Billy Horschel wins the BMW PGA Championship – European Ryder Cup Team line-up confirmed.

  • Billy Horschel (269 strokes, -19) triumphs at the BMW PGA
    Championship after a thriller on the final round at the Wentworth
    Club (London).
  • The 34-year-old becomes just the second American to secure
    victory at the flagship event on the European Tour, Arnold Palmer
    having won in 1975.
  • 110,000 spectators present for a ‘Festival of Golf’.
  • Bernd Wiesberger (AUT, -11, T20), defending champion Tyrrell
    Hatton (MC) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (both ENG, -11, 20) qualify
    for the European Ryder Cup team.
  • Captain Padraig Harrington hands wild cards to Sergio García
    (ESP), Shane Lowry (IRL, -12, T17), and Ian Poulter (ENG, MC).

 

Spectators were able to return after one-year hiatus imposed
by the Coronavirus pandemic, and fans enjoyed a top-quality BMW PGA
Championship at Wentworth that boasted sporting drama galore.
Horschel secured the title at the third Rolex Series event of the
year, and his second major BMW title after the BMW Championship in
Denver (USA) with an excellent final round of 65 (7 under par) and a
birdie at the 18th hole. There was also plenty of suspense around
the question of who would claim the final three qualification spots
on the Ryder Cup Team Europe, and fans were kept guessing until late
in the final round.

“On behalf of everyone at BMW, I would like to congratulate Billy
Horschel for winning the 2021 BMW PGA Championship,” said Chris
Brownridge, Chief Executive Officer BMW Group UK. “It has been
fantastic to see spectators safely back at Wentworth in person this
year and we have all been treated to an exciting tournament in return.”

A thrilling final round at times featured 15 players in with a chance
of the title but it was Horschel who proved most adept at keeping his
nerve. In the end, seven birdies without a single dropped shot were
the key to the first victory for an American golfer at an event in the
prestigious Rolex series. The 2014 FedExCup champion only pulled clear
of the field on the final hole, taking a brilliant approach shot and
following that up with a tap-in birdie.

“It feels amazing. We are talking about winning majors, the Players
Championship and a few other events, but after having been here in
2019, I added the BMW PGA Championship to that list,” said Horschel.
“In my opinion this is equal to winning a Players Championship. The
names on this trophy are legends in their own right. To be the second
American to win this event is amazing. There is something about me
playing well in BMW tournaments – I have to find some more BMW events
around the world.”

Second place was shared by Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA), Jamie
Donaldson (WAL) and Laurie Canter (ENG, all -18), ahead of Christiaan
Bezuidenhout (RSA, -17). Justin Rose, Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston (both
ENG) and Francesco Laporta (ITA, all -16) followed tied in sixth.

The BMW PGA Championship was the final tournament at which European
players had the chance to score points for the Ryder Cup. Four of the
nine qualification places were still mathematically up for grabs.
However, there was only a theoretical chance that England’s Matthew
Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton would miss out on qualification, so a
thrilling battle developed for the remaining three spots between Bernd
Wiesberger, Lee Westwood, and Shane Lowry. Wiesberger gave the most
solid performance over four rounds, becoming the first-ever Austrian
to qualify for the Ryder Cup. The advantage swung back and forth from
Westwood to Lowry, culminating in a heart-stopping finale on Sunday
that saw the Englishman claim the upper hand.

Lowry’s dream of participating in the Ryder Cup for the first time
will still come true, however, as captain Padraig Harrington nominated
the Irish golfer as Captain’s Pick on Sunday at the Wentworth Club, as
was also the case for Ryder Cup legends Sergio García and Ian Poulter.
Jon Rahm (ESP), Rory McIlroy (NIR), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Viktor
Hovland (NOR) and Paul Casey (ENG) had already qualified for the
defending champions’ team before the BMW PGA Championship.

The teams from the USA and Europe will face one another at Whistling
Straits (in the US state of Wisconsin) during the week after next
(21st to 26th September), which will also mark the debut of BMW as
Worldwide Partner of the Ryder Cup. The US team for the legendary and
emotionally charged team event will feature Collin Morikawa, Dustin
Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Patrick
Cantlay, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Harris English,
Daniel Berger and Scottie Scheffler.