Ten Million Dollar Man' Hosial gets on the train to PO

Billy Horshall (37, USA), who was ranked 116th in the FedEx Cup point rankings, is making a dramatic reversal in the final tournament of the US Professional Golf (PGA) tour regular season.

In the 3rd round of the PGA Tour Wyndham Championship (total prize money: 7.6 million dollars), which continued at Sedgefield CC (par 70) in North Carolina, USA on the 6th (Korean time), Hosial drove 7 under par 63 with only 7 birdies. Hoshel, who recorded an interim total of 18 under par 192, tied for the lead with Lucas Glover (USA). It is one stroke behind Russell Henry (USA), who placed third at 17 under par.

Hoshel is none other than the final winner of the 2014 FedEx Cup PO. As a bonus, he also hit the $10 million jackpot. He, who won his 7th PGA Tour career at the Memorial Tournament in June of last year, was shaken sharply in the 2022-2023 season, however. In 21 competitions this season, he entered the top 10 only twice, and his sluggishness was so serious that he missed the cut nine times. In particular, at the Memorial Tournament in June of this year, which was a title defense match, he experienced humiliation by recording 84 strokes on the first day. Amid continued sluggishness, Horschel's FedEx Cup ranking fell to 116th, and it seemed impossible to participate in the FedEx Cup Playoffs (PO), where invitations are given only to players ranked in the top 70 in the regular season.

The problem was with the club. “During the US Open in June, I found that the lie angle of the irons was 2-3 degrees higher,” said Hoshal, who went to a 3D system expert to fine-tune the irons and change the swing. As a result, I was able to hit the pitch I wanted again, and I am experiencing a rebound in this tournament. In the second round, Horschel, who jumped to second place by one stroke alone with a career-low 8 under par 62 strokes, put his name on the top of the leaderboard after demonstrating his strength by reducing 7 strokes on the same day. In addition, the FedEx Cup predicted ranking rose vertically to 53rd.

Byeong-hun Ahn hit 5 under par with 6 birdies and 1 bogey. Although the ranking dropped by one notch from a tie for 3rd place the previous day to 4th place alone (15 under par), it is possible to aim for a come-from-behind victory as there is only a 3-stroke difference from the leading group. Ahn Byung-hoon, who debuted on the PGA Tour in 2016, has yet to win.

Justin Thomas (USA), ranked 79th in the FedEx Cup rankings, reduced 4 strokes to rise to a tie for 11th (9 under par), saving the fire to advance to the PO for eight consecutive seasons.