Billy Horschel Leads After Three Rounds

Billy Horschel took the lead Saturday throughout a wet third spherical of the British Open with a 2-under par spherical of 69 at Royal Troon Golf Course in Scotland. He’s one stroke forward of six golfers. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler sits two pictures again.

Horschel turned professional in 2009 and joined the Tour full-time in 2011. The 37-year-old American has had a strong profession with eight PGA Tour wins and a career-high rating of eleventh in 2022.  A 15-year run on the PGA Tour is profitable when you can sprinkle in just a few wins, notably an inconceivable 2014 FedEx Cup title that carried a $10 million bonus. Horschel has earned $51.6 million in PGA prize cash and FedEx bonuses throughout his profession.

But, Horschel was not on anybody’s radar coming into the British Open, formally the Open Championship. His Official World Golf Rating is 62, and he has 4 prime 10 finishes this 12 months in 18 occasions. His greatest profession exhibiting in a serious was in his first as a professional when he completed fourth on the 2013 U.S. Open. He didn’t end within the prime 15 once more in a serious over the subsequent 10 years. He broke that streak when he completed eighth on the 2024 PGA Championship.

BetMGM had Horschel’s odds at +17500 to win the British Open, identical as Christiaan Bezuidenhout and simply behind Tiger Woods at +15000. Scheffler was the favourite at +500.

“One thing I’ve performed this 12 months, and I’ve performed a greater job this week of it, or tried to do a greater job, is type of manifest seeing myself holding the trophy earlier than I fall asleep each night time, envisioning myself holding that trophy on 18, strolling out to the group and being congratulated as Open champion,” Horschel stated after his spherical Saturday.

Horschel can be removed from probably the most unlikely main winner. Shawn Micheel probably has that title safe within the trendy period. He received the 2003 PGA Championship, and it was the one PGA Tour victory of his profession. Micheel completed second within the 2006 PGA Championship, but it surely was the one different time he ever cracked the highest 20 in a serious. Todd Hamilton didn’t get his PGA Tour card till he was 38 and received solely two Tour occasions, however certainly one of them was the 2004 British Open. He by no means completed within the prime 20 earlier than or after that in a serious.

The full purse for the British Open is the smallest of the majors at $17 million, up 3% over final 12 months. The winner will earn $3.1 million, a $100,000 improve over 2023 when American Brian Harmon received the Claret Jug.