Chris Kirk leads by one at Sony Open in Hawaii

IRVING, Texas – It actually started with a tee shot that found the water at the 17th hole last week at THE PLAYERS Championship. Billy Horschel had just suffered the same fate as many others who’ve missed the island green at TPC Sawgrass. It had been a frustrating day, a rollercoaster second round, one that would end with his fourth consecutive missed cut in a season that was rapidly unraveling. After hitting from the drop zone, Horschel began making the trek toward the green and a looming double bogey. That’s when his caddie Josh Cassell made a remark that now seems uncannily prescient. “You know what? We’re going to go next week to Dallas, to the Byron Nelson – and we’re going to win,â€� Cassel told Horschel. Horschel didn’t dismiss the remark as merely a confidence-booster on a bad hole. He thought there was something more tangible, more significant to it. “He didn’t say it just to say it,â€� Horschel said. “He saw something.â€� On Sunday, he fulfilled his caddie’s promise, beating world No. 3 Jason Day on the first playoff hole to claim the AT&T Byron Nelson, his first victory since winning the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup in 2014. It ended unexpectedly and abruptly, with Day missing a 4-foot par putt on the 18th hole that would have extended the playoff after both players finished at 12 under in regulation. But perhaps more unexpected – at least to everybody but his caddie and perhaps the rest of their team – was Horschel’s mere presence in the playoff. He had come to the TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas in the midst of his least productive stretch on the PGA TOUR since his rookie season of 2011 when he missed 14 cuts in 25 starts. His practice sessions were good, but he couldn’t translate it to competition days. He was sidelined for big tournaments, didn’t play the Masters Tournament this year, vowed he wouldn’t watch – and then couldn’t help himself. His confidence, always high, was severely tested. “The conscious mind sort of tries to knock you off your pedestal,â€� Horschel said, “but the subconscious is shown in the conscious mind, and that was trying to keep reminding myself that, hey, you’re a great player, you can do this.â€� So now it’s Friday of THE PLAYERS. Horschel has found the water at 17, has just signed for a 4-over 76, has just missed the cut in his hometown event. And yet a feeling of calmness came over him. The score didn’t reflect it, but he had just turned the corner with his game. His ball-striking – the thing he does best, the thing that fueled his FedExCup run three years ago – was finally back in rhythm. During his missed-cut stretch, Horschel’s swing had been revved up. “Amped up by 10 times,â€� his coach, Todd Anderson, told him. In the second round at TPC Sawgrass, the swing finally slowed down. It felt more like how Horschel should be swinging. It was a sense of relief. “I felt at peace,â€� Horschel said. “… I walked off the course with a sense of I didn’t feel like compared to three other missed cuts I had.â€� But did he think he would win this week? Not exactly. Only Cassell predicted that. Perhaps there were other factors at work. After all, it’s been a rather interesting stretch. Before finding the water on the 17th hole that Friday at TPC Sawgrass, Horschel was upset about a missed shot on the 13th hole when his shot bounced into the water. Horschel tossed a club at this bag after finishing the hole, and the video went viral, some people assuming he was upset or showing up his caddie. Horschel felt compelled to address the situation on his Twitter account the next day in hopes of clearing the air. It was a terrific move, as he didn’t allow the situation to fester. Then on Sunday, Australian John Senden – who lives in the Dallas area — showed up at TPC Four Seasons with his son Jacob. Senden has taken a leave of absence from the TOUR to be with his son, who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. This week, players wore Rubik’s Cube patches on their caps; it’s Jacob’s favorite toy. Guess who used to caddie for Senden? Josh Cassell. In fact, Cassell went to Senden’s house on Thursday. Horschel saw Senden and his son on the range Sunday before his round and said hello. Obviously, Horschel’s win is also Cassell’s win … and by extension, maybe it’s also an uplifting moment for Senden and Jacob. Approached on Sunday after Horschel’s win, Cassell appreciated receiving words of congratulations but preferred not to discuss the win. You got the feeling he might break down emotionally. Even Horschel felt the way. His three previous wins – even the back-to-back ones that fueled his FedExCup victory – never felt like this, he said. “It’s really surreal,â€� Horschel said, adding, “I’m sort of speechless.â€� Anybody who knows Horschel knows that doesn’t happen often. Or ever. Until this week, nothing had really ever happened for Horschel in this event. In his two previous starts, he had missed the cut both times; in fact, he was a cumulative 26 over in his four rounds. TPC Four Seasons didn’t seem to like him. And he didn’t like it. But he will now go down as the last winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson at this course. Next year the tournament moves to its new location, Trinity Forest, a course Horschel has never seen but looks forward to playing. On Sunday, though, the last call at TPC Four Seasons belonged to him. “I was never a fan of this course,â€� Horschel said, “Now I am and I won — and I don’t want to leave.â€�

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. – One week after beating Tiger Woods, Sam Burns returned to his alma mater and the life he left to ply his trade. Burns was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to visit his former teammates, throw out the first pitch at an LSU baseball game and attend his girlfriend’s sorority formal. His final-round playing partner the previous week was a popular topic of conversation. Burns estimates he was asked about Woods some 40 times, though his body language and slight laugh seemed to imply that the inquiry came even more frequently. “I kind of miss it,� Burns said about college. However, he was playing golf last Friday in Louisiana while his friends were in class. “I don’t miss that part of it,� he joked. Burns, 21, would be a junior at LSU if he hadn’t decided to turn pro last year. Now he may be pro golf’s hot new prospect after going toe-to-toe with Tiger in the final round of The Honda Classic. Burns finished eighth after a bogey-free 68 that was two shots lower than Woods’ Sunday score. “I thought Sam would play great because Sam always thought this day would happen,� said his college coach, Chuck Winstead. “Deep down he sees himself as a great player and great players are eventually paired with great players. He has an inner belief that the best have that isn’t contingent on each round or each tournament.� Burns is back on the PGA TOUR this week after his brief return to campus. His T8 finish at The Honda Classic – which wasn’t even the best finish of his brief PGA TOUR career – earned him a start at the Valspar Championship. He also has a spot in next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Woods approached Burns for a brief chat Tuesday at Innisbrook’s putting green. There was a box of new clothes awaiting Burns when he arrived at his locker after his practice session. He’s fitting in nicely on the PGA TOUR. The only question is how much more he’ll play here this season. Burns can use three more sponsor exemptions this season. This week doesn’t count against that limit, nor does his start at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. He earned that appearance by winning last year’s Jack Nicklaus Award as college golf’s top player. He’s hoping to use one of his remaining invitations on the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in his home state. He said former Memorial champion William McGirt is a prospective teammate. Burns also has Web.com Tour status this season after his 10th-place finish at Q-School. He ranks 13th on the money list after a runner-up finish in at the Club Colombia Championship. He plans on returning to the tour for the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by NACHER, but his time there could be limited if he continues his good play. Burns is 147 non-member FedExCup points from earning special temporary membership, which would allow him to accept unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season. He could take care of that with a third-place finish this week. A solo fourth would leave him just 12 points short. “I honestly don’t know what that is,� Burns said Tuesday. “If I play well, that takes care of itself.� The Valspar is the same event where Jordan Spieth earned his first TOUR status in 2013. He became a special temporary member after a runner-up at the Puerto Rico Open and seventh-place finish at Innisbrook. He won the John Deere Classic later that year, qualified for the TOUR Championship and made the Presidents Cup team. Spieth and Woods are the only players to qualify for the TOUR Championship after starting the season without TOUR status. Burns may face long odds to replicate that feat, but he’s surged to the head of the class among this talented crop of rookie pros. This, despite being left off the 10-man U.S. team that competed at last year’s Walker Cup. Fellow LSU alum John Peterson used his Walker Cup omission as motivation, nearly winning the 2012 U.S. Open after being left off the previous year’s team. Burns is responding in similar fashion. “It’s probably something I think I’ll never get over as long as I live because when you’re 50 or 60 years old you want to tell your kids that you played in the Walker Cup,� Burns said. “I’ll never be able to do that, so I think that it will always leave a bad taste in my mouth.� He wasn’t picked for the team despite winning one of college golf’s player of the year awards and finishing T6 at the Barbasol Championship while still an amateur. He’s made the cut in three of four starts this season, adding a T20 at the Shriners Hospitals for Championship and T43 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Burns has seen PGA TOUR players up close since his childhood. He’s longtime friends with Carter Toms, son of 13-time TOUR winner David Toms. Burns has tagged along on family vacations, where he also competed against players like Davis Love III. Burns texted Toms for advice on playing with Woods at PGA National. Toms told Burns to putt out first, when possible, so that the crowds wouldn’t be running while he was over his ball. Advice is worthless, though, if the recipient doesn’t have the game to compete. Burns birdied his first hole with Woods, knocking his approach shot to 3 feet, and was bogey-free in the Honda’s final round. “When he plays his game as good as anyone,� Toms said. “He always has that to fall back on.�

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Many wondered whether Brooks Koepka would compete in the Masters after last month’s Instagram post that showed him on crutches and his knee wrapped in bandages. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | Nine things to know about Augusta National “Only one way to go from here,” Koepka wrote in the caption. His road to recovery led to Augusta National, though his participation in this year’s Masters remained in question until he showed up on property Sunday. “If I knew I was going to finish second, I wouldn’t have shown up,” he said Sunday. “I feel I can win. I’ll play, I’ll play. I’ll be all right.” The four-time major winner is one of just four players to finish in the top-10 in the past two Masters. He was runner-up to Tiger Woods in 2019 and finished T7 in November. After struggling with injuries the past few years, Koepka won the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February — his first win since the 2019 World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational — and finished second in the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession later that month. He hasn’t competed since. He suffered ligament damage and dislocated his right kneecap when he slipped and fell in early March. He had surgery March 16. On Tuesday, Koepka declared his game “feels fine.” Walking the hilly property here is another issue. Going downhill puts extra pressure on his knee and Koepka said he may look a little awkward plucking his ball from the hole. “I can’t bend down. My knee doesn’t go. … It’s going to look funny, I know that. But what are you going to do?” he said Tuesday. “I’ve got to do it. No other option, is there?” It takes him about three hours in the morning to prepare to play, he said, but “once I get going, it’s all right.” Away from the course, it’s about staying off his feet and controlling the swelling. “He’s in great shape,” swing coach Pete Cowen told Sports Betting News. “The only problem is going to be the walking. It’s a tough course to walk.”

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