Billy Horschel takes three-shot lead at BMW Championship with a 63

Billy Horschel needed less than a week to give himself a second chance. If he keeps playing this well, his next shot at closing out a tournament won’t be nearly as stressful as the last one.

Horschel made a 32-foot birdie putt Saturday to wrap up his bogey-free third round at seven-under-par 63 and take a three-shot lead over Ryan Palmer heading into the final 18 holes of the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Village, Colo.

On Monday at the Deutsche Bank, Horschel had a six-iron in hand on the 18th fairway and a chance to win or force a playoff, but he chunked the shot, made bogey and settled for a disappointing second-place tie.

Horschel had a 13-under 197 total. He gave himself a cushion at the third of the four FedEx Cup playoff events, rolling in a 22 footer for birdie on 14, then an eight-foot birdie on 15 to vault into the lead. He closed it out with the long one on 18 — the uphill, par-four 477-yard closing hole that is the third toughest on the course and has surrendered only 18 birdies all week.

Horschel had one of 14 rounds of 67 or better at mile-high Cherry Hills, where soaking rains and cool weather over the last two days have softened the course and chipped away at some of its defenses.

Palmer had a 67. Masters champion Bubba Watson shot 66 to move into a third-place tie at eight under with U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer, who made seven birdies over the last 12 holes to shoot 64.

Rory McIlroy made a 60-footer on the fourth to get into a brief tie for the lead but gave all that back and more with a four-putt from inside of 5 feet on No. 12 — bringing gasps from the crowd. It was McIlory’s first triple-bogey or worse since the first hole of last year’s BMW Championship. The world’s top-ranked player shot 2-over 72 and goes into Sunday nine shots off the lead.

Toledo’s 66 good for share of lead at Quebec Championship

Defending champion Esteban Toledo shot a six-under 66 for a share of the second-round lead with Brad Faxon in the Champions Tour’s Quebec Championship.

The 51-year-old Toledo, the only Mexican winner in the history of the 50-and-over tour, matched Faxon at 10-under 134 at La Tempete in the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in the area since the 1956 Labatt Open at Royal Quebec. Toledo won the then-Montreal Championship last year at La Vallee du Richelieu for his second Champions Tour victory.

Faxon, also a two-time senior winner, had a 67.

Loren Roberts was third at 8 under after a 69. Jay Haas, Scott Simpson, Wes Short Jr. and Duffy Waldorf were 7 under. Simpson and Short shot 68, Haas had a 69, and Waldorf a 71.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen, making his Champions Tour debut, was tied for seventh at 6 under after a 67. He turned 50 last week.

First-round leader Chip Beck followed his opening 65 with a 75 to drop into a tie for 23rd at four under.

Storm has an ace to take European Masters lead

England’s Graeme Storm had a hole-in-one and shot a six-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead in the European Masters at Crans-Montana, Switzerland.

Storm used a six-iron on the 217-yard 11th hole and won a hybrid sports car valued at $186,000. He had a 16-under 194 total on Crans-sur-Sierre’s Seve Ballesteros Championship Course.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood was second after a 63. American Brooks Koepka was third at 14 under after a 66, and countryman David Lipsky was another stroke back after a 66.