Billy Horschel’s consistency pays off, skyrockets up The Open leaderboard

Friday at The Open Championship challenged every golfer to their core. Billy Horschel, however, remained steady and was one of the handful of players to shoot under par.

He carded a 3-under 68 Friday to sit at 2-under for the tournament and soar into contention. Horschel is five shots behind leader Shane Lowry and is in a tie for fourth. He has never been in the position, as his best 36-hole mark at The Open was T-40.

His consistency through these first two rounds allowed him to move up 27 spots on the leaderboard.

“Very pleased. Two quality rounds of golf played and a really good position going into the weekend,” Horschel said.

“I couldn’t ask for anything more after the first two rounds.”

The former Florida Gator recorded four birdies and a bogey. He opened his round with back-to-back birdies before dropping a shot at the par-4 3rd.

Four straight pars followed until his next birdie came at the par-3 8th. He turned to the second side after shooting a 2-under 34 on the front. He made six straight pars on the back nine until his final birdie came at the par-5 16th.

This year marks his 10th start at The Open. In those previous nine starts, Horschel’s best finish came in 2021. He tied for 21st that year at Royal St. George’s. He also missed the cut in six of those starts.

“The record can be a little deceiving,” Horschel said.

“I played in [the Alfred Dunhill Links at St. Andrews] the last few years and felt better on links golf courses, and my record has been better on links golf courses, which when I come to The Open, I feel more comfortable that I have a record of quality play somewhere in links courses.”

In 2016, the last time Royal Troon hosted, he shot 4-under 67 and followed it up with an atrocious 85.

“The weather was pretty nasty [in 2016.] I got to No. 9, and the weather to that point was the nastiest weather I’ve ever played in—blowing 30, raining sideways, Horschel said.

“It was a brute that day.”

After winning the Corales Puntacana Championship earlier this year, Horschel tied for 8th at the PGA Championship at Valhalla and then tied for 41st at the U.S. Open.

He is not approaching things differently, despite the different style in golf, but instead sticking to his plan.

“Just keep hammering away,” Horschel said.

“The majors mean so much to me. It’s a legacy thing. You can submit your legacy in the game of golf by winning a major or multiple majors. I’ve always felt I’ve had the game to play well in majors. I just had to get out of my own way.”

Horschel explained his perfectionist tendencies and how those elements stress him out.

“You’ve got to play perfect golf in majors to win,” he said.

“I know that isn’t the case, but it was just one of those things where, in certain cases, I’m probably a slow learner, and with the majors. I am a slow learner in learning how to approach. The results haven’t shown the last couple of years, the way I’ve handled it, the way mentally I’ve been, and in a good frame of mind and not overly, say — it’s not stressed out, just anxiety, wanting to play well. I’ve done a better job of that in the last couple of years.

Horshcel put his old putter back in the bag this week after testing out a new one at the Scottish Open.

He heads into the third round of The Open Championship with a late afternoon start time. He is in contention, and with two more good rounds, the Claret Jug could go home with Horschel.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.