Billy Horschel leads after three rounds and nasty weather – Orange County Register

TROON, Scotland — Billy Horschel together with his brief sleeves within the chill and his sensible brief sport at Royal Troon one way or the other held on for a 2-under 69 and a one-shot lead in a British Open that acquired turned the other way up and each different doable manner Saturday.

The rain began earlier than the main gamers teed off and solely acquired stronger. The wind was relentless and into the gamers’ faces on the brute of a again 9, leaving the world’s finest to hit fairway metals into par 4s — and so they nonetheless couldn’t attain the inexperienced.

“That’s the toughest 9 holes I feel you might ever play in golf proper now,” stated Dustin Johnson, a former world No. 1 with two majors. He shot 72 and was 5 behind.

It was as powerful because it will get and Horschel was as much as the duty with a sequence of marvelous par saves down the stretch from the tough and from pot bunkers.

Shane Lowry couldn’t say the identical, and the frustration was evident.

Lowry, who confirmed his sport is constructed for hyperlinks golf when he gained at Royal Portrush 5 years in the past, had a three-shot lead early after which fell aside. He performed the ultimate 11 holes in 7 over, beginning with a double bogey from the Coffin bunker on the 123-yard “Postage Stamp” eighth gap. One final bogey gave him a 77 and left him three behind.

“There’s little doubt I’m going to go on the market tomorrow pondering I can win the match,” Lowry stated. “But it surely’s simply laborious proper now. Ten minutes in the past I needed to putt for par on the 18th inexperienced, and I’m right here speaking to you guys now making an attempt to determine how I shot 77 in my very own head.”

It was like that for everybody, at the very least those that confronted four-plus hours within the worst of it.

Thriston Lawrence of South Africa teed off greater than three hours earlier than the ultimate group, had six birdies in eight holes and posted a 65. He went from 10 pictures behind to taking part in within the remaining group Sunday with Horschel, one shot behind.

Sam Burns wasn’t too far behind Lawrence. He made eight birdies in his spherical of 65 and was within the group one shot again that included Russell Henley, who additionally averted a lot of the worst climate and shot 66.

Horschel was at 4-under 209, his first time with a 54-hole lead in a serious. Solely as soon as earlier than has he even handled the Sunday stress of a serious, within the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion the place he began two pictures behind and tied for fourth.

Now he will get 18 holes towards Royal Troon and a solid of survivors.

PGA champion Xander Schauffele confronted the brunt of the climate and shot 69, leaving him within the group one shot behind together with Justin Rose (73) and Daniel Brown, the Englishman making his main debut and taking part in as if he had been much more skilled.

Brown had the lead after a birdie on the par-5 sixteenth, solely to complete bogey-double bogey. His tee shot on the 18th got here to relaxation on the sting of a deep pot bunker, leaving him no place to face however some 4 ft down within the stand. He hit into one other bunker together with his third shot and made 6.

Additionally nonetheless very a lot alive was golf’s finest participant, Scottie Scheffler, who had a 71 and was solely two pictures behind. He missed his share of brief putts however delivered a 3-wood into the 238-yard seventeenth gap to 2 ft.

The par 3 performed so lengthy that some gamers late within the day had been hitting driver.

“I most likely don’t hit a 3-wood on a par 3 fairly often,” Scheffler stated. “I most likely don’t hit driver and a 3-wood actually strong on a par 4 and don’t get there in two, both.”

He additionally referred to as it “the toughest 9 holes that I’ll ever play.”

Lowry shot 40 on the again 9 and was at 1-under 212. It felt like an terrible day, however he nonetheless was solely three pictures behind. His remaining gap summed up the day — a drive to date proper it was behind the seventeenth inexperienced, and an strategy into the grandstands that dropped onto the platform and rolled alongside to the very fringe of the construction.

There have been so many different photographs like that.

Brown hit his tee shot on No 7 to date proper that it went onto the eighth inexperienced. He performed his subsequent shot from in entrance of the Postage Stamp to 2 ft for birdie that gave him the lead.

Joaquin Niemann survived making an 8 on the par-3 eighth gap Friday to get again within the sport. After which he was out of it with one other quintuple bogey, this one a 9 on the par-4 eleventh gap. He drove right into a gorse bush for a misplaced ball. After his third shot off the tee, he hit it out-of-bounds towards the railroad tracks. He went right into a pot bunker.

The only goal for Schauffele was to be there on the finish.

“If you may get your self ready with a number of holes to play, I feel you’ve actually performed your job for the week. However this was begin to that,” Schauffele stated. “It’s a packed leaderboard, and it’s going to be a type of the place you simply actually should hold your head down and attempt to fear about your self.”