What's In The Winner's Golf Bag: Sang Moon Bae at The 2013 HP Byron Nelson Championship - Great Golf Deals.com Blog

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Sang-Moon Bae won the Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, beating Keegan Bradley by two strokes after blowing a four-stroke lead.

The 26-year-old South Korean closed with a 1-under 69 to finish at 13-under 267.

Bradley was trying to become the Nelson's first wire-to-wire winner since Tom Watson in 1980. Bradley set the TPC Four Seasons course record with an opening 60 even with two bogeys, but finished with a 72 on a day with wind gusting to near 40 mph at times.

Bae already had 11 international victories — winning on the Korea, Japan and Asian tours.

Four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the front nine gave Bae a four-stroke advantage in the final group. But he struggled in the middle of the round, making a double bogey at No. 9 and a bogey at the next hole.

Bradley, whose first PGA Tour victory came as a rookie at the Nelson two years ago, got even with a birdie at the 15th hole. But he missed a short birdie putt at the next hole to fall behind for good.

Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champ, shot a 68 to finish third at 10 under. His only bogey Sunday came at the closing hole, where he hit his approach into a bunker and then hit through the green.

Bae won $1.2 million, nearly matching his PGA Tour career earnings of $1.6 million in his 42 previous starts. His best finish on tour had been a tie for second last year after getting into a four-man playoff at the Transitions Championship.

Bradley had a couple of incredible par saves on the back nine before finally making his first birdie of the round, a 17-footer that had just enough to get into the cup at the 463-yard 15th hole. That gave him a share of the lead when Bae missed a par putt there from just inside 6 feet.

After Bae sank a 5-foot birdie at the par-5 16th hole, and was already walking to the next tee, Bradley had a shorter putt on the same line — it horseshoed around the hole and didn't fall. The par put Bradley a stroke back with two holes to play, and he then hit his tee shot at the par-3 17th over the green and was unable to save par. That made it irrelevant that he finally had a par at No. 18, the hole he bogeyed the first three rounds.

When Bae hit his tee shot at the 17th green that is fronted by water, he watched anxiously and finally let out an obvious sigh of relief, bending his knees and leaning backward when the ball landed on the front edge of the green about 24 feet from the cup. He made the par, and Bradley was unable to scramble again.

Players wore red ribbons during the final round in memory of Ken Venturi, the 1964 U.S. Open champion and longtime CBS golf analyst who died Friday.

Justin Bolli shot a bogey-free 65 for the best round of the day and matched his career-best finish of fourth. A stroke further back at 272 were Morgan Hoffmann (66), Martin Kaymer (68) and Scott Piercy (72).

Tom Gillis, making his 150th PGA Tour start since 1993 and still without a win, started the final round only two strokes out of the lead. But he was already 6-over for his final round after a triple-bogey 7 at the sixth hole. He went on to a 76 and finished tied for 12th.

At No. 14, Bradley drove into the left rough between some trees and missed the green before chipping to 5 feet to save par. On the par 3 just before that, his tee shot settled behind the green, but he hit from there to 8 feet and made that putt as well.

After Bradley's opening drive of the day landed in rough near a temporary lemonade stand, he hit over trees and a bunker to 15 feet and save par at the hole he bogeyed each of the first two rounds. His tee shot at the 202-yard second hole went into a bunker, but he made a 6-foot par putt.

Bae's long putt off the back edge of that par-3 green slid just past the cup, causing him to step back and turn around in disbelief. He knocked in a 4-footer that circled the cup before falling.

The lead swapped at the downwind, 502-yard third hole when Bradley's drive went left into the water. He bogeyed while Bae rolled in a 27-foot birdie putt and responded with a double fist pump.

Bae built his lead to four strokes with three consecutive birdies, getting to 16 under when he two-putted from 33 feet at the par-5 seventh.

One of Bae's biggest reactions came after he made his par-saving 11-foot putt at the 462-yard eighth hole, where he drove into a fairway bunker and then had to hit back into the fairway before his approach shot.

WHAT'S IN SANG MOON BAE'S WINNING GOLF BAG?

Driver: Callaway RAZR Fit (8.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI

3 Wood: Callaway RAZR Fit (15 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI

Hybrid: Callaway X Hot Pro (18 degrees)

Utility: Callaway X Utility Prototype (21 degrees)
Actual Loft: 20.75
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 (39 inches)

Irons: Callaway RAZR X Muscleback (4-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue

Wedges: Callaway X Forged (48, 52 and 60 degrees)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue

Putter: Odyssey Tour Milled #1

Ball: Callaway HEX Chrome+

You Can Score Sang Moon Bae's Winning Gear and Deep Discount Prices at Great Golf Deals.com - Discount Golf Equipment

Bushnell rangefinder benefits Folds of Honor Foundation

The 2013 Tour Z6 Wingman Pack is Bushnell's newest golf laser rangefinder. It's also the latest Bushnell product whose sales benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation.

"Building off the great success of the original Patriot Pack, we are ecstatic to provide consumers with this Tour Z6 Wingman Pack and are pleased to add another product to the mix that will support Major Rooney's incredible foundation," said Phil Gyori, managing director for North America. "For as long as consumers continue to look for ways to support the Folds of Honor Foundation and gravitate to Bushnell's industry-leading products, we'll be privileged to be a partner and support the foundation."

Extra-small but extra-powerful, the Tour Z6 is Bushnell’s most technically advanced rangefinder, which allows golfers to instantaneously zero in on flags up to 450 yards away, with up to 18-inch accuracy. Featuring 6x magnification (objects appear 6 times closer) through a premium lens coatings for superb optical quality and adjustable diopter setting, the Tour Z6 includes Vivid Display Technology (VDT) for clear sighting in all lighting conditions.

The Tour Z6 comes with a two-year warranty. And long with the rangefinder itself, the Wingman Pack includes a limited-edition Bushnell Golf/FHF embroidered microfiber golf towel, premium carrying case and battery for a suggested retail price of $399.

Earlier this year, Bushnell unveiled two new Patriot Packs featuring the Tour v3 and Tour v3 Slope rangefinders. The all-new Patriot Packs come equipped with a Tour v3 or Tour v3 Slope, Bushnell and FHF bag tag, protective carrying case and exclusive Bushnell Golf and FHF-branded golf tees with a suggested retail price of $299 (Tour v3) and $399 (Tour v3 Slope). 

Founded by Maj. Dan Rooney in 2007, the Folds of Honor Foundation provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of service members disabled or killed during U.S. military service. Rooney, a former F-16 pilot who served three tours in Iraq, founded Folds of Honor Foundation to ensure that families of fallen service men and women are never left behind.

In addition to the contribution, Bushnell has partnered with country music star Craig Morgan on a donation download program benefitting the Folds of Honor. A 10-year veteran of the U.S. Army, Morgan wrote and dedicated a song titled "What Matters Most" to the heroes Folds of Honor Foundation supports. The track, a tribute to the millions of service men and women who defend America's freedom, parallels the stories of so many who have lost loved ones on the field of battle. For each download of "What Matters Most," Bushnell will donate $1 (up to $10,000) to the Folds of Honor.

For more information or to purchase one of these new Bushnell rangefinders for the lowest price guaranteed visit Great Golf Deals.com - 

What's In The Winner's Golf Bag: Tiger Woods at The 2013 Players Championship - Great Golf Deals.com Blog

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — As the Players Championship wound down Sunday, there were as many compelling stories on the leader board as there were golf balls in the water surrounding the tournament’s signature hole, the par-3 17th.

The players who held at least a share of the final-round lead included Jeff Maggert, a 49-year-old trying to win his fourth PGA Tour event in his 586th start, and David Lingmerth, who had a 74-foot birdie putt to get into his second playoff in 13 tour starts. And there were the headliners and sparring partners, Sergio Garcíaand Tiger Woods, who were separated for the fourth round but tied late in the round.

By the end of the day, the great stories had fallen away and the greatest active player stood alone. Woods, summoning the kind of steely golf that eluded his closest competitors down the stretch, won for the 78th time in 286 tour starts as a professional. On a warm, breezy day, Woods carded a two-under-par 70 for a 72-hole total of 13-under 275, two strokes better than Maggert (70), Lingmerth (72) and Kevin Streelman (67).

After Woods broke a two-year winless drought in official tour events last March, his cup runneth over. He has won in four of his seven starts in 2013. “Am I surprised?” Woods said. “No. I know a lot of people in this room thought I was done. But I’m not.”

His career winning percentage of .273 is better than that of Ben Hogan (.218), Jack Nicklaus (.127) and Sam Snead (.148), whose record of 82 victories Woods is closing in on. Going into Sunday, his winning percentage here was dismal. Woods was 1 for 14 at the T.P.C. Sawgrass Stadium Course, with two top-three finishes.

“It was fast and difficult,” Woods said, referring to Sunday’s course conditions, “and I hit it so good today, it was fun. I hit it high, low, left to right, right to left, whatever I wanted, except for that tee shot at 14.”

Woods’s pop-up hook on No. 14, which resulted in a double bogey, was not pretty. It ended up in the water, and when Woods took his drop, he did so in a shadow cast by a similar incident at the Masters, in his previous start. In the second round in that tournament, Woods took an improper drop, but because the Augusta National rules committee did not ask him about it before he signed his scorecard, he received a reprieve wrapped in a two-stroke penalty.

In this instance, Woods’s playing partner, Casey Wittenberg, had what he described as a “perfect” view of the flight of Woods’s ball. “I told him exactly where I thought it crossed,” he said, “and we all agreed, so he’s definitely great on that.”

Woods’s path to the trophy ceremony was cleared when Lingmerth missed his long birdie attempt at 18 (and then missed the comebacker) and when Maggert and García plunked their tee shots in the water at No. 17. García, who came to the hole tied for the lead with Woods at 13 under, deposited two shots in the water, both landing in the same general spot, and walked off the green with a quadruple-bogey 7. To add insult to indignity, García made a double bogey at the last hole. He posted a 76 to finish in a seven-way tie for eighth at seven under.

“I just underhit it a little bit,” Garcia said, referring to the first water ball. “I felt with a little bit of adrenaline and stuff I didn’t want to shoot it over the green.”

Lingmerth’s biggest break of the fourth round came hours before his opening swing, when he was paired with García in the final group instead of Woods. The three held a share of the lead at 11 under after the Sunday morning conclusion of the third round. On the final hole, Woods made his par before his playing partner, García, drained his attempt. Because García had honors when their round began, he was listed first even though Woods finished before him.

Playing with Woods, who draws large, rowdy galleries, is an experience akin to trying to strike a ball on an airport tarmac while planes are taxiing and taking off. In Woods’s three other victories this year, none of the players in his fourth-round, final-group pairings broke par. Wittenberg continued the trend with a 75 to finish in the logjam at eighth.

“This job is stressful regardless of whether you’re playing with Tiger or not,” said Wittenberg, who played with Woods in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open. He added, “I’ve been on the wrong side of some really great golf by Tiger this year, but it’s been nice to be in the group and learn from it.”

García was not as magnanimous. After posting a 72 in the third round to Woods’s 71, he wore his spleen on his sleeve. He told Sky Sports, “He’s not the nicest guy on tour.” In a Golf Channel interview, he said: “We don’t enjoy each other’s company. You don’t need to be a rocket engineer to figure that out.”

It doesn’t take a rocket engineer to plot the trajectory of Woods’s year.

“I feel like I’m getting better as the year’s going on,” Woods said, “which is nice.”

WHAT'S IN TIGER'S WINNING GOLF BAG?

DRIVER: Nike VR Tour (8.5°) with a Graphite Design Tour AD DI 6 shaft

FAIRWAY WOOD: Nike VR_S Covert Fairway Wood 3 Wood (15°) Nike VR_S Covert Fairway Wood (19°) with Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 103 X-flex shafts

IRONS: VR Pro Blades (3-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts

WEDGES: Nike VR Pro (56°, 60°) with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts

PUTTER: Nike Method 001 

BALL: Nike Tour D

You Can Score Tiger's Winning Gear and Deep Discount Prices at Great Golf Deals.com - Discount Golf Equipment

Our Callaway X Hot Driver Review - Great Golf Deals.com Blog

When you think of the brand Callaway what's the first thing that normally comes to mind?  If you're like most people probably the word "Big Bertha" comes to mind first - their iconic metal wood which revolutionized the metal driver and fairway wood market back in the early 90s'.

The introduction of the Big Bertha launched Callaway Golf to the forefront of golf equipment technology and established them as a leader in metal woods category.

Unfortunately for Callaway, for the past decade, it has lost it's way and for a number of years has had a hard time breaking through the crowded driver/metal woods market which it dominated in the 90's and early 2000s.

That is until now. With new leadership and a new aggressive attitude and marketing campaign Callaway is back and back "Big Time" with its new 2013 offerings.  But an aggressive attitude and marketing campaign will only take you so far - you still need the product to perform and boy does the Callaway X Hot driver perform!

The new Callaway X Hot Driver is the product that will appeal to most of the market as it is targeted at golfers at all levels ( form mid-handicappers to single-digit players).  But by no means is this a one driver fits all product.  Callaway has also come out with a X Hot Pro model targeted at golfers with more advanced skills and faster swing speeds.

The Callaway X Hot Driver is a speed demon with many of the technical features designed to increase club head speed while at the same time provide forgiveness on off-center miss-hits.  The driver checks in at 46 inches which is a half an inch to an inch longer than standard.  It has a 460cc head and speed-frame face is made of titanium that is thinner around the perimeter and thicker in the center which optimizes the sweet spot and decrease the amount of distance loss on off-center hits.

LOOKS:
Callaway has decided to go in a different direction and eschew the popular "white" clubhead look and has equipped the X Hot driver with what can best be described as a matte-gunmetal finish.  The color gives this driver a futuristic look while maintaining a traditional look and feel.  The gunmetal finish against the black club face looks great and does not have that "look at me and my new driver" look.

The club head design can be summed up in one word; "classic".  The head of the X-Hot is a nice and evenly rounded shape without any of the triangle look you see with many heads out there. There is no doubt that it is a 460cc driver, yet it is in a subdued style that doesn’t seem all that large to your eye. Obviously the finish plays a role in this though as well. All in all, this is a driver that presents a clean and classic shape.


ADJUSTABILITY:
The X Hot driver uses Callaway's OptiFit technology which was the same as used in the 2012 RAZR Fit driver.  What's great about this feature is that it is by far the easiest to adjust and you do not a Phd  in club physics to make the proper adjustments for your game.  The X Hot driver is designed to have a square face angle in its neutral setting. Setting the face angle to the open (O) position on the Opti-Fit Hosel will open the face to 2.5 degrees and subtract 1 degree of loft. A change to the closed (C) setting will set the face 1.5-degrees closed and increase loft 1 degree.  Each adjustment made a noticeable change in the ball flight as the OptiFit technology was more than fancy name for a new technology.

Also because it uses the same OptiFit technology in all the Callaway Drivers you can easily swap shafts between different drivers without having to purchase a special adapter.

Sure there are other drivers that offer more ajustability, almost to the point where it is overkill but with the X Hot sometimes more really isn't better.

FORGIVENESS:
The X Hot driver is the most forgiving driver in the Callaway lineup.  The 460cc head is the largest allowed by USGA specifications but what really makes this driver more forgiving is the Speed-Frame face technology and interior weighting technology.

The speed-frame face is made of titanium that is thinner around the perimeter and thicker in the center which optimizes the sweet spot and decrease the amount of distance loss on off-center hits.

Additionally, the X-Hot line has interior weighting that is meant to promote a draw, as most average golfers struggle with slicing the ball right. The good thing about this is that Callaway has not altered the look of the driver to achieve this. Instead they altered the interior weighting to keep the head-shape clean and attractive. Additionally, Callaway’s research led them to see that as more loft is needed in a driver then typically more draw bias is needed as well, so as the lofts increase in the X-Hot, so too does that interior weighting.

DISTANCE:
Face it, the main reason we all buy new drivers is to get more distance.  We may not want to admit it but being the shortest driver in your weekly foursome is not fun and it sure would be great to be able to get to a par 5 in two sometimes.

The Callaway X Hot Driver excels in this area.  At 300 grams, the X Hot driver is the lightest driver Callaway has ever put out.  Paired with the 46 inch lightweight Project X shaft, thin titanium speed-frame face and innovative internal weighting the driver can get it out there with the best of them.  Callaway's marketing campaign claims you can gain 13 extra yards with this driver and that is on the conservative side.  Now granted my driver is currently 4 years old but I was seeing 20 yards gained but more importantly my miss-hits were not penalized with lost distance as much as my older driver.

OVERALL:
Although it's still only early May and a lot of the golf season is still ahead of us I feel confident right now that the Callaway X Hot Driver will be on my top 3 drivers list for 2013 at the end of the season.  If you are looking for a driver that can bomb it out there with the best of them but also still provide the technology and adjustability to make  it forgiving on miss-hits then this is driver you're looking for.  Callaway's X Hot Driver is a product that will move Callaway back into the forefront of innovative, high-performance metal woods.  It's a position that they once had and are now on there way back to obtaining.


The X-Hot driver comes with an MSRP of $299.99 but you can get it for less at Great Golf Deals.com

What's In The Winner's Golf Bag: Derek Ernst at The 2013 Wells Fargo Championship - Great Golf Deals.com Blog

CHARLOTTE — In a strange week featuring battered greens, Vijay Singh being cleared of a drug violation by the PGA Tour and a viewer calling in an alleged violation on Sergio Garcia, it was fitting the winner of the Wells Fargo Championship turned out to be Derek Ernst.

He was ranked 1,207th in the world rankings at the start of the week. He was headed to Georgia to play in a Web.com Tour event but turned his car around when he got into the Wells Fargo as the fourth alternate. And then the 22-year-old PGA Tour rookie beat David Lynn in a playoff.

"This feeling is unbelievable right now," said Ernst, who last won in a college tournament last year. "All week long my swing felt good, mental game was good. The big thing was, what I said all week long is, I got out of my own way, and it paid off for now."

With a 2-under-par 70 in the final round, Ernst and Lynn finished at 8-under 280, one stroke ahead of Phil Mickelson, who again was in control of the tournament on a dismally cold and miserably wet Sunday at Quail Hollow Club. And once again, "Lefty" let control and eventual victory slip out of his hands with bogeys on two of his last three holes.

"I'm pretty bummed out," said Mickelson, who was in a tie for the lead at the start of the day but shot 73. "I thought I had the tournament under control. It's very disappointing. I would have liked to have won this one."

A day after squandering a chance to distance himself from the field by hitting a ball out of bounds for a double bogey on the par-5 15th hole — and then hitting a spectator on the noggin which led to bogey on the 16th hole — Mickelson was but a solid bunker shot away from making birdie on the 15th to take a two-shot lead in the final round of a tournament he cherishes and is desperate to win.

But Mickelson hit a poor shot out of the bunker, left his birdie putt dead in the middle of the hole but short, and then made bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes to fall out of the lead. Mickelson missed his chance for entry into the playoff when his 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole slid by on the left side.

"Fifteen was such a critical hole," Mickelson said. "I hit two great shots to put it where I wanted to in the bunker. But I hit a poor bunker shot. That hole cost me. The holes coming down the stretch are not easy holes but I had an easy chip on 16 and hit it by the hole and then made bogey on 17.

"Sixteen and 17 got me. There was no excuse to bogeying 16 and 17."

Ernst got the first win when he put himself into a playoff with a birdie from 4 feet on the 18th. He then two-putted for par on the same hole to beat Lynn on the first playoff hole.

Ernst, Lynn, Mickelson, Nick Watney and Ryan Moore all had at least a share of the lead during the final round. Slowly the crowded leader board shook out and Lee Westwood and Robert Karlsson finished in a tie for fourth. Moore fell into a tie for sixth, Watney in a tie for 10th.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy was making a sustained charge until a double-bogey 6 at 12 sent him backward and eventually into a tie for 10th. His week was one without momentum as he missed nearly a dozen putts inside 5 feet.

"It was pretty difficult," McIlroy said. "It felt like I was coming into it pretty well. Tough conditions, blustery winds, obviously, it was very wet today. I thought anything in the 60s was probably going to have a chance. I made a couple of mistakes coming in."

Ernst made just two mistakes — bogeys on the second and eighth holes. But a spotless, 3-under 33 on the back nine put him into position to win. A solid drive and iron to 15 feet allowed him to take two putts for the win.

Ernst, who said he idolized Watney growing up in Fresno when Watney went to Fresno State, was going to play in a Web.com Tour event in Georgia but turned his car around when he got the call he was in the Wells Fargo. He drove away with a $1.206 million check and a two-year exemption on the Tour. He'll also be heading to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., having earned a spot in next week's Players Championship. And he'll be playing in next year's Masters.

"The money is money, it will come and go," said Ernst, the youngest winner on Tour this year. "But winning and having a job and playing out here for the next two years, that's what I want to do. I want to play out here, so that is the best part."

Lynn, who finished runner-up to McIlroy in last year's PGA Championship, said he hadn't heard of Ernst and met him for the first time Sunday. Lynn holds no grudges, either, with the playoff loss.

"A runner-up finish, it's a good finish. It jumps me up in the Order of Merit. So you take heart, don't you, from losing the playoffs? It's all confidence building, so it puts me in good standing for the rest of the year," Lynn said.

Mickelson said he's in good standing heading into next week.

"I do feel good about where my game is at," said Mickelson, who won earlier this year in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. "I'm looking forward to next week. My game feels like it's coming. I didn't drive the ball as well this week as I should but that will change. My irons feel good, my chipping is good, my putting is good. I should have a good chance at that one."

WHAT'S IN derek'S WINNING GOLF BAG?

Driver: PING i20 Loft, 9.5 degrees, Shaft Ping TFC 707x

3-wood: PING i15 Loft 14.5 degrees, Shaft Grafalloy Pro Launch Red X-Flex

Hybrid: PING Answer Loft 17 degrees, Shaft Oban Kiyoshi X-Flex

Irons (3-PW): PING S56 Color code Blue, Shaft Royal Precision Project X 6.5

Wedges: PING Tour Gorge 54 degrees; PING Answer 58 Degrees Shaft Royal Precision Project X 6.5

Putter: PING Scottsdale TR Greyhawk, 35 Inches

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

You Can Score Derek's Winning Gear and Deep Discount Prices at Great Golf Deals.com - Discount Golf Equipment

What's In The Winner's Golf Bag: Billy Horschel at The 2013 New Orleans Zurich Classic - Great Golf Deals.com Blog

AVONDALE, La. -- Billy Horschel sensed the time had come for him to win his first PGA Tour event. This could explain the composure he displayed in the face of two final-round weather delays and a 27-foot putt he had to make on the final hole to avert a playoff.

Horschel tied a course record at the TPC Louisiana with an 8-under 64 in the final round of the Zurich Classic on Sunday, which was good enough to win by one stroke over D.A. Points.

Points put pressure on Horschel by hitting out of a bunker to set up a 5-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th. Then Horschel rolled in his long victory-sealing putt, pumping his arms and letting out a triumphant yell before sinking into a crouch and briefly pulling his cap over his face as the crowd roared.

"I hadn't made a long one all week and I said, `I'm due,"' Horschel said. "I was like, `If it's my time, this putt needs to go in.'

Soon after, he saw a video replay of his celebration.

"I know it was pretty intense," he said. "There was a lot going on. It's celebration time now."

The 26-year-old former Florida Gator began the day two shots behind third-round leader Lucas Glover and surged into the lead with six straight birdies after the first weather delay. He finished at 20 under, narrowly holding off Points, who won the Shell Houston Open last month by a stroke over Horschel and Henrik Stenson.

"When a player goes out and shoots 8 under and birdies the last hole to win, hats off to Billy," said Points, who had a 65. "He's played great all year. He was one shot shy of me at Houston and I'm a shot shy of him here. It's just the way it goes."

The second delay, for lightning, happened before Horschel could take his second shot on the 18th hole, giving him 52 minutes to reflect on what was at stake -- $1.19 million and a two-year exemption.

It didn't really faze him. He said he tends to relax during delays, and almost always plays well after them.

"For some reason it puts me at ease a little bit," Horschel said. "You don't know how long your delay is going to be so you've just got to go with it and just wait it out. ... It wasn't easy, but it wasn't as hard as it could have been."

Kyle Stanley shot a 5-under 67 to finish third, while 14-year-old amateur Guan Tianlang of China finished 71st after making his second cut in two PGA events, the first coming at the Masters.

Although Horschel had never won on the Tour, he had been playing the best golf of his young career lately, with three top-10 finishes in his past three tournaments -- tying for second in Houston, tying for third in San Antonio and tying for ninth in Hilton Head Island, S.C., a week ago.

"I played well. It just wasn't my time," Horschel said of his recent top-three finishes. "It was nice that today was my time."

He has also made a PGA Tour-leading 23 straight cuts, and had already earned $1.3 million this year. Now he has nearly doubled that, thanks to a final round that tied a course record that has been matched several times, including by Rickey Barnes in Thursday's first round.

Moments before Horschel took reporters' questions about his victory, he sat at a podium with the winner's silver cup in front of him, appearing on the verge of tears as he spoke by phone to his wife and parents.

Horschel said he had planned to fly home to Jacksonville, Fla., after finishing his round Sunday night, then added "I think that plane has been delayed for a few hours." He's familiar with celebrating in New Orleans, where he also had his bachelor party.

Horschel became the sixth player in the last nine years to celebrate his maiden PGA Tour victory in New Orleans. He also was the sixth first-time winner on the Tour this year.

Horschel began the day at 12-under, two shots behind Glover. He began to make his move up the leaderboard with his first birdie on the fifth hole.

His string of six straight birdies ran from seventh through 12th holes and moved him to 7 under on the round and 19 under for the tournament.

On the par-5 seventh, Horschel chipped from about 89 feet to within 2 feet to set up his first birdie putt. He made a 9-foot birdie putt on the eighth and then hit a 191-yard tee shot to about 4 feet from the pin to set up a birdie on the par-3 ninth.

He made a birdie putts of 13 1/2 feet on 10, 6 feet on 11 and 15 1/2 feet on 12.

Horschel bogeyed the 15th hole after twice hitting into the right rough to fall back into a tie with Points.

But Horschel then birdied No. 16 by hitting a 109-yard approach within 5 feet, putting him back at 19-under and restoring his one-shot lead.

Points, playing in the same crowd-pleasing group as Horschel, birdied the 10th through 13th holes to stay on Horschel's heels. However, he left a 98-yard approach shot 30 feet short and left on 16, where he lost the lead.

Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open winner who was looking for his first Tour victory in nearly two years, took a two-shot lead into the final round and opened with five pars -- narrowly missing a birdie when his put rimmed out on the first hole. He was about to line up a birdie putt from 27 feet on No. 6 when a horn sounded, signaling nearby lightning. Play was halted immediately and a downpour ensued shortly after, causing a 2-hour, 54-minute delay.

Glover two-putted for par when play resumed, then struggled on the seventh hole, hitting his drive to an uphill lie in the rough on the edge of a pot bunker. That forced him to lay up, and he chipped over the green and wound up with a bogey on a hole that many players birdied or eagled.

That dropped him out of the lead for good, and he wound up finishing tied for fourth with Bobby Gates, five shots off the lead.

WHAT'S IN BILLY'S WINNING GOLF BAG?

Driver: PING G25 (45.25-inch Mitsubishi Rayon Fubuki 63-X shaft), 9.5 degrees

3-wood: PING G25 (Oban Kiyoshi Black 75-05 shaft), 15 degrees

5-wood: PING G25 (Oban Kiyoshi Black 75-05 shaft), 18 degrees

Irons (3-PW): PING S56 (PING ZZ56 shafts)

Wedges: PING Gorge (52, 60 degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts)

Putter: PING Redwood Piper S

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

You Can Score Graeme's Winning Gear and Deep Discount Prices at Great Golf Deals.com - Discount Golf Equipment

What's In The Winner's Golf Bag: Graeme McDowell at The 2013 RBC Heritage Open - Great Golf Deals.com Blog

For all the big moments in Graeme McDowell's career, his resume was short on PGA Tour victories.

McDowell relished what he called his first authentic tour win, defeating fellow U.S. Open champ Webb Simpson in a playoff at the RBC Heritage on Sunday.

McDowell's been at the centre of some of golf's biggest moments, from his rousing triumph at Pebble Beach in 2010 to capturing the winning point for Europe in that year's Ryder Cup matches. He has six European PGA victories, too, but he hadn't triumphed in the weekly grind of the world's top tour.

"This game kicks you more often than it gives you a pat on the back," McDowell said. "It's hard to win."

Not on this day for McDowell, who pushed forward on wind-blown Harbour Golf Links when his rivals were moving backward, unnerved by the 20 to 30 mph winds that rattled the course.

He rallied from four strokes down when the day began to take a one-shot lead into the 72nd hole. Then after he made his only bogey of the round to fall into tie with Simpson, two-putted from about 15 feet to make a par on the extra hole that Simpson couldn't match.

"I guess the weather was what the doctor ordered. I needed that to get close to the leaders," said McDowell, who earned $1,044,000 for the victory.

McDowell, from Northern Ireland, had a 69, one of only three scores in the 60s among the 70 who teed off Sunday.

Simpson, reigning U.S. Open winner, shot 71. He had a chance to win in regulation, but his 22-footer for birdie went 3 feet past and set up the additional hole. "I came in with not too much confidence, but I just stayed true to the process of what we've been working on," Simpson said.

Luke Donald shot a 69 to tie for third with Kevin Streelman, who had a 72. Jerry Kelly rounded out the top five after his even-par 71.

Charley Hoffman, the 54-hole leader, ballooned to a 77 and fell into a tie for sixth with Russell Henley (69) and Chris Stroud (70).

McDowell patted Simpson on the back after the playoff miss and smiled widely as the boats in Calibogue Sound tooted their horns and whistles. Neither McDowell nor Simpson made the cut a week ago at the Masters, yet bounced back in a big way at Harbour Town.

McDowell acknowledged he was frustrated and disappointed after missing the weekend at Augusta National by a shot. If he had made the cut, McDowell wondered if he'd have had the motivation to break through at Harbour Town. "It's funny the way things happen," he said. "I wouldn't swap this for a top 10 last week."

The course showed its teeth, winds arcing flagsticks and blowing debris on every hole. Donald backed off his putt on No. 7 when a large leaf tumbled through his line. Crews watered several greens between groups simply to keep balls holding instead of skipping off the wind-swept sod.

Blowers were heard throughout the day, trying to push off leaves, twigs and other tree parts falling everywhere on the course.

The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the area, warning of gusts up to 45 mph.

"Extremely difficult," Donald said of conditions. "Strongest wind I've played in all year."

Few managed the wind better than McDowell, who lurked behind most of the round until striking on the back nine. He made a 28-foot birdie putt on No. 11 to move into a three-way tie for first with Simpson and Hoffman.

McDowell broke the tie on the 16th hole, landing his approach within 8 feet and making the birdie putt. He saved par from the back of the green on the 17th hole, but couldn't do it a second time on the closing, lighthouse hole at No. 18 for his first bogey in 32 holes to fall back into a tie with Simpson.

Simpson's chase appeared over when he made three bogeys in a six-hole stretch to fall two shots behind. He steadied himself with a birdie on No. 12 and parred his way to the finish to reach the playoff.

Donald, who's got two seconds and a third in his past four appearances at Harbour Town, got an early charge going before Hoffman and Simpson hit the course with four birides on his first six holes to draw within two of the lead.

Donald, ranked No. 6 in the world, couldn't keep the surge going, though. He had birdie chances on the final three holes of the front nine, but came up empty. Bogeys on the 13th and 15th holes end Donald's run. Still, it was the fourth top-five finish in the last five trips to the RBC Heritage for Donald.

WHAT'S IN GRAEME'S WINNING GOLF BAG?

DRIVER: Cleveland Classic 290:  Loft:10.5 Degrees Miyazaki Kusala Indigo 56 X-Flex (46 inches) DI8 X-Flex

FAIRWAY WOOD: Cleveland Launcher FL: Loft: 14.25 Degrees (Stamped 14 Degrees)
Shaft: Miyazaki Kusala Indigo 72 X-Flex

UTILITY: Adams Idea a7 PNT  Loft: 22 Degrees Shaft: Miyazaki Kusala Indigo 83 X-Flex

IRONS: Cleveland MT (3 and 4), Srixon Z-TX II (5-9)  Shafts: Royal Precision Project X 6.5 (European Ryder Cup Shaft Bands)

WEDGES: Cleveland Reg 588 Raw (48 and 52 Degrees) Cleveland 588 RTX (58 Degrees)
Shafts: Royal Precision Project X 6.5

PUTTER:   Odyssey White Hot #7 Mallet (Prototype)

BALL: Srixon Z-Star XV (Pure White)

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