Billy Hurley III wins for first time on US PGA Tour at Quicken Loans National

By Andy Charles

SKYSPORT.COm

Billy Hurley III claimed his maiden PGA Tour title at Congressional

Billy Hurley III is a US PGA Tour winner for the first time after a three-stroke victory at the Quicken Loans National.

Hurley III made some huge shots down the stretch at Congressional and eventually had a three-shot advantage over runner-up Vijay Singh.
His hopes of a maiden title appeared in some doubt for much of the final round, although his lead always remained intact despite only reaching the 13th hole level par for the day.

The expected pressure from Ernie Els dissipated when the South African made a double bogey at the short 10th, where his tee shot ended up in the water.

Els had made five birdies on his front nine, but also mixed in three bogeys and, after a rollercoaster round of 72, he would finish in fifth place, five shots off Hurley III.
That left Singh as his main challenger and the Fijian moved to five under for the day, 13 under overall, when he birdied the 12th.

Hurley III bogeyed that hole to drop back to 15 under and he needed to make a nervy 10-footer at the next to save par as doubts started to swirl whether he would be able to hang on and claim first place.
But those nerves would be calmed at the 15th where Hurley III made a somewhat fortunate birdie, holing a pitch after finding a bunker off the tee and failing to reach the green with his approach.
He added a further shot to his advantage at the par-five 16th, where a poor wedge shot was followed by a superb long-range birdie putt.
Singh birdied two of his last three holes, while bogeying the 17th, but Hurley III finished off his banner day with a pair of pars to secure the £923,000 first prize.
"I couldn't think of a better tournament for my first PGA Tour win," Hurley said afterwards. "I'm just thrilled to have gotten it done today."

Hurley also had to cope with the emotional strain of seeing the many police officers on duty around Congressional, prompting memories of his father who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound last year.
"It's been a hard year," Hurley added. "It's been a really hard year, so it's nice to have something go well."
Young Spaniard Jon Rahm, playing in his first tournament since turning professional, finished in a tie for third alongside former champion Bill Haas.
Rahm, the first round leader, closed with a 70 to finish on 13 under while Haas had three birdies in a bogey-free round of 68.
One of Rahm's other prizes, along with Hurley III, Singh and Harold Varner III (-9) is a place in The Open at Royal Troon next month.
Rahm had a moment to forget when he shanked his tee shot on the 13th at the Quicken Loans National