Billy Horschel responds to Twitter critics who were mad he wore his hat backwards

If Phil Mickelson can wear a paper clip on his cap without having Twitter tear him a new one, then Billy Horschel can damn well turn his backwards to finish out a miserable round at Royal Troon.

Horschel, who drew the drowned-rat afternoon wave of Friday’s Open tee times, was finishing up a hellish 14-over 85 second round. The colorful BillyHo, known primarily before his 2014 FedExCup-winning season for his octopus pants and other gaudy attire, unwittingly caused quite the stir when he had the unmitigated chutzpah to turn his golf hat around as he waded into the finishing hole.

Drenched to the skin after ditching his Gore-Tex, Horschel was putting the finishing touches on a score 18 strokes higher than the 67 he posted on Saturday. As he approached the 18th green, the harumphing began from the bone-dry couches of those who long for the days of Johnny Miller’s godawful body-hugging plaid trousers

The critics of couture would likely have preferred even more so the old Scottish golfers’ knickers and other tweedy threads, judging by the vitriol caused by the direction of Horschel’s hat (a sampling):

All of which surprised, then irritated Horschel.

Several golfing types came to Horschel’s defense.

In case the fuddy-duddies still needed convincing, one of Horschel’s peers came to his defense by noting that Billy’s fashion look did, indeed, have a practical purpose.

Now that Horschel and his head gear are stateside-bound, we can only hope someone does not hole out in three on a par-5, lest we must endure yet another skull-imploding “double eagle vs. albatross” polemic.