Apr 02, 2018: Beau Hossler came up short in his quest to win his first PGA TOUR title but left the Golf Club of Houston feeling upbeat about where his game is headed after playing in another final group.
The 23-year-old gave Ian Poulter everything he could handle, stringing together four straight birdies on Nos. 12-15 to take a one-shot lead at 19 under. Hossler had the chance to close Poulter out on the last but couldn’t get his 30-foot birdie putt to fall.
With Poulter’s putt on a similar line from just inside 20 feet, Hossler knew he was going to extra holes.
“Ian basically had the same putt and there’s no way he’s going to miss it after watching my ball,” Hossler said.
On the first playoff hole, Hossler blew his tee shot into the fairway bunker for the second straight time and then proceeded to fan his approach into the greenside bunker.
Knowing it would take a near-perfect shot to reach the back-left hole location, Hossler overshot the green and found the hazard, leading to a triple-bogey that ended his tournament hopes.
“I said yesterday I wanted to beat [Ian] at his best and I saw it today,” Hossler said. “Pretty unfortunate to go out like that in that playoff, but really tough hole.”
If the TOUR rookie can take solace in a playoff loss, he doesn’t need to look any further than the fact that he’s now been part of the final group on Sunday in two of his first 14 events this season.
“I know I’m going in the right direction,” Hossler said. “This was by far the most comfortable I’ve felt in that final pairing or near contention, so I’ve proven myself now that I can win out here without a question of a doubt.”
PGA Tour Release
