2016 Quicken Loans National results: Billy Hurley III’s win is the story of the year on PGA Tour

We spend a lot of time in golf stressing over the quality of the field and desperately hoping the biggest stars are in contention on Sunday evenings on the PGA Tour. But often the best stories come out of nowhere with some of the most undecorated and un-hyped pros in the world. That’s what we got on Sunday at the Quicken Loans National with Billy Hurley III, who got his first career PGA Tour win and a nice trophy from Tiger Woods at historic Congressional.

If you’re bored by all the narratives that surround a player off the course or sentimentality is not your thing, then you can turn away now. Hurley’s win at this event, in this city, this year, is storybook stuff. Just a decade ago, Hurley was a member of the Navy and on board a ship in the Persian Gulf. After serving in the military for five years, his route to becoming a professional is unlike anyone else in the game. This tournament, probably more than any other on Tour thanks to Earl Woods’ service, is dedicated to military charities and providing a spotlight for veterans. As the host, Tiger has made it a huge part of the week that also benefits his foundation. It was fitting to have a vet win it.

There’s also the matter of Hurley being a local. He now lives in Annapolis, but the DMV area is where he grew up and this is a home event for him. Those local ties and the military background were undoubtedly a part of the reason for giving him a sponsor’s exemption. He’s played well in this event in the past, but not like this.

Finally, this was also the event where Hurley made that emotional plea at an impromptu press conference for help finding his missing father last year. The public pleas did help and Hurley’s father was found in Texas, but he took his own life just a few weeks later last August. He was asked about his dad on Saturday night as he sat on the 54-hole lead and responded with this gut-wrenching anecdote from the round:

You know, obviously I think about my dad a lot. Today was interesting. I was walking from 9 to 10 and I’ve never really had a whole lot of police officers following my group, you know. I’m not like that cool. But playing in the lead, you know, they have a couple police officers following you around. It dawned on me like, hey, this is what my dad did, he walked inside the ropes and did this at Presidents Cups and stuff. So that kind of made me think about him for a second there between 9 and 10.

Hurley broke down talking about his “tough year” on the 18th green after the win, and he was just one of many people in the crowd and watching at home with some watery eyes.

So yes, there are so many reasons why this is the story of the year on Tour. There were plenty of fun stories on the first page of the leaderboard -- Ernie Els going for his first Tour win in 4 years and just months after that public putting yips embarrassment at Augusta, Jon Rahm trying to win his first event just days after turning pro. But none compared to Hurley’s, who also delivered some on-the-course drama worth cheering for late on Sunday.

Even the Big Easy knew the kind of story he was witnessing as the two walked down the hill to the 18th green, embracing Hurley.

And Tiger was there too, throughout the round, greeting Hurley both at the 10th green and then a couple hours later when the win became official.

Now Hurley is holding a bag of perks and goodies, the first of which is a spot in next week’s exclusive WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He’s also now got a spot in the PGA Championship and next year’s Masters and solidified his status on the PGA Tour for the next two years. And he’s also got a nice $1.24 million winner’s check. This win, however, was about much, much more and something even the most cold-hearted cynics who follow this Tour week-to-week could appreciate.

Here are your final results from Congressional: