There may not have been a PGA Tour event this weekend, but that cleared the stage for the DP World Tour’s flagship event and the final round of the 2024 BMW PGA Championship delivered a finish that was worthy of the moniker.
By the end of 72 holes, it came down to just Rory McIlroy, Billy Horschel and Thriston Lawrence.
The excitement heated up on No. 17, when Rory McIlroy drained a 47-foot eagle to tie the lead of Lawrence at 20 under. The four-time major winner, who brutally finished runner-up last week at the Irish Open, another in a string of disappointing finishes this year, then misplayed his second shot on the par-5 18th short of the water and couldn’t get up and down to win outright.
Billy Horschel, and 12 words to a defeated pro that tell us something more
Not to be outdone, Horschel (McIroy’s playing partner), showed his flare for the dramatic, nearly spinning his approach shot in for eagle, settling for a birdie to join the sudden death playoff alongside McIlroy and Lawrence.
Billy Horschel nearly holes out to take the lead on 18! #BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/7ENELmBpVu
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 22, 2024
Each player found themselves in difficult situations on the first playoff hole, but it was McIlroy and Horschel who got up-and-down to both birdie 18, with Lawrence carding a bogey after his third shot found the penalty area.
The playoff was narrowed from three to two — and the tension was high.
After each bombed their drive into the middle of the fairway, McIlroy flushed his approach right to the middle of the green. Horschel didn’t flinch, and matched him with an equally-impressive iron shot — leaving both players with eagle opportunities.
