There would be no backing into the title on Sunday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. With no wind and lift, clean and place in effect, players were taking dead aim and going low. Billy Horschel got his first PGA Tour win in style when he drained a 26-foot putt on the 18th hole to hold off D.A. Points. Here is the skinny on the final round at TPC Louisiana:
The leaderboard: Horschel at -20; Points at -19; Kyle Stanley at -17.
What it means: After the final round was delayed for three hours this morning with the leaders midway through the front nine, Horschel came out of the delay red hot. He birdied Nos. 7-12 to tie the longest birdie streak of the season on Tour. Playing with Horschel was Points, who showed no signs of backing down, going on his own birdie run. He notched birdies on the first four holes of the back nine to keep pace with Horschel. In a cruel twist of fate, a second weather delay occurred with Horschel and Points in the fairway on the 18th hole. The short delay didn't seem to affect either player as they both birdied the final hole after the delay.
Points, 36, was looking for his second Tour win this year after capturing the Shell Houston Open last month. Horschel, the 26-year-old University of Florida product, has wasted little time in realizing his potential. This is Horschel's fifth top 10 already this season in only 12 starts.
Round of the day: Horschel's 8-under 64 was the low round of the day, while Points finished with a 7-under 65. Aaron Watkins had the low round of the day until he was upstaged by Horschel and Points. Watkins, who made only his second cut on Tour this season, fired a bogey-free 65.
Best of the rest: Stanley easily had his best finish of the season, closing with a 5-under 67 to finish in third. He has struggled mightily this season, missing the cut in half of his 10 events, with his best finish prior to today being a T-18 at the Honda Classic. After co-leading on the front nine, Jimmy Walker's chances at his first Tour victory were derailed by a double bogey on the ninth and bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes. Bubba Watson, the 2011 Zurich champion, fired a 6-under 66 to surge up the leaderboard and finish T-14.
Biggest disappointment: Glover by no means collapsed on Sunday, but with the way Horschel and Points blistered TPC Louisiana, he was quickly left behind. Looking for his first win since the 2011 Wells Fargo Championship, Glover began the day with a two-shot lead but finished with a 1-under 71, five shots back of Horschel in a tie for fourth.
Shot of the day: Horschel's 26-foot birdie putt to win on the 18th obviously deserves mention. But his superior ball-striking was best displayed in the midst of his record-tying birdie streak, when he took dead aim at the left pin tucked next to the water on the difficult 191-yard, par-3 ninth. The ball finished 5 feet left of the hole, and Horschel banged the putt into the back of the cup for his third birdie in a row and fourth in five holes.