One Hop, One Ace, One Win: Horsley's Unforgettable Day at Eagle Mountain

Mike Horsley wasn't even sure he wanted to play in the Fountain Hills Open. He had been planning to take the week off, stuck in what he described as an "I hate golf" mood, and figured he'd mostly be at Eagle Mountain to watch playing partners Brad Pilon and Tim Kartman battle in their Individual Match Play semifinal.

Then he woke up Sunday feeling good. The range session felt good. He put a brand-new putter in the bag and decided to play.

A few hours later, Horsley had made a hole-in-one worth $1,200 and won the Fountain Hills Open with a net 71, holding off Justin Bowen and Dan McGurren by one.

Good thing he showed up.

One Hop and Gone

Horsley was sharp from the start. Pilon watched him drive it center cut, hit his irons well and make everything inside five feet with that new putter.

Then they reached No. 3.

The hole was playing 211 yards when Horsley pulled 7-wood. He liked the shot immediately.

"This is going to be good," he said.

Chris Orr was watching through his rangefinder.

"That's in!"

The ball never wavered from the pin, took one hop and disappeared.

"I wasn't sure, but everyone said it was and BOOM," Horsley said. "What a feeling."

The ace emptied the $1,200 Summer Tour Hole-in-One Fund and, of course, also gave Horsley the gross skin, net skin and Closest to the Pin on No. 3.

He still had a tournament to win.

Horsley turned in 38 and kept playing the same controlled golf that got him there. What he didn't know was that he was leading. He finally found that out after No. 13, leaving five holes to finish the job.

Pilon watched Horsley handle those five smartly, and by the time they reached 18 the situation was simple: par wins.

Horsley hit a power fade into the center of the fairway and kept his approach safely left. He picked up a little information from Orr's putt from off the green, rolled his own lag to 18 inches and tapped in.

Tournament over.

Horsley's net 71 was one better than Bowen and McGurren at 72. Kevin Hall, Jim Pickus, Nick Schroff and Brad Thompson finished another shot back at 73, putting seven players within two shots of the winner. Hall also posted the low gross round of the day with a 74, despite opening with a double bogey on No. 1.

The win was Horsley's first of the season and worth 550 Desert Cup points. The ace gave him something even rarer: he became the fourth Summer Tour player to make a hole-in-one this season.

That's quite a run for a Tour that has gone through stretches of four years between aces. Andrew Stonehouse started it on No. 16 at Aguila. Jason Allen and Brennon Shay then both aced No. 11 at Arizona Traditions. Now Horsley has joined them at Eagle Mountain.

Four aces in one season. The golf around here is getting pretty good.

Kartman and Pickus Earn Their Way to the Final

Horsley's group had another competition going on, with No. 4 Tim Kartman and No. 16 Brad Pilon playing for a spot in the Individual Match Play championship.

Kartman won the first two holes before Pilon answered with the next two to square the match. Kartman regained the lead on No. 5, and from there Pilon could never quite get enough pressure on him. Kartman kept himself alive with several key recovery shots, while Pilon watched opportunities slip away.

No. 13 pretty much summed up how things were going. Pilon hit the cart-path curb on three consecutive shots and eventually wound up under a tree. Kartman made 6 — and still won the hole. One hole later, it was over, 6&4.

The other semifinal stayed tight longer. Jonathan Chorley watched No. 15 Jim Pickus and No. 6 Matthew Newsome battle through a front nine where neither could create much separation. Newsome's short game kept him in it, while Pickus was, in Chorley's words, "surgical from the tee."

That eventually became the difference. Newsome began finding trouble off the tee on the back nine while Pickus kept finding fairways and let the match come to him. Pickus closed it out 4&2.

That sets up No. 4 Kartman vs. No. 15 Pickus for the championship in two weeks. Pilon and Newsome will play the consolation match next week at Troon.

Two Events Left, and the Top 10 Is Tight

Brennon Shay added another Top 10 at Eagle Mountain and remains comfortably atop the Desert Cup with 2,787 points, followed by Dale Cohen at 2,300 and Spencer Harter at 2,065.

The pressure is farther down the board, where the final Top 10 will earn year-end money.

Joel Miller currently holds 10th with 1,575 points. Chris Kazienko sits two points behind but has moved away and won't play the remaining events, leaving Shawn Lambert at 1,560 as the closest active challenger — just 15 points outside the money.

With only two events remaining, that isn't much breathing room. Horsley's 550-point win was also a useful reminder of how quickly one big Sunday can change the picture.

Next up is the Scottsdale Championship at Troon North's Pinnacle Course, along with the Pilon-Newsome Match Play consolation. Horsley's ace also emptied the HIO pot, so everyone will have the option to re-ante $25 and start building the next one.

And if you happen to wake up Sunday thinking you hate golf, remember what Mike Horsley did.

He almost stayed home.

Instead, he made an ace and won the tournament.

See you all at Troon.