AT&T Byron Nelson: Horschel Wins in Playoff

Billy Horschel is a hot head on his best day. That doesn't mean that two weeks ago, when he threw a club and hit his caddie, was his best day. He said it was just an accident, that he and his caddie are all good. But it also came amid a frustrating season – really, a frustrating three seasons, ever since the end of 2014, when he came out of nowhere to win the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

That frustration came to end on Sunday, when Horschel won the AT&T Byron Nelson in a playoff over similarly frustrated Jason Day. Neither golfer had been putting well all season but both putted great all week. Until Day missed a four-footer on the first extra hole.

Horschel arrived in Irving, Texas, without a win since that '14 Tour Championship. He was riding four straight missed cuts. However, his game had a lot of good in it. From tee to green, he had been sharp. But week after week, things fell apart on the greens. Horschel's never been an elite putter, but also not well outside the top-100 in strokes gained putting as he was this season. He also arrived in Irving with a new putter, one he put into the bag just last week at The Players.

For the week, Horschel was tops in the field in SGP, moving him to a more familiar No. 72 on Tour for the season. He also was fifth in greens in regulation, sixth in driving distance, seventh in scrambling and 17th in driving accuracy. Really, he's been doing that all season – minus the putting.

After closing out Day, Horschel spoke of momentum and how every time he had a good week, he was scheduled to be off the following event. So nothing got going. Now, though, he is scheduled to play five straight weeks, culminating with the U.S, Open, for which he qualified by climbing inside the top 60 – to No. 44, in fact.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Jason Day

Day had fallen to fourth in the world (now third in the new rankings). That doesn't seem as bad as Horschel's frustrations until you consider he began the year as No. 1. After a record-setting year on the greens, Day's putter has deserted him this season (141st in SGP entering the week). Day was second to Horschel in SGP at the Nelson, but the lasting memory will be a missed four-footer to end the playoff. That said, Day has been trending better the past few weeks, to the point that now a win seems possible in the not-too-distant future.

Byeong Hun An

The guy can't putt. Imagine if he could? Well, An was 26th in strokes gained putting at Las Colinas, great for him but better than only three others in the top 12, and it carried him to a tie for fifth. An entered the week 151st in SGP and yet he was 100th in the FedEx point standings. So imagine if he could putt even a bit better? Keep an eye on him to see if he improves, even a sliver. His high finish moved him to No. 56 in the OWGR, good enough to qualify for the U.S. Open.

Jordan Spieth

Something clearly has been off for Spieth. He hasn't had so much as a top-10 since winning at Pebble Beach more than three months ago. But there was no hint that two missed cuts in a row could happen, no hint of shooting a quadruple-bogey 9 on the 16th hole on Friday to go from well inside the cutline to a horrid trunk-slam. The result dropped Spieth another spot in the OWGR, to No. 7. Now he heads to Colonial, where he surely will be the top price on the DraftKings board as the defending champ, with a runner-up the year before. Hard to justify paying for such a big number.

Kevin Tway

Out of nowhere, Tway finished T3-3-T5 in a three-week run – the three best cashes of his young career. We kept waiting for it to end, and the Nelson seemed like the perfect place, as Tway's momentum was stemmed because he didn't qualify for last week's Players. He didn't get another top five but did tie for 20th, an encouraging sign that his better play will not be fleeting.

Sam Saunders

Just like Tway, Saunders had a nice run going earlier in the spring, with a T5-T20-T11 following his emotional missed cut at Bay Hill. But now he has three MCs in a row, the latest at Las Colinas. And just like that, Saunders is no longer a good fantasy consideration.

Charley Hoffman

Hoffman and Texas seemingly go hand in hand. But he could do no better than T40 at the Nelson, meaning he's gone T40-T30-T40 his past three stroke-play events. The other T40 was also in Texas, at San Antonio. Hoffman, and the entire Tour, now head to Fort Worth. While Hoffman traditionally has done well at the Nelson, he hasn't done as well at Colonial. Combined with his so-so results of late, it might be a good week to skip the Hoffman/Texas connection.

Patrick Rodgers

Rodgers tied for 27th at Las Colinas, and that followed six straight missed cuts. To put that into context, he hadn't played a weekend since the West Coast swing. This is Rodgers' third season on Tour, and the former No. 1-ranked amateur hasn't even come close to establishing himself. He's gone 71 tournaments without a win. Rodgers is in the field for the Colonial and simply making a second straight cut would constitute real progress.

Harris English

English was runner-up to Spieth last year at Colonial. But think twice before using him in your lineup this week. English missed his fourth straight cut in a stroke-play event at the Nelson, hasn't had a good week since a T27 at the Valspar in early March and hasn't had a top-25 since January at Torrey Pines. After four straight quality seasons on Tour, the 27-year-old English has taken multiple steps back, sitting 118th in the point standings.

Ernie Els

There's no joy in seeing one of the great champions of the past quarter-century limp to the Champions Tour – with still three more years of limping to go. Els had made only three cuts in 13 starts, with not even a top-50, heading to the Nelson. So it was nice to see him close with a 2-under 68 to climb 17 spots and tie for 35th. Els still has not a lick of fantasy value in any format. It was just nice to see.

Steven Bowditch

There was some chatter on Twitter last week, and probably every week, basically asking: How does Stephen Bowditch get to play on the PGA Tour? He's now missed 18-of-19 cuts on the season, following another bad miss at the Nelson. He's 228th in the point standings, ahead of a handful of seniors, injured guys and those without their cards. But to answer the question: Bowditch has won on Tour – twice, in fact. And one of them was two years ago at Las Colinas. So Bowditch's time as a regular Tour golfer is ending, likely at the Wyndham, the last regular-season even of the 2016-17.

RotoWire Value Picks

Last week: One top-10, three top-25s, three MDFs, three missed cuts

This week: One top-five, two top-10s, seven top-25s, 12 top-50s, four missed cuts

We had had our best week in some time, with 12 of the 16 picks making the cut – and all of them finished top-50 in the field of 156. In Tier 1, three of the four guys landed top-20: Dustin Johnson and Tony Finau tied for 13th and Sergio Garcia tied for 20th, but Brooks Koepka took a step back with a T50. In Tier 2, Byeong Hun An was the shining star, tying for fifth at $8,000. Jason Dufner tied for 13th, Charley Hoffman tied for 40th, and Russell Henley badly missed the cut. In Tier 3, Sung Kang continued his strong play with a T20 as did Smylie Kaufman with a T35, but two of our four trunk-slams were Graham DeLaet and J.T. Poston, for whom the clock finally struck 12. Among the long shots, three of the four made the cut, most notably Nick Taylor at T9. Zac Blair tied for 40th, Billy Hurley III tied for 50th, and Jonathan Randolph missed the cut.

In our cash game, we cashed, finishing 23rd out of 57 with a lineup of Johnson, Dufner, Henley, Taylor, Hurley and Blair for 378.5 points.