Billy Horschel cruelly denied Rory McIlroy a tournament victory but one act from the Northern Irishman proved he is ‘one of the classiest golfers of this generation.’

Horschel and McIlroy went head-to-head in a play-off finish to decide the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in September.

McIlroy has had a handful of near-misses in recent monthsGetty

The pair landed on the green in two shots on the par-five 18th, but Horschel showed nerves of steel to drain a long putt for eagle.

It meant yet another agonising near-miss for McIlroy, who had to play bridesmaid to Bryson DeChambeau at the US Open and Rasmus Hojgaard at the Irish Open in the last five months.

Despite the heartbreak of coming so close but falling short yet again, Horschel revealed McIlroy put his own frustrations aside to congratulate his close pal.

“I knew how much getting edged at the US and the Irish this year hurt him,” Horschel told Golf Monthly.

“So I could appreciate how he must have felt when my eagle putt went in, just after his own eagle try burned the hole.

“But the way he looked at me and gave me a little smile, and then congratulated me later, meant so much to me.

“I think that just showed he is one of the classiest golfers of this generation, as well as the most talented.”

Horschel also took pride in the fact he had to overcome McIlroy to emerge victorious in the BMW PGA Championship given the Northern Irishman’s standing in the game.

“Look, the first thing to remember is that Rory is the best player of my/our generation,” Horschel said.

“Absolutely no question about that in my mind. Beating him means you’ve beaten the best of the best.”

Horschel had plenty of kind words to say about close pal McIlroyGetty

The final battle between Horschel and McIlroy at Wentworth was the latest chapter in their competitive rivalry over the years.

In fact, such was the resentment between the pair, McIlroy said he ‘absolutely despised’ Horschel during the 2007 Walker Cup.

However, Horschel revealed the two have since formed a close bond ever since that heated event when he and McIlroy were just 20 and 18 years old respectively.

“The other thing is that we are good friends,” Horschel said.

“We’ve been beating each other’s brains out since we were on opposite sides at the 2007 Walker Cup. And man, was that a hot event by the way!

“Anyway, over the years we’ve built up a lasting friendship, and a mutual respect.”

McIlroy will look to end the calendar year on a high when he hits the fairways at Yas Links on November 7 for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.