PGA Tour, and he kind of chuckled at me.
"Now to have won on the PGA Tour, unbelievable."
MONDAY BACKSPIN
Vijay Singh
Singh is 53 years old. Sam Snead is the oldest winner of a PGA Tour event, at 52 in 1965. Singh's level of play when golfers his age salivate on the Champions Tour is impressive. His runner-up position qualified him for the Open Championship, along with Hurley, Rahm and Harold Varner III. Singh is 73rd in the point standings, so he'll be in the playoffs. He's made six straight cuts, so he's clearly a viable lineup option. The only problem is, his price just went up.
Jon Rahm
An owner in the RotoWire league picked up Rahm last week. Shrewd move. After tying for 23rd at the U.S. Open as an amateur, the former Arizona State star made his pro debut a memorable one. Rahm led for much of the tournament before settling for a tie for third with former Quicken champion Bill Haas. Sometimes, rookie golfers can elevate in such situations before falling back a bit. See: Bryson DeChambeau.
Ernie Els
Els hasn't won since the 2012 Open Championship, a victory that will carry him into the field at Royal Troon. At $5,700 in DraftKings, he was a nice investment, at least for one week. Still, the 46-year-old has a long way to go just to get into the playoffs. He sits in 151st place after his first top-10 of the season, one that ended a string of four straight missed cuts. It was a nice story, a great story, seeing Els in contention. Of course, don't count on it leading to greater things for Els.
Rickie Fowler
Speaking of things going wrong – okay, we weren't talking about things going wrong but we are now: Rickie Fowler. The Twittersphere was all excited when the No. 6 golfer in the world made the cut. Woo-hoo! Then said golfer followed twin 68s with a 73-74 to plummet to T44. Fowler hasn't been the same since being chased down by Hideki Matsuyama in Phoenix in February. Because of Henrik Stenson's win in Europe (more on that below), Fowler has fallen another spot to No. 7 in the world.
Patrick Reed
Speaking, still, of things going wrong, what in the world has happened to Patrick Reed, formerly a self-proclaimed top-five golfer? Yes, he has nine top-10s in 19 starts this season, but he was T39 at Congressional, continuing a stretch of not really contending. Reed hasn't won since the 2015-opening Hyundai some 18 months ago.
Charles Howell III
Howell has cooled off considerably from his hot start to the season, and was T75 at the Quicken. Gamers have already gotten their money's worth out of Howell, no matter how the rest of the year plays out, but he's not the value he was. He still can't get into the majors, having missed the Masters and U.S. Open and, likely, the Open Championship.
Rory Sabbatini
Sabbatini returned after a two-month absence due to a neck injury. He had surgery on May 7, so this seemed like a hasty return, and it showed. He missed the cut, his 10th in 15 starts this season. At 40 years old, Sabbatini's best days are long behind him, but now that he's presumably healthy, he should do a bit better than he had been.
Ollie Schniederjans
One of the Class of '11 wunderkinds who burst upon the scene last year before flaming out, Schniederjans won the Web.com Tour's Air Capital Classic in Wichita, Kan., to lock up his PGA Tour card for next season. It's no fun having to go play in the Wichitas of the world, but this may have been the best thing for the 23-year-old former Georgia Tech star.
Henrik Stenson
Stenson won the BMW International in Germany for his first title in almost two years. The win moved the Swede to No. 5 in the world – causing Fowler's drop – and puts aside concerns about his injury-withdrawal from the U.S. Open. The victory leaves Justin Rose as the only non-winner among the OWGR's top-10 this year (yes, even Fowler has won). Stenson will be among a prominent European contingent that will skip this week's WGC-Bridgestone in favor of the 100th edition of the French Open. Others playing across the pond: Rory McIlroy, Danny Willett, Lee Westwood, Rafael Cabrera Bello, Andy Sullivan, Matthew Fitzpatrick and defending champion Bernd Wiesberger – all of whom are in the top 50 in the world – plus Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald. That's a big hit for the Bridgestone.
