Billy Horschel leaves the 18th hole during the third round of the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports
Billy Horschel charged into contention with four birdies on the front nine and scrambled for pars on the back to grab his first 54-hole lead at a major.
“This one’s by far my best round in really tough conditions in an Open Championship,” he said.
Eight years ago at Royal Troon, Horschel shot 85 in the second round to miss the cut but he’s learned to embrace links golf and delivered a gritty performance.
“I’ve just always embraced the toughness of anything,” he said. “You have to find a way to grind down and make a score.”
Asked to name his most impressive escape to save par, the 37-year-old picked getting up-and-down from 70 yards at No. 13.
“Hit a really quality wedge shot there into the wind and to make that putt, kept some momentum going. Yeah, that was the one that was the most satisfying of them all,” he said.
Count NBC’s Smylie Kaufman as impressed with his ability to scramble and post 69 in brutal conditions.
“How gritty has he been?” Kaufman said. “He’s made the easy ones look really easy and the hard ones look like they’re easy and they haven’t been.”
Horschel’s major record entering this year was rather pedestrian for being an eight-time Tour winner. In his previous 42 major appearances, his best finish is a T-4 at the 2013 U.S. Open and he’s missed 14 cuts, but he finished T-8 at the PGA Championship in May, just his second career top-10 in a major. One positive sign for Horschel’s chances on Sunday: The last six major winners have held at least a share of the 54-hole lead. Horschel said he would watch some darts on TV – he’s a big fan of British sports from cricket to being a fan of West Ham United Football Club – and before he goes to bed he’ll envision himself holding the Claret Jug.
“Something I’ve done this year, and I’ve done a better job this week of it, or tried to do a better job, is sort of manifest seeing myself holding the trophy before I go to sleep every night, envisioning myself holding that trophy on 18, walking out to the crowd and being congratulated as Open champion,” he said.
On Sunday, he can make it a reality.
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