$10million BONUS IS KEY FACTOR IN PLAYER'S DECISION
HORSCHEL SHARES LEAD - AND WILL
STAY EVEN IF WIFE GOES INTO LABOUR
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
By HELEN ROSS
ATLANTA, Georgia -- Phil Mickelson famously carried a beeper during the 1999 U.S. Open in case his wife Amy, who was on the verge of delivering their first child, went into labour.
And just last year, Hunter Mahan withdrew and flew back to Texas to be with his wife Kandi for Zoe's birth, even though he was leading the RBC Canadian Open at the time.
Billy Horschel finds himself in a similar situation this week at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola where he holds a share of the first-round lead with Chris Kirk.
Horschel's very pregnant wife, Brittany, is back home in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Her due date is Sept. 27 but if their daughter, who will be named Skylar Lillian, decides to arrive early, Horschel still plans to be at East Lake on Sunday when the final putt drops.
Not that he doesn't want to be there for the birth of his first child. He really, really does. But at the same time, Horschel and his wife, who also played collegiate golf at Florida, know that there's a $10 million bonus on the line -- and he's one of five players guaranteed the game's biggest prize with a win on Sunday.
"My wife is totally on board," Horschel said. "... She's a golfer. She understands what this victory and FedExCup Playoffs and what it all means. I've probably got the greatest wife out here. ...
"There wasn't much discussion. I brought up the question. She said: You're staying."
STAY EVEN IF WIFE GOES INTO LABOUR
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
By HELEN ROSS
ATLANTA, Georgia -- Phil Mickelson famously carried a beeper during the 1999 U.S. Open in case his wife Amy, who was on the verge of delivering their first child, went into labour.
And just last year, Hunter Mahan withdrew and flew back to Texas to be with his wife Kandi for Zoe's birth, even though he was leading the RBC Canadian Open at the time.
Billy Horschel finds himself in a similar situation this week at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola where he holds a share of the first-round lead with Chris Kirk.
Horschel's very pregnant wife, Brittany, is back home in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Her due date is Sept. 27 but if their daughter, who will be named Skylar Lillian, decides to arrive early, Horschel still plans to be at East Lake on Sunday when the final putt drops.
Not that he doesn't want to be there for the birth of his first child. He really, really does. But at the same time, Horschel and his wife, who also played collegiate golf at Florida, know that there's a $10 million bonus on the line -- and he's one of five players guaranteed the game's biggest prize with a win on Sunday.
"My wife is totally on board," Horschel said. "... She's a golfer. She understands what this victory and FedExCup Playoffs and what it all means. I've probably got the greatest wife out here. ...
"There wasn't much discussion. I brought up the question. She said: You're staying."
TOUR Championship: Leaderboard | Earlier Friday tee times | Join the Converstaiton | Daily Wrap-up | Rory not bothered by slow start
FedExCup: Home | Projections | Winning scenarios | Update: Kirk on top
After all, the TOUR Championship features a limited 29-man field. That means sleeping late each morning, and thanks to an Atlanta contact, Horschel can be on a private plane almost immediately after his round is over for the 1-hour flight back to Jacksonville. Ditto for a return trip the next day.
So if Brittany goes into labour, Horschel has told his inner circle he doesn't want to find out until he comes off the 18th green to sign his scorecard.
Then he'll set a land speed record, if necessary, getting back home to greet his daughter.
"I won't find out on the course, because my focus may be taken away from the task at hand," Horschel explained. "But after the round's over with, I will be flying home, spend a few hours and then flying back later that day or the next morning before the round of golf."
After all, Horschel gave himself a great opportunity to win the FedExCup when he captured last week's BMW Championship six days after tying for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship. To say the excitable Floridian, who entered the Playoffs finale ranked No. 2 in the FedExCup, is on a roll would be an understatement.
"Having a chance to win $10 million and our first child on the way -- it's pretty amazing, especially the time of year that it's happening," said Horschel, who described himself as anxious rather than nervous about both prospects.
Besides, that $10 million bonus would certainly buy a lot of diapers -- and maybe something really special for such an understanding wife.
"Listen, Hunter Mahan did a great thing last year pulling out," Horschel said. "But I would think if he was in my position with winning, having a chance to win, roughly $10 million more, if you had the TOUR Championship winner's cheque and everything, I think it would be maybe a no brainer to stay put and keep playing and go home in between rounds."
FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 70 Players from USA unless stated
66 Billy Horschel, Chris Kirk
67 Jim Furyk, Bubba Watson, Jason Day (Australia), Patrick Reed
68 Bill Haas, Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, Cameron Tringale.
SELECTED SCORES
69 Rory McIlroy (N Ireland), Adam Scott (Australia), Sergio Garcia (Spain) (T11)
72 Justin Rose (England) (T23)
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
CLICK HERE
Labels: PRO GOLF
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Friday, September 12, 2014
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home