After two days at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., former Gators golfer Billy Horschel was tied for the lead in golf’s second major of the year.
It was only Horschel’s second start in a U.S. Open and the second start in a major in his entire PGA career.
Horschel has had a successful 2013 so far, including a victory at the Zurich Open earlier this year.
For at least a round, he was the best golfer in the field at Merion.
After a back-nine performance in the first round that included three bogeys, Horschel rebounded with a virtuoso navigation of a course set up to test even the most skilled golfer.
Despite the adversity of the course, he hit all 18 greens in regulation Friday afternoon – a feat that hadn’t been accomplished at a U.S. Open since 1992. He did so en route to four birdies, third most in any single round during the entire tournament. Horschel capped his round off with a birdie on hole No. 18, which was birdied only 11 times the entire tournament and zero times on Saturday or Sunday.
Horschel is also the PGA tour leader in birdies with 265 this season.
His second round score of 67 (-3) tied a tournament low for a single round throughout the weekend. It was good enough to vault him into a tie for the lead after Friday’s play.
“I was not in the zone, trust me,” Horschel said to Bob Harig of ESPN.com after his second round. “The golf course, even though it’s soft, is still a tough golf course.
I know what in the zone is for me. I don’t get nervous. I just see the shot and go. And I saw the shot and went with it, but I was still nervous with a lot of them. Your misses here can be bad if you miss in the wrong spots.”
Horschel didn’t repeat his second-round performance over the weekend. Three bogeys on the front nine during his third round forced him to a 72 (+2) and tied him for fifth heading into the final round.
Wearing an attention-grabbing pair of navy blue pants adorned with white octopi, Horschel was not up to the challenge. Although he entered the day only two shots back of the lead, he struggled during his final round.
Four of his six Sunday bogeys came on the front nine, effectively knocking him out of contention for the championship midway through his round.
He ended up finishing tied for fourth, and took home $291,406 for his efforts this weekend. Horschel also earned an exemption for next year’s Masters and U.S. Open.
Billy Horschel watches a putt on the second green during the fourth round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Merion Golf Club, Sunday, June 16, 2013, in Ardmore, Pa.
