The 2013/2014 PGA Tour season ended much like it began — with a winning streak.
After missing the cut in the opening FedEx Cup Playoff event at the Barclays, Billy Horschel got hot at the right time, riding a wave of momentum throughout the rest of the Playoffs. He won back-to-back events — the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship — to capture winnings of over $13 million.
Looking back at 2014, however, it was no surprise the year ended with a player riding a winning wave, since it was a year of some career-defining hot streaks from some of the games brightest stars. Let’s take a look back at the players who got caught fire at different points throughout the 2013/2014 wrap-around season.
Jimmy Walker
Jimmy Walker entered the PGA Tour’s 2013 Fall Series, which counted towards the following year’s FedEx Cup points for the first time, without a PGA Tour victory on his resume. It had been well documented within the golfing community that the 35-year-old American had been improving under the eye of swing coach Butch Harmon, and his first win was likely just around the corner.
Little did we know that his first win at the Frys.com would be validated with two more wins in his next seven events. Also, 19 of his 23 made cuts this season resulted in Top 25 finishes. Although Walker failed to capitalize in the major championships and left much to be desired in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, his early season hot streak helped him qualify for his first Ryder Cup.
Bubba Watson
In 2014, Bubba Watson will be remembered for winning his second Masters in three years by overpowering Augusta National with his driver (yet again). He became the 18th man in Masters history to win a second Green Jacket. Even after this incredible summer of golf, I still think that his drive that cleared the towering pine trees and Ray’s Creek on hole No. 13 on Sunday afternoon, leaving only sand wedge into the par 5, may be the best shot of the year.
Although he missed the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational the week before the Masters, Bubba had a stretch of four tournaments where he finished T2, T9, T2, with a win at the Northern Trust Open sandwiched in the middle. At one point during the stretch, he went 291 straight holes without three-putting! Not bad for a guy known mostly for the long ball.
Martin Kaymer
Just after Bubba’s streak of near flawless golf ended at Augusta in April, Martin Kaymer came out of hibernation to make his own run. Something in Kaymer’s game clicked, propelling the former world No. 1 to win arguably two of the year’s most difficult tournaments — the Players Championship and the U.S. Open — within a 3-week span. And it should not go unmentioned that Kaymer won both tournaments without giving up the lead. He was robotic during that stretch and seemed unbeatable, until falling back into mediocrity late in the season.
Rory Mcllroy
The summer of 2014 was undoubtedly The Summer of Rory. The stretch of golf that saw Rory win three straight tournaments (two majors and a WGC-Championship) was undoubtedly the best streak of the year and one of the dominating stretches of golf the game has seen. The world’s No. 1 ranked golfer did miss an opportunity to close the door on the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but he ran into a golfer riding a hot streak of his own.
Billy Horschel
If you were watching the broadcast on Sunday afternoon at the Tour Champinoship, somewhere between BillyHo’s 30-foot bomb to save par on No. 16, and his post-win Florida Gator Chomp celebration, you likely heard the NBC crew mention how it was Horschel’s 12th straight round in the 60’s. Horschel’s streak was well-timed, since the 27-year old American pocketed nearly $14 million in prize money in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
His streak would have been even more impressive had it not been for a chunked iron shot on No. 18 in the final round at the Deutsche Bank Championship, which ended up in a hazard, leading to a disappointing T2 finish. Before his run of brilliant golf, Horschel missed the cut in the opening playoff event at the Barclays, and had not played his best throughout the bulk of the season.
Sports figures often allude to “being in the zone.” PGA Tour fans were lucky enough to witness a handful golfers achieve their respective “zones” in 2014. If there is one fan that enjoyed the hot streaks better than any other this year, it was probably Billy Horschel’s bank account (cha ching!), although Rory’s legacy and trophy case weren’t quite sent home kicking rocks.
Your Reaction?- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0